54 pages 1 hour read

Thomas Hardy

Jude the Obscure

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1895

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Character Analysis

Jude Fawley

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.

Related Titles

By Thomas Hardy

Study Guide

logo

Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave

Thomas Hardy

Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave

Thomas Hardy

Study Guide

logo

Channel Firing

Thomas Hardy

Channel Firing

Thomas Hardy

Study Guide

logo

Far From The Madding Crowd

Thomas Hardy

Far From The Madding Crowd

Thomas Hardy

Study Guide

logo

Neutral Tones

Thomas Hardy

Neutral Tones

Thomas Hardy

Study Guide

logo

Tess of the D'Urbervilles

Thomas Hardy

Tess of the D'Urbervilles

Thomas Hardy

Study Guide

logo

The Convergence of the Twain

Thomas Hardy

The Convergence of the Twain: Lines on the loss of the "Titanic"

Thomas Hardy

Study Guide

logo

The Darkling Thrush

Thomas Hardy

The Darkling Thrush

Thomas Hardy

Study Guide

logo

The Man He Killed

Thomas Hardy

The Man He Killed

Thomas Hardy

Study Guide

logo

The Mayor of Casterbridge

Thomas Hardy

The Mayor of Casterbridge

Thomas Hardy

Study Guide

logo

The Return of the Native

Thomas Hardy

The Return of the Native

Thomas Hardy

Plot Summary

logo

The Withered Arm and Other Stories

Thomas Hardy

The Withered Arm and Other Stories

Thomas Hardy

Study Guide

logo

The Woodlanders

Thomas Hardy

The Woodlanders

Thomas Hardy