"Jude the Obscure" (1895) is Thomas Hardy's last novel. Since then, Hardy turned to poetry creation, and "Jude" is also considered the "swan song" of his novels.
Hardy claimed to write about "the life-and-death struggle between spirit and body" in the book, and narrated the tragic life of rural young Jude in a pathos style.
Jude was poor, lonely and sentimental. After hard work, he studied on his own, overcame many obstacles, and came to Christ's Temple (alluding to Oxford), which he regarded as a holy place of knowledge. However, he could only be rejected from the university as a stonemason, and he died without realizing his ambition.
The heroine Shu is smart and beautiful. She is an icon craftsman who inherited her father's business and a young woman who received a normal education. Her thoughts, words and deeds reflect the feminist movement that had already emerged in Britain at that time. In terms of temperament, she is more sensitive and radical than Jude in accepting new trends of thought.
Jude and Shu, as young men and women who struggled on their own, were restricted by the social conditions at that time and paid a high and painful price, but in the end they were unable to realize their ambitions.
"Jude the Obscure" can be regarded as Hardy's most socially critical novel; this pair of losers' struggle for survival and spiritual pursuit is an image of the educated generation of young workers who wanted to change their status after rural education was popularized in the second half of the 19th century in England.
Reader comments
This book made me feel the same way. As a mother who just gave birth to a child, I know that life is not easy. The story of Jude and Shu made me see the restrictions and pressures society puts on young people, and their struggles and setbacks made me feel heartbroken. This book is not only a critique of that era, but also made me think about whether our current society gives young people enough opportunities to pursue their dreams. I think this is a book worth reading, it will give you a deeper understanding of life.
This book made me feel the same way. As a mother who just gave birth to a child, I know that life is not easy. The story of Jude and Shu made me see the restrictions and pressures society puts on young people, and their struggles and setbacks made me feel heartbroken. This book is not only a critique of that era, but also made me think about whether our current society gives young people enough opportunities to pursue their dreams. I think this is a book worth reading, it will give you a deeper understanding of life.
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