54 pages • 1 hour read
Thomas HardyA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
The novel traces the life of Jude Fawley from the time he is 11 years old until his death at 30. At 22, Jude is “forcible, meditative, and earnest rather than handsome […]. He was of dark complexion, with dark harmonizing eyes, and he wore a closely trimmed black beard […] with his great mass of black curly hair” (64). Raised by his great-aunt after his parents’ deaths, Jude struggles to become more than his humble origins dictate. Although he longs to become a scholar and clergyman, Jude works as a stonemason for most of his life.
Jude is unfailingly kind, which often leads to his downfall. He dislikes doing harm any creature, even when it is for his benefit. Jude is an excellent father, taking an interest in his children and helping Sue with them. He is incredibly conscientious of those who depend upon him. At the novel’s outset, Hardy illustrates Jude as an ambitious, optimistic, industrious, and idealistic young man, driven by his desire to study at the esteemed university in Christminster. By the time Jude reaches the age of 19, he is fluent in Greek and Latin, both learned through self-study.
However, Jude’s idealism gradually erodes through the harsh realities of his society, where rigid hierarchies and moral strictures stifle individual freedom and aspirations.
By Thomas Hardy
Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave
Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave
Thomas Hardy
At an Inn
At an Inn
Thomas Hardy
Channel Firing
Channel Firing
Thomas Hardy
Far From The Madding Crowd
Far From The Madding Crowd
Thomas Hardy
Neutral Tones
Neutral Tones
Thomas Hardy
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Thomas Hardy
The Convergence of the Twain
The Convergence of the Twain: Lines on the loss of the "Titanic"
Thomas Hardy
The Darkling Thrush
The Darkling Thrush
Thomas Hardy
The Man He Killed
The Man He Killed
Thomas Hardy
The Mayor of Casterbridge
The Mayor of Casterbridge
Thomas Hardy
The Return of the Native
The Return of the Native
Thomas Hardy
The Withered Arm and Other Stories
The Withered Arm and Other Stories
Thomas Hardy
The Woodlanders
The Woodlanders
Thomas Hardy
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