Title: Jude the Obscure
Description: Hardy's last work of fiction, Jude the Obscure is also one of his most gloomily fatalistic, depicting the lives of individuals who are trapped by forces beyond their control. Jude Fawley, a poor villager, wants to enter the divinity school at Christminster. Sidetracked by Arabella Donn, an earthy country girl who pretends to be pregnant by him, Jude marries her and is then deserted. He earns a living as a stonemason at Christminster; there he falls in love with his independent-minded cousin, Sue Bridehead. Out of a sense of obligation, Sue marries the schoolmaster Phillotson, who has helped her. Unable to bear living with Phillotson, she returns to live with Jude and eventually bears his children out of wedlock. Their poverty and the weight of society's disapproval begin to take a toll on Sue and Jude; the climax occurs when Jude's son by Arabella hangs Sue and Jude's children and himself. In penance, Sue returns to Phillotson and the church. Jude returns to Arabella and eventually dies miserably. The novel's sexual frankness shocked the public, as did Hardy's criticisms of marriage, the university system, and the church. Hardy was so distressed by its reception that he wrote no more fiction, concentrating solely on his poetry.Please Note:  This book is easy to read in true text, not scanned images that can sometimes be difficult to decipher.  The Microsoft eBook has a contents page linked to the chapter headings for easy navigation. The Adobe eBook has bookmarks at chapter headings and is printable up to two full copies per year.  Both versions are text searchable.
Subjects: Social life and customs, Death, Pine, Fiction, Unmarried couples, Man-woman relationships, open_syllabus_project, Adultery, Stonemasons, Diseases and pests, Illegitimate children, Children, White pine weevil, Illegitimate children -- Fiction, Unmarried couples -- Fiction, Children -- Death -- Fiction, Adultery -- Fiction, Stonemasons -- Fiction, Wessex (England) -- Fiction, Jude the obscure (Hardy, Thomas), Literature, Jude the obscure, Working class, Education, Spouses, History, British and irish fiction (fictional works by one author), Wessex (england), fiction, England, fiction, Marriage, Social conditions, Manners and customs, Hardy, thomas, 1840-1928, Fiction, historical, Thomas Hardy, conflict, divorce, murder, desertion, English fiction, history and criticism, 19th century, Dictionaries, English language, French, Korean, German, Marriage, fiction, Fiction, sagas, English literature, General, Social stratification, Married people, Ambition, Fiction (English), English fiction, English, Fiction, general, Fiction, historical, general, Didactic fiction, Love stories, Chang pian xiao shuo, Zhong guo, Dang dai, Maçons, Romans, nouvelles, Enfants naturels, Couples non mariés, Enfants, Mort, Romance, Large type books, Hardy, thomas , 1840-1928, Stonemasons--england--wessex--fiction, Adultery--england--wessex--fiction, Stonemasons--fiction, Illegitimate children--fiction, Children--death, Children--death--fiction, Unmarried couples--fiction, Adultery--fiction, Spouses--history, Spouses--england--wessex--history--19th century--fiction, Education--history, Education--england--wessex--history--19th century--fiction, Working class--history, Working class--england--wessex--history--19th century--fiction, Pr4746 .a1 1999, 823/.8, Long Now Manual for Civilization, Relations entre hommes et femmes, Roman anglais, Relations hommes-femmes, Dans la littérature, Grande-Bretagne, Moeurs et coutumes, Roman, Mœurs et coutumes, Stonemsons, Umarried couples, Women, Men, Husband and wife, Suicide, Mariage, Littérature anglaise
Places: England, Wessex, Wessex (England)
People: Thomas Hardy, Jude Fawley, Arabella, Sue Bridehead, Phillotson, Father Time, Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)
Time periods: 19th century, Written and set in 1895