Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

Jude the Obscure was panned by critics when it first appeared in print towards the end of the nineteenth century. Hardy was so stung by the criticism that this was to be his last novel; for the next thirty years he wrote only poetry and drama. The book completely fails to live up to the expectations of the Victorian novel, and as such it was revolutionary. The sentimental idea (so prevalent in Austen for example) of a character being rewarded for ...
...rejection and disillusionment. Cheery stuff! Jude is encouraged by a local schoolmaster (Phillotson)to go to Christminster (Oxford). Once there, he finds he is rejected, and his illusions of the place as a seat of scholarly learning are shattered when he finds that the students are ignorant and prejudiced. He ends up (bitter irony) repairing the masonry of the University. He meets up with Arabella, who represents simple, lustful passion. She betrays ...

drewish 22.12.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

...in book shops or libraries. Jude the obscure is one such classic that I simply adore. Its story line and characterization is really strong. It was begun as amegazine serial by Thomas Hardy in late 19th century. Thomas hardy was turning at that point from the conventional romantic story to romantic with a tragic end to it. We cant say that Jude was a tragic hero with hamartia no we cant. He was no great man that was the first point that made me love ...
...that she is inlove with Jude and marrying Philostone was a bad idea. Sue and Jude decided to live together without marriage and Sue left Philostone. This made them a social outcast and everyone started rebuking them for their doing. Sue didnt want any sexual relationship so they slept separately for some time but then Jude convinced her in sleeping with him. This led to the birth of their illigetimate children. Then an other child came from australia ...

sandy.imy 02.02.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

Jude the Obscure, Hardy's last novel, is certainly considered among the better of his 20-odd novels, both by modern critics and by Hardy himself. It's my personal favourite, though Tess of the D'Urbevilles comes not far behind. The social comment is worthy - that men cannot hope to acheive greatness by virtue of hard work alone - and revolutionary for its time. The characters are live and believable, and of course Hardy is able as always to make ...
...context of Hardy's other works, Jude the Obscure is something of an oddball: the rural setting, though still there, is much less important and apparent than in any of his other books, and the descriptions of rural life and landscapes are fewer (though no less detailed and profound). Though suffering and hardship are apparent in many of his later novels, only in Tess of the D'Urbevilles is the misery nearly as complete as it is here (though in the ...

Figaro123 02.08.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

...becoming depressing. The character of Jude himself, despite the futility of his ambitions and his loves, is admirable though I had considerably less sympathy with his ‘soul male’ Sue Bridehead. The character of Phillotson however, whose story was in a way a reflection of Jude’s was subtly drawn and shows that Hardy rarely created simple villains. The suicide of Father Time and his murder of the other children was however too much for me – so gruesome ...

AlexMayer 07.07.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy