A review by pablochristian
Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

With as harsh of a light as Jude the Obscure shone upon the cruelty of Victorian society, from the lofty towers of its exclusionary institutions to the enforced ignorance of its working class foundation, it is little surprise that the novel was met with such vitriol upon its publication; but like the proverb says: a hit dog will holler. 

However scathing as Hardy’s critique might have been, history has vindicated not just its veracity but its prescience. In the 21st century we might think ourselves evolved beyond the intolerance, greed, and apathy that precipitate the central characters’ downfall, but one need look no further than any given comments section on social media to dispel such a foolish notion. 

Like so much suffering today, the tragedies that befall Jude and Sue might have been avoided through a single act of kindness; it is a virtue in Hardy’s world (and in our own) that is extolled in theory, but despised in practice. Jude learns from an early age the pitfalls of radical compassion in a society that places a much higher premium on profit and conformity; he tests his luck further by hoping for a career in academia, a life path obstructed to him by mere virtue of his economic class. 

Jude’s lack of adherence to societal norms, with all the peril this entails, becomes further manifest in his unconventional relationship with his cousin Sue. In this fragile, ethereal woman he finds a partner equal to him in sensitivity and intellect, and perhaps even a chance at happiness. They are two sides of the same coin, “one person split in two,” each reflective of and contrasting the other. Their dialogue sparkles with vitality and pathos, constituting some of the most gripping passages in the novel. It is a match made in heaven, but scorned by humanity; their audacity to hope for their own version of happiness cannot go unpunished in a society that enforces conformity at the threat of social and economic ostracism. 

Jude the Obscure has rightly earned its reputation as Thomas Hardy’s bleakest novel. It is a beautiful and uncompromising portrait of broken lives and shattered dreams, literally burned in its time for the light that it shone on the darker aspects of society. Hardy forces his reader to reconsider the essential arrangements of human relations, begs us to ask whether a world that can snuff out two flames as bright as Jude and Sue is one that is worth living in. 
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