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JUDE THE OBSCURE (Illustrated)
JUDE THE OBSCURE (Illustrated)
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Like " Tess of the D'Urbervilles," the story of "Jude the Obscure" is a manifestation of the author's later manner—-a manner which is a natural and almost inevitable development of Thomas Hardy's extraordinary capacity for observation, profound knowledge of human nature, and philosophical ideas concerning the problem of existence.
He has never been an author to write novels merely for the purpose of providing entertainment, or for illustrating in more or less persuasive form some preconceived didactic proposition. He has been content to take men and women as they are, and no one in English fiction—possibly no one in the whole range of modern literature—has been able to surpass him in depicting the reaction of circumstances upon character.
In this carefully reasoned, closely woven narrative of "Jude the Obscure" sets before us the entirely natural and consistent experiences of two sensitive and impulsive creatures, who have been profoundly and disastrously affected by the changes in popular thought regarding ideals of religious faith and personal conduct; who, yielding to their thoroughly undisciplined emotions, work out for themselves a destiny full of bitterness and sorrow.
It has been said that Hardy is not a writer to work on preconceived theories, but he certainly has some effective doctrines regarding the behavior of the two sexes under similar conditions, and when one comes to analyze this story one finds that a settled conviction underlies its entire texture, and this conviction is that misfortunes and disappointments, which soften the heart of man and tend to make him more considerate and charitable in his dealings with his fellows, have as a rule a contrary effect upon the heart of a woman.
It would be easy to dispose of the two leading characters in "Jude the Obscure" by saying that they are two consummate fools and that they deserved all the punishment they inflicted upon themselves in their mutual folly, but the fact remains that they are representative types of a transition era and that to study them is the duty of every thoughtful and inquiring mind.
Concerning the artistic quality of the book it is only possible to speak but briefly. Hardy has never written anything more richly varied in its contrasts of coloring, more significant in play of incident, or more gracefully expressive in style. The novel as a whole is the work, not only of a great literary artist in point of technique, but of a master of thought and feeling.
It is a novel not only to be read, but to be studied, for it is in its way a document for the times, full of important meanings for those who are able to read it properly and correctly.
He has never been an author to write novels merely for the purpose of providing entertainment, or for illustrating in more or less persuasive form some preconceived didactic proposition. He has been content to take men and women as they are, and no one in English fiction—possibly no one in the whole range of modern literature—has been able to surpass him in depicting the reaction of circumstances upon character.
In this carefully reasoned, closely woven narrative of "Jude the Obscure" sets before us the entirely natural and consistent experiences of two sensitive and impulsive creatures, who have been profoundly and disastrously affected by the changes in popular thought regarding ideals of religious faith and personal conduct; who, yielding to their thoroughly undisciplined emotions, work out for themselves a destiny full of bitterness and sorrow.
It has been said that Hardy is not a writer to work on preconceived theories, but he certainly has some effective doctrines regarding the behavior of the two sexes under similar conditions, and when one comes to analyze this story one finds that a settled conviction underlies its entire texture, and this conviction is that misfortunes and disappointments, which soften the heart of man and tend to make him more considerate and charitable in his dealings with his fellows, have as a rule a contrary effect upon the heart of a woman.
It would be easy to dispose of the two leading characters in "Jude the Obscure" by saying that they are two consummate fools and that they deserved all the punishment they inflicted upon themselves in their mutual folly, but the fact remains that they are representative types of a transition era and that to study them is the duty of every thoughtful and inquiring mind.
Concerning the artistic quality of the book it is only possible to speak but briefly. Hardy has never written anything more richly varied in its contrasts of coloring, more significant in play of incident, or more gracefully expressive in style. The novel as a whole is the work, not only of a great literary artist in point of technique, but of a master of thought and feeling.
It is a novel not only to be read, but to be studied, for it is in its way a document for the times, full of important meanings for those who are able to read it properly and correctly.
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