Petru Maior University, Tg.

Mures
Faculty of Sciences and Letters
Specialization: Romanian - English
2nd year

Hampered aspirations
Jude the obscure
by Thomas Hardy

Author:
rsi Melinda
0

Structure
Quotations
Essay
1. Introductory part
2. Main body
3. Conclusion
Questions
Bibliography

First quotation ( Christminster)

He suddenly grew older. It had been the yearning of his heart to find something to anchor on,
to cling tofor some place which he could call admirable. Should he find that place in this city if he
could get there? Would it be a spot in which, without fear of farmers, or hindrance, or ridicule, he
could watch and wait, and set himself to some mighty undertaking like the men of old of whom he had
heard? As the halo had been to his eyes when gazing at it a quarter of an hour earlier, so was the spot
mentally to him as he pursued his dark way.
It is a city of light, he said to himself.
The tree of knowledge grows there, he added a few steps further on.
It is a place that teachers of men spring from and go to.
It is what you may call a castle, manned by scholarship and religion.
After this figure he was silent a long while, till he added:
It would just suit me.
Pag. 24-25
Second quotation(Melchester)
It was a new ideathe ecclesiastical and altruistic life as distinct from the intellectual and
emulative life. A man could preach and do good to his fellow-creatures without taking double-firsts in
the schools of Christminster, or having anything but ordinary knowledge. The favourable light in which
this new thought showed itself by contrast with his foregone intentions cheered Jude, as he sat there,
shabby and lonely; and it may be said to have given, during the next few days, the coup de grce to his
intellectual careera career which had extended over the greater part of a dozen years.
Pag.153
Third qoutation
Strange that his first aspirationtowards academical proficiencyhad been checked by a
woman, and that his second aspirationtowards apostleshiphad also been checked by a woman. Is
it, he said , that the women are to blame; or is it the artificial system of things, under which the
normal sex impulses are turned into devilish domestic gins and springs to noose and hold back those
who want to progress?
Pag. 259

Hampered aspirations
The English literature in the 19th century was realistic and it was called Victorianism. In this
period was written a lot of novels and short stories about different topics. But the most important theme
was domestic matters, as in Bronte sisters novels. Towards to the end of the century this realistic
temper was interwoven with philosophycal ideas and thoughts. Like in Thomas Hardys novel, Jude
the obscure.
In this period was questioned the importance of religion and religious life and it was compared
with science and academic life. As we can see in this novel, the hero, Jude, a little, fragile boy wanted
to become man of erudition from the beginnig, when his teacher left the village, Marygreen, and went
to Christminster to get a thesis. He gets books, he reads classics and learns a craft and becomes an
unskilled labour. His dream was to go to Christminster. The city of all possibilities: there he wanted to
achieve his goals. When he first heard about this city, it imagined as a town of enlightenment. In the
evenings he often climbed to see this magnific town, which appeared in different manifestations:
sometimes as a mistery involved in fog, in other cases was dark without any lights or it was shining
right and left. When he became a teenager he learnt a profession to get to Christminster and to save up
for his studies carried at university. But until that, he was forced to get married with Arabella, who
pretended being pregnant with his child. As later we can find out togheter with Jude, this action was
unnecessary, because it was only a fake, a trap done by Arabella to keep him close to her. Revealing the
truth, Arabella had left him and he disappointed gets back to his primar idea: to become a professional
man. He got to Christminster, but there he and his fate were blocked to fulfill. From his aspiration, to
become a learned man, an adult who will be able to comprehend and teach others too, was woken up by
reality, he needed to face the truth that he not really had chances.
After a few time spent in Christminster he accepts that he didnt have so much chance to get
into a university and as a second idea he decided to become a priest. He, before making this decision,
visits a chorister who tells him about being part of the church. Melchester meant to him something
different in comparison with Christminster, because it wasnt so unattainable, it was more personal,
lets say, not so academic. There wanted Jude to accomplish his wrinkle: following the path
recommended by the clergyman and to become a low-ranking clergyman. Arriving there Jude found
work at a cathedral and read theological books in preparation for his career. But also this idea was
mocked by Sues act, who was learning there how to be a teacher, but she left the college after an
argument. He considers himself a culpable person, whose tendencies were wicked. He thinks of himself
3

as a weak person, who, in trouble, has to drink. After their cohabition with Sue, he loses all his fate,
because he thinks is his fault, a fault enormously bad that can not be fixed anymore. His life was a flaw
and even his dead couldnt better it.
Whats more, in the novel even he admites that he couldnt become who wanted to be, because
of the women. So his biggest obstacle were represented by women in his life, first Arabella and later
Sue Bridehead. In his opinion his dreams were stopped becoming reality by women, by his wives. First
of all was Arabella with her lie, her scummy evasion which destroyed Judes opportunity for a short
time. He, being an assertive man, did what he considered right, but his generosity wasnt appreciated.
Leaving Marygreen and the memories of his unhappy marriage, went to Christminster, where he found
his cousin, Sue Bridehead, by who he felt charmed and attracted. Through some events, hopes and
disappointments, he decided to enter in religious ambience. But this idea is also frustrated, because
Sue suddenly appeared and it happens to kiss each another. After it Sue had left his husband to live with
Jude. Their life is not how they were expecting it, because they didnt want to ruin what they had, pure
love, with the institution of matrimony. Indeed, they lived some happy moments togheter, their fate
wasnt meant to be belong each other. They, after losing their kids, they separated, Sue returned to Mr.
Phillotson and Jude got married again with Arabella. After a few months Jude dies at age 29. After his
break-up with Sue, he gives up trying to re-establish his dream, his aspirations.
Anyway his life offered only disappointments for Jude. He couldnt realise his goals, he didnt
achieve neither of his dreams, because he didnt get in college and he couldnt be with Sue, his love
of live. He was always in the middle between to disjointed women, one of them knew what she wanted,
the other had only expectations, not real plans. But both types of women set back Jude from his
dreams. We can say that he was weak, but its not true at all. He was only pliable, yielding, he always
wanted others happiness better than his, so he tried to acquit others wish. In this manner got he in this
situation, that he accepted Sues rebellion and hysterics until they lived together, and after it got
married again with Arabella. I think this second marriage of them can be characterized by indifference
on the part of Jude. He knew that his life got to the end, so he gave up trying and fighting for goals,
which are, soever, purposeless.
In conclusion, Jude had gigantic aspirations and he had the power inside of him to do it until the
end, only problems were the disturbing facts and persons around him, which distracted him, diverted
him from fulfilling his ideas. But the biggest problem was his generosity and affection, what related
him to his wives, even when they didnt deserve it.
4

Questions
First qoutation: 1. Why does Christminster represent an anchor to Jude?
2.Why would it fit for him?
Second quotation: 1. Which are the characteristics of the two way of life?
2. Why it is better than the first idea (regarding to Christminster)?
Third quotation: 1. Why he considers that women are obstacles of his dreams?
2. Why is he not sure if women have blame or not in his failure?

Bibliography
5

Primary source:
Hardy, Thomas, Jude the obscure, Macmillan and Co., Limited St. Martins Street, London,
1935
Secondary source:
Deirdre, David. The Cambridge Companion to the Victorian Novel. Cambridge University Press, 2000
The Postscript by T. H. written in April 1912 attached to the published version in 1935.