Jude the Obscure

by Thomas Hardy

Paperback, 336 pages

English language

Published Dec. 1, 2006 by Dover Publications.

ISBN:: 978-0-486-45243-2

(25 reviews)

Hardy's last work of fiction, Jude the Obscure is also one of his most gloomily fatalistic, depicting the lives of individuals who are trapped by forces beyond their control. Jude Fawley, a poor villager, wants to enter the divinity school at Christminster. Sidetracked by Arabella Donn, an earthy country girl who pretends to be pregnant by him, Jude marries her and is then deserted. He earns a living as a stonemason at Christminster; there he falls in love with his independent-minded cousin, Sue Bridehead. Out of a sense of obligation, Sue marries the schoolmaster Phillotson, who has helped her. Unable to bear living with Phillotson, she returns to live with Jude and eventually bears his children out of wedlock. Their poverty and the weight of society's disapproval begin to take a toll on Sue and Jude; the climax occurs when Jude's son by Arabella hangs Sue and Jude's children and himself. In penance, Sue returns to Phillotson and the church. Jude returns to Arabella and eventually dies miserably. The novel's sexual frankness shocked the public, as did Hardy's criticisms of marriage, the university system, and the church. Hardy was so distressed by its reception that he wrote no more fiction, concentrating solely on his poetry.Please Note: This book is easy to read in true text, not scanned images that can sometimes be difficult to decipher. The Microsoft eBook has a contents page linked to the chapter headings for easy navigation. The Adobe eBook has bookmarks at chapter headings and is printable up to two full copies per year. Both versions are text searchable.

112 editions

decadent_and_depraved reviewed Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy

Review of 'Jude the Obscure' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Marriage is drama. Love is drama. Death is drama.

SharonC reviewed Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy

Review of 'Jude the Obscure' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Sue Bridehead is an interesting "strong female character" before her time. Not only challenging in her choices (defying marriage traditions) but also in what she chooses to read--which makes her choices more interesting because she's coming at them from a different moral and intellectual basis. ANd the character of Philloston surprised me as well; he did not follow the tropes I expected.

I don't think Hardy picked a winner in the conflict he identifies between new/urban and old/rural thought and culture. No one in the story is happy, and much harm is done by one "side" to the other. So I get that Hardy is observing the change, but I don't think his conclusions about whether the change is good or bad are apparent.

Sandra reviewed Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy

Review of 'Jude the Obscure' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

3 1/2 stars

Oy vey. I don't know what to think about this book. Kinda liked it, kinda hated it. Sheesh, can it get any more depressing? Talk about a guy who thinks with his d!@#. I hated the character of Sue, what a kook. I hated Arabella too, though. She reminded me of my ex sister-in-law. yeah, that bad.

I have to think about this one for a while.

Matthew M. Conroy reviewed Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy

Review of 'Jude the Obscure' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

I was disappointed by this. I've not read any other Thomas Hardy works, and was expecting some great stuff here, but I found it mostly soap opera-like, with a weak arc, and not very interesting writing (as compared to, say, Dickens). Also, it has what I see as an excessive tragedy spike late in the novel that is not supported well.

Eduardo Santiago reviewed Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy

Review of 'Jude the Obscure' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

We are so awful; to others and to ourselves. And Hardy has such a keen eye for that wretchedness. OK, that's enough Hardy to last me the next ten years.