Jude the Obscure
Thomas Hardy
Jude Fawley
dreams of studying at the university in Christminster, but his background as an
orphan raised by his working-class aunt leads him instead into a career as a
stonemason. He is inspired by the ambitions of the town schoolmaster, Richard
Phillotson, who left for Christminster when Jude was a child. However, Jude
falls in love with a young woman named Arabella, is tricked into marrying her,
and cannot leave his home village. When their marriage goes sour and Arabella
moves to Australia, Jude resolves to go to Christminster at last. However, he
finds that his attempts to enroll at the university are met with little
enthusiasm.
Jude meets
his cousin Sue Bridehead and tries not to fall in love with her. He arranges
for her to work with Phillotson in order to keep her in Christminster, but is
disappointed when he discovers that the two are engaged to be married. Once
they marry, Jude is not surprised to find that Sue is not happy with her
situation. She can no longer tolerate the relationship and leaves her husband
to live with Jude.
Both Jude
and Sue get divorced, but Sue does not want to remarry. Arabella reveals to
Jude that they have a son in Australia, and Jude asks to take him in. Sue and
Jude serve as parents to the little boy and have two children of their own.
Jude falls ill, and when he recovers, he decides to return to Christminster
with his family. They have trouble finding lodging because they are not
married, and Jude stays in an inn separate from Sue and the children. At night
Sue takes Jude's son out to look for a room, and the little boy decides that
they would be better off without so many children. In the morning, Sue goes to
Jude's room and eats breakfast with him. They return to the lodging house to
find that Jude's son has hanged the other two children and himself. Feeling she
has been punished by God for her relationship with Jude, Sue goes back to live
with Phillotson, and Jude is tricked into living with Arabella again. Jude dies
soon after.
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