I felt obliged to write a review of Jude The Obscure when I finished it, just around two hours ago. The events that have happened in the story have sunk in; I’ve processed the story a few times and thought about it. What I can say about Hardy’s final novel is that even though it is not my favorite of his, in a general point of view, Jude the Obscure is probably his best book.
The themes that make up the story are many. Jude, as a young boy, had bid farewell to his schoolmaster, Mr. Phillotson, who was a person that the protagonist looked very much up to. Being inspired by Phillotson, Jude decides that someday he will travel to Christminster and study at one of the colleges in the town. Fueled by ambition and willpower, Jude faces an obstacle a few years later, when a Arabella Donn, a girl Jude lusts after and pursues, traps him into a marriage after deceiving him by telling Jude that he is the father of her soon-to-be child.
Thomas Hardy always had this poetic language in his novels, from my perception, and I think he uses it very delicately to let the reader make his or her own judgments on the plot and its characters. I’m trying not to compare Jude’s story with that of Tess’, but Tess of the D’Urbervilles is a book that you either love or hate. Just saying that it’s “okay” doesn’t do much justice or satisfaction.
Not only does the reader just follow along with what’s going on in Jude the Obscure, but you really have to try to gain the same perspective as the characters too. Many times, Jude has been angst-ridden and manipulated into self-obliteration. I think that you really have to be prepared to offer sympathy. In Phillotson’s case, one must understand the pain in sacrificing respect and happiness for the one you love. One of the ways in which this book displays its brilliance is how it drives you to really grasp emotion and how it provokes you to really think hypothetically.
Even though Jude does end up in Christminster like he always planned to, his life isn’t made any easier when his cousin, Sue Bridehead enters it. Jude’s love for her is strong and very convincing. There is no doubt of the passion and affection that Jude is capable of, and even though I acknowledge Tess Durbeyfield the most poignant, but strong character I have had the fortune to read about, I will have to admit that Jude Fawley goes right next to her.
Thomas Hardy, with all of his controversial topics and heart-tugging moments, is perhaps one of the best authors a person will be able to read and learn something from.
