Hardy's Dialectic

Hardy mentions in the personal critique of his work that Jude the Obscure was intended to be full of contrasts. He says, "Sue and her heathen gods set against Jude's reading Greek testement; Christminster academical, Christminster in the slums; Jude the saint, Jude the sinner...etc." The presentation of contrasting symbolic natures within Hardy's characters and various settings in antithesis results in an irony of counterpoint.

Review the definition for irony and post on the following questions:

In what way are these contrasts ironic?
Also, other than the three above, are there any more contrasts you can find in the text?

Chance

A belief in determinism engenders a lack of chance in life. Things happen for a reason to those who believe in determinism. There are no coincidences or random occurrences.

In class we read Hardy’s poem, “Hap,” which personifies the idea of Chance. The character rails against god (line 1) and Fate (Casualty, line 11) who are making his life miserable. This message is similar to that of Job in the Bible, and Tess is Tess of the d'Urbervilles.

How is Jude similar to these other literary figures? Find some examples of “chance” or happenstance that occur in Jude the Obscure. Post them here for all to see.

Structure and Theme

In Tess of the d'Urbervilles Hardy separates his novel into phases, indicative of the changes that beset the main character over the course of her life. The purpose of this technique could be interpreted as emphasizing the cycle of womanhood, or the seasonal stages of the simple, agrarian life which Hardy glorifies in all his novels, or as simply the phases of the moon, that heavenly body which affects the Earth and its inhabitants in mysterious, ephemeral ways. The moon as a early symbol, connects the concepts of a Mother Earth, or Gaia, to the seasonal discord which is a metaphor for Tess's existence.

Before even beginning the novel Jude the Obscure, we can recognize a change in focus from character to setting. Hardy chooses to separate Jude's chapters differently. Instead of phases relates to character, the sections are titled "At Marygreen," "At Melchester," "At Shaston" moving the focus to towns, villages, and cities. Knowing that Hardy intentionally creates a metaphorical structure to mirror the protagonist's nature, what purpose might Hardy have for labeling Jude's sections by town or city? What themes might he be reinforcing?