Jude the Obscure: The Collapse Between Dream and Reality

  Jude the Obscure: The Collapse Between Dream and Reality

What could be the worst thing that could happen to a person? Losing family? Becoming penniless? Losing a job? Being abandoned? Being betrayed? Impossible love, or perhaps disappointment? Could all these things happen to a person? Yes, they can. In fact, sometimes, they all come at once. Life, at times, is like a ruthless chessboard, putting everything in front of you: losses, betrayals, hardships… How much can a person endure? After how many defeats can they still rise?

First, losing family… When a person loses their first shelter, they feel like they are utterly alone in the world. But eventually, they realize that their greatest refuge is their own soul. But what if the loss is even greater? What if a parent loses a child—loses them not to fate, but to despair? A child’s suicide is perhaps the deepest abyss a heart can fall into. It is not just loss; it is an unbearable question that haunts forever: Could I have saved them?

Then comes poverty… When you've spent your last penny, hopelessness might sink in. But who knows, perhaps the greatest wealth is the courage to begin anew. Losing a job feels like dreams shattering. But perhaps losing it is what takes a person to where they truly belong. Being abandoned? Yes, it hurts. But sometimes those who need to leave, leave, so that a person can find themselves. Being betrayed? A person is hurt the most by a blow from the one they love, but from the ruins of that betrayal, they can rebuild themselves.

If one day everything falls apart, if everything crumbles, what does a person do? They either give up, or they rise from the ashes. Perhaps the hardest lesson life teaches is this: Hitting rock bottom can sometimes be the only way to rise again. And perhaps the worst thing that could happen to a person is losing their hope despite all the pain they’ve experienced. Because if hope is lost, there is nothing left. But if there is even a spark within, then despite everything, one can begin again.

Thomas Hardy explores these various themes through the character of Jude in Jude the Obscure. As Jude drifts between his dreams and reality, the novel questions how much suffering a person can endure. First and foremost, the collapse of dreams forms the foundation of Jude’s story. A humble stonemason aspiring to an intellectual life sees his admiration for Christminster as a sacred purpose. His longing for knowledge and social mobility appears to be his ultimate goal. However, faced with the harsh realities of society and rigid class barriers, his dreams are shattered one by one. The university doors remain closed to someone from his background, ashis birthplace and economic status have already dictated his fate. Hardy exposes the brutal class discrimination of the Victorian era through Jude’s tragic struggle. Another central theme is the destructiveness of love and relationships. Jude’s relationships with Arabella and Sue illustrate how love and marriage can shape an individual’s destiny. Arabella appeals to Jude’s physical desires but lacks emotional depth, portraying a selfish and manipulative character. Sue, on the other hand, is like Jude’s spiritual twin—independent, defiant of marriage, and rejecting traditional female roles. However, her fear of life and deep-seated guilt gradually push her away from Jude. Through these two women, Hardy examines how love influences and ultimately dictates the course of one’s life. Perhaps the most devastating moment in the novel is the death of the children. Jude and Sue’s children, particularly Little Father Time, bring about the novel’s most tragic scene. Believing that the world is cruel and loveless, Little Father Time takes his own life and those of his siblings to relieve his parents of their burden. This event deepens Sue’s internal conflict with her religious beliefs, while for Jude, it marks the beginning of the end. Hardy underscores the sheer brutality of life—sometimes it can be more merciless than one can ever imagine.

Ultimately, Jude’s journey is one from optimism to pessimism, from dreams to reality, from ascent to downfall. Hardy portrays the injustices of Victorian society, the inescapability of fate, and the destructiveness of love. Despite all his losses, Jude’s relentless struggle to hold on to life tests the limits of the human spirit. Yet, in the end, with Jude’s disappearance, Hardy reminds us of this bitter truth: Not everyone can rise from the ashes. For some, life is nothing but a slow and inevitable collapse.

Dream: Jude’s Hopes and Optimism

Christminster: Desire for Education and Intellectual Advancement

Christminster is not just a city for Jude; it is a great dream. From a young age, he has wanted to reach Christminster through his passion for education and knowledge. He sees it not just as a school but as a place of salvation, a kind of heaven. Jude believes that here, he will be able to fulfill his dream and change his life through education. Books, languages, learning— these are all tools of salvation for him.

However, Christminster never truly comes close to him. From the outside, it may appear to be a center of education, knowledge, and culture, but for Jude, it becomes an unreachable place. When he arrives in the city, he realizes that his dreams are not coming true and that the obstacles in his path are greater than he imagined. One day, while talking to Sue about the city, Jude says, “This is a wonderful place.” Sue responds, “Everything here is stone.” Jude doesn’t understand what she means and asks, “Are you talking about the buildings?” Sue replies, “No, I’m talking about the students.” In this dialogue, the difference between Jude’s idealized vision of Christminster and Sue’s more realistic perspective is revealed. While Jude sees Christminster as a place of hope, Sue is referring to the hardened nature of the education system and the relationships between the people there.

Christminster is the greatest love of Jude’s life, but it is also the place where he receives his greatest wound. His dreams begin to slowly fade there, and in his pursuit of education and knowledge, he is forced to face harsh realities. At first, his dreams related to education give him strength and hope, but over time, these dreams turn into nothing more than ruins, leaving Jude in frustration. Hardy presents Christminster as more than just a place; it becomes a symbol that deeply affects Jude’s entire life, leading him to disappointment. This city is the point where ideals and reality clash painfully, the climax of his disillusionment.

Romantic Ideals: Relationships with Sue and Arabella

Jude's marriage to Arabella represents a traditional yet flawed romantic ideal based on physical attraction and societal norms rather than true emotional or intellectual compatibility. Their relationship begins with desire and haste, and their marriage takes place without a foundation for a deeper connection. Arabella’s manipulation and practical reasons show how the passion in their marriage is intertwined with social ambition, leaving Jude feeling trapped in a loveless and unsatisfying marriage. The child from this marriage later shapes the fate of Jude and Sue's children as well. Perhaps here, the author advocates for a more rational approach in marriages, rather than relying on pleasure or physical attraction. The novel primarily focuses on themes of marriage, and Aunt Drusilla frequently warns Sue about this. The author also shows that, before the catastrophes, there is always a forerunner, hinting at the inevitable tragedies approaching.

Jude’s relationship with Sue represents the pursuit of an idealized connection based on intellectual and emotional depth. Sue, whom Jude describes as "the only suitable soul" he has met, awakens a desire for love that transcends societal structures. The two engage in conversations about love, individuality, and social reform, expressing mutual understanding and a desire for freedom. However, despite their intellectual companionship and romantic hopes, their relationship is filled with challenges and is ultimately hindered by external pressures and internal uncertainties. This relationship represents their avoidance of marriage and their repeated reconsideration of this decision. In family traditions, marriage often brought great distress and usually ended in death, which is why they tried to escape it. However, marriage is not just a signature on a document. The tragedy, which their families never let go of, ultimately found them again. Sue’s acceptance of Little Time Father could symbolize the acknowledgment and confrontation of a past mistake, even though the sin was not hers. The author conveys an important message here: some mistakes cannot be compensated.

Jude’s Struggle to Shape His Own Fate

Despite coming from a peasant family, Jude sets out with a grand dream of an academic career and intellectual development. His greatest desire is to overcome societal class differences through education and see himself in a higher social status. However, the class barriers and economic hardships he faces constantly disappoint him. His admiration for Christminster is a symbol of his educational aspirations, but here too, the rigid structures of society stand as obstacles to Jude’s achievements.

Jude’s attempt to transcend the role society has assigned him through education creates an inner void, while he faces similar barriers in his personal relationships. His romantic and intellectual bond with Sue is suffocated by external pressures and societal norms. Traditional social structures, such as marriage, impose their place on them, ultimately hindering their pursuit of freedom and happiness. Jude’s life, despite his continuous efforts, is shaped by the rigid structures of society and his own class.

Up until this point, we have witnessed Jude’s hopes, efforts, and personal life. We have examined how his optimistic outlook shaped the decisions he made in order to achieve his great goals. We have seen how his desire for intellectual development and overcoming class barriers influenced crucial turning points in his life. However, now we will begin to explore the collapse of these dreams. Jude’s efforts, although initially filled with great hope, ultimately lead to a tragic end due to the societal obstacles, disappointments, and internal struggles he encounters.

The Harsh Walls of Society and Collapse

Academic Failure: The Unattainability of Christminster

BIBLIOLL COLLEGE.

SIR: I have read your letter with interest; and, judging from your description of yourself as a working-man, I venture to think that you will have a much better chance of success in life by remaining in your own sphere and sticking to your trade than by adopting any other course. That, therefore, is what I advise you to do.

Yours,

T. TETUPHENAY.

To Mr. J. FAWLEY, Stone-mason.

This letter represents the moment when Jude's enduring optimism comes to an end, marking a shift towards pessimism—or perhaps a confrontation with the harsh realities of life.

"This terribly sensible advice exasperated Jude. He had known all that before. He knew it was true. Yet it seemed a hard slap after ten years of labour, and its effect upon him just now was to make him rise recklessly from the table and, instead of reading as usual, to go downstairs and into the street."

This letter is a harsh rejection of Jude's years of hope and effort. Realizing that his academic dreams will not come true means not only a failure for him but also accepting that his fate is unchangeable. No matter how hard he tries, Jude realizes he cannot overcome the boundaries society has placed on him. His decision to put the books aside and go into the street shows that his belief in knowledge and education has been shaken. This event symbolizes not only the collapse of his academic dreams but also the collapse of Jude's hopes for freedom and upward mobility. He is no longer someone trying to change his destiny but a person doomed to live within society's limits.

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

Frustration in Marriage

"Marriage," as a social institution, has always been considered one of the major themes around which a good number of Victorian novels such as Jude the Obscure revolve. It is believed by many critics that the presentation of "marriage" in this novel has been performed through various literary tones including irony, diatribe, sarcasm, satire, or direct criticism (Ghasemi & Keshavarz, 2012). The concept of marriage is emphasized at the beginning of the novel through Jude’s aunt Drusilla’s words: “The Fawley marriages end badly.” This statement is confirmed through Jude’s own marital experiences throughout the novel. The first example is his marriage to Arabella. Arabella has a completely different from Jude's romantic dreams and intellectual goals. The differences between them are clear from the beginning, and although this flawed marriage appears to be short-lived, its effects will continue for years to come.

The most tangible example of this impact is Jude and Arabella’s child, Little Jude. He is called Little Father Time due to his mature and despairing attitude despite his young age. His fatherless upbringing and the hardships he faces early in life set him apart from his peers. Jude and Sue unreservedly accept Little Jude and try to provide him with a loving home. However, the society they live in excludes not only their non-marital union but also their child. Little Jude grows up in the midst of this exclusion and despair. One of the most striking moments in the novel is the radical decision he makes. Seeing his parents' unhappiness, poverty, and societal pressure, the child, believing his existence to be a burden, takes a horrifying action. He kills his two younger siblings and then commits suicide.

This tragedy painfully illustrates how wrong decisions affect not only the present but also the future in irreversible ways. The societal rejection Jude and Sue face for not conforming to social norms determines not only their fate but also the fate of their innocent child.

Peak of Pessimism

“Done because we are too many” (p. 325).

This sentence summarizes one of the most shocking moments in the novel. The phrase that Little Father Time writes on the wall before his suicide marks the peak of pessimism. This tragic event not only reveals the desperation of a child but also exposes the devastating consequences of social pressure and exclusion. Perhaps Little Father Time did not want to live the same fate as his father, as he too grew up without a family. However, there was a crucial difference: unlike his son, Jude chose to fight against all the difficulties he faced. Even though his aunt did not show him love, he constantly strove for more, seeking knowledge and freedom. In contrast, Little Jude saw no way out in struggle but instead found his escape in death. Moreover, he did not only end his own life but also that of his younger siblings, making the tragedy even more profound. His decision marks one of the most hopeless moments in the novel, becoming one of Hardy’s most powerful critiques of social injustice and individual despair.

This conclusion can also be drawn from a conversation between Sue and Little Father Time the day before the suicide:

 

"Father went away to give us children room, didn’t he?" "Partly."

"It would be better to be out o’ the world than in it, wouldn’t it?"

"It would almost, dear."

"’Tis because of us children, too, isn’t it, that you can’t get a good lodging?" "Well–– people do object to children sometimes."

"Then if children make so much trouble, why do people have ’em?"

(Page 322)

Little Father Time questions his father’s absence and the possibilities created by it for himself, stating that he would prefer to escape from the world. Furthermore, Little Father Time’s comments on children also contain a societal critique. The question, “If children make so much trouble, why do people have ’em?” is a questioning of societal norms and the responsibilities that come with having children. While children are generally expected to be loved and seen as innocent beings, here the negative perspective towards them is reflected due to societal and economic difficulties.

In the following dialogue, Little Father Time clearly expresses his thoughts to Sue:

'And what makes it worse with me is that you are not my real mother, and you needn’t have had me unless you liked. I oughtn’t to have come to ’ee–– that’s the real truth! I troubled ’em in Australia; and I trouble folk here. I wish I hadn’t been born!'

'You couldn’t help it, my dear.'

'I think that whenever children be born that are not wanted they should be killed directly, before their souls come to ’em, and not allowed to grow big and walk about!'"

Despite his young age, Little Father Time feels anger towards the world and the burden of his existence. The lack of emotional support Sue provides as a mother leads Little Father Time to perceive himself as an unloved and unaccepted being. His expression “I wish I hadn’t been born” highlights the suffering and existential crisis life has imposed on him. Furthermore, his radical statement, “children should be killed directly, before their souls come to them,” symbolizes societal pressures and negative views on the existence of children. Little Father Time’s words criticize society's failure to fulfill its responsibility in raising and educating children.

 

Conclusion

Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure deeply explores the collapse between dreams and reality, transitioning between hope and despair. Jude Fawley initially appears as an idealistic figure, seeking education and personal fulfillment. However, as he faces societal pressures, class barriers, and personal tragedies, his dreams slowly crumble, forcing him to confront harsh realities. Through Jude's internal struggle, Hardy illustrates how individuals are crushed by societal structures and how personal dreams often meet a painful reality, highlighting the destructive effects of rigid social systems on individuals during that period.

References

Risling, M. (n.d.). The antisocial fantasies of Jude the obscure. Pivot, York University.

Brandon, D. L. (1971). The biblical parallels of suffering in Jude the obscure. Eastern Illinois University.

Saito, N. (n.d.). The disappearance of the real: Obscurity in Jude the obscure.

Flynn, S. J. (2016). The return of the poor man: Jude the obscure and late Victorian socialism. Gettysburg College.

Ghasemi, P., & Keshavarz, M. (2012). Consolidation of the Victorian marriage tradition in Hardy’s Jude the obscure. Epiphany, 5(1), 1840-3719.