Jude the Obscure — Thomas Hardy

Description

'Jude the Obscure' follows Jude Fawley, a young working-class man who dreams of studying at the university in Christminster and becoming a scholar. His ambitions are frustrated by poverty, social class and a series of troubled relationships, particularly his marriage to Arabella Donn and his later love for his cousin Sue Bridehead. As Jude and Sue attempt to build a life together outside conventional marriage, they face social condemnation and devastating personal losses. First published in 1895, Hardy's final novel is a bleak examination of class, education, sexuality, marriage, religion and the conflict between individual desires and restrictive social conventions.