Did you say the stars were worlds, Tess?”
“Yes.”
“All like ours?”
“I don’t know, but I think so. They sometimes seem to be like the apples on our stubbard-tree. Most of them splendid and sound — a few blighted.”
“Which do we live on — a splendid one or a blighted one?”
“A blighted one.”
― Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D’Urbervilles
“Tess of the d’Urbervilles” was the first book I read by Thomas Hardy, and “Jude the Obscure” was the last. After that, I knew it would be a while before I picked up another one of his works.
A Fearless Writer of His Time
During the late 1800s, Hardy was the sole British author who dared to tackle several sensitive issues in his novels. Sexual morality was a big deal in Victorian England. He wrote about characters who faced challenges and dilemmas related to their sexuality, desires, and societal expectations. This was controversial because society at the time had strict rules about how people should behave, especially regarding sex and relationships.
He also tackled the legal status and sanctity of marriage. In his novels, he showed marriages that were unhappy, broken, or based on convenience rather than love. He questioned the idea that marriage was always a holy institution and highlighted the ways in which legal and societal pressures could lead to unhappy unions.
Another bold topic he addressed was the loss of religious faith. In a time when religion played a significant role in people’s lives, Hardy wrote about characters who struggled with their beliefs and questioned the existence of God. This was controversial because it challenged the deeply held beliefs of many in society.
And then he depicted the struggles of individuals who dared to go against the accepted social norms of their time. He wrote about characters who faced isolation, rejection, and persecution because they refused to conform to societal expectations. These characters often struggled alone against the weight of social pressure, highlighting the difficulties of being different in a society that valued conformity (“Sue” in “Jude the Obscure.” ).
She’s a complex character whose journey throughout the story is marked by struggles, contradictions, and deep emotions.
“At first I did not love you, Jude; that I own. When I first knew you I merely wanted you to love me. I did not exactly flirt with you; but that inborn craving which undermines some women’s morals almost more than unbridled passion — the craving to attract and captivate, regardless of the injury it may do the man — was in me; and when I found I had caught you, I was frightened. And then — I don’t know how it was — I couldn’t bear to let you go — possibly to Arabella again — and so I got to love you, Jude. But you see, however fondly it ended, it began in the selfish and cruel wish to make your heart ache for me without letting mine ache for you.”
― Thomas Hardy, Jude the Obscure
Initially introduced as Sue Bridehead, Sue is portrayed as an unconventional woman who challenges societal norms and expectations. She is intelligent, free-spirited, and fiercely independent, defying the traditional roles assigned to women in Victorian society.
Despite her youth, Sue possesses a maturity and wisdom beyond her years, often questioning the rigid conventions that govern her life.
One of the defining aspects of Sue’s character is her tumultuous relationship with Jude Fawley. Their bond is characterized by a deep intellectual and emotional connection, transcending mere physical attraction. However, their relationship is fraught with obstacles, including societal disapproval, personal insecurities, and conflicting desires. Despite their love for each other, Sue and Jude struggle to reconcile their feelings with the demands of society, leading to moments of heartache and despair.
Sue’s complexity is further revealed through her contradictory behavior and beliefs. On one hand, she espouses progressive ideas about love, marriage, and religion, advocating for individual freedom and autonomy.
On the other hand, she grapples with her own internal conflicts, torn between her rational beliefs and her emotional impulses.
“You are Joseph the dreamer of dreams, dear Jude.
And a tragic Don Quixote. And sometimes you are St. Stephen, who, while they
were stoning him, could see Heaven opened. Oh, my poor friend and comrade,
you’ll suffer yet!”
― Thomas Hardy, Jude the Obscure
This inner turmoil drives much of Sue’s character development throughout the novel, as she navigates the complexities of her own identity and desires.
Throughout the story, Sue’s journey is marked by tragedy and loss. She experiences personal hardships, including the deaths of loved ones and the dissolution of her own dreams and aspirations.
These experiences leave a profound impact on Sue, shaping her outlook on life and deepening her sense of disillusionment with the world around her.
Despite her flaws and contradictions, she remains a compelling and empathetic figure. I admired her for her unconventional ways, but that was the extent of my admiration.
Hardy’s Characters and Their Endless Struggles
Mostly, Hardy’s protagonists are born with bad luck and they carry it throughout their lives with them like a lucky charm. They may be born into poverty, face societal prejudice, or experience personal tragedies that shape their destinies. Despite their efforts to overcome these obstacles, they seem to be plagued by misfortune at every turn.
This theme is evident in many of his novels.
In “Tess of the d’Urbervilles,” the titular character Tess is born into a poor family and faces numerous hardships throughout her life, including betrayal, heartbreak, and social ostracism. Despite her resilience and determination, her bad luck follows her relentlessly, leading to a tragic end.
Similarly, in “Jude the Obscure,” Jude Fawley faces a series of setbacks and disappointments as he struggles to pursue his dreams of education and intellectual fulfillment. Despite his intelligence and ambition, he is thwarted by societal expectations, personal tragedies, and his own inner demons.
In “The Mayor of Casterbridge,” Michael Henchard rises from humble beginnings to become a successful businessman and community leader. However, his past mistakes and character flaws come back to haunt him, leading to a series of unfortunate events that ultimately result in his downfall.
Misfortune as a Central Thread
In most stories, there may be setbacks and people learn from their mistakes to eventually overcome them. However, in Hardy’s books, any misfortune is just the start of a downward spiral. Prepare a box of tissues, because things are about to get worse. Hardy doesn’t settle for just a half-empty glass; he will empty it completely without hesitation.
I Still Love His Poetry
Although I adored his writing and the way he candidly expressed his thoughts, I couldn’t handle any more of his bleak musings on life and love. But his poems…I can’t get enough of them. They are simply beautiful. Perhaps it’s because a poem is concise and can capture the essence of something that seems so inexplicable in just a few words.
Here are three of my favorites.
A bleak take on love and a doomed relationship, Neutral Tones is a Thomas Hardy in every way —beautiful and soulful.
Neutral Tones
We stood by a pond that winter day,
And the sun was white, as though chidden of God,
And a few leaves lay on the starving sod,
—They had fallen from an ash, and were gray.
Your eyes on me were as eyes that rove
Over tedious riddles solved years ago;
And some words played between us to and fro—
On which lost the more by our love.
The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing
Alive enough to have strength to die;
And a grin of bitterness swept thereby
Like an ominous bird a-wing….
Since then, keen lessons that love deceives,
And wrings with wrong, have shaped to me
Your face, and the God-curst sun, and a tree,
And a pond edged with grayish leaves.
***
‘Thoughts of Phena, At News of Her Death’
Not a line of her writing have I,
Not a thread of her hair,
No mark of her late time as dame in her dwelling, whereby
I may picture her there;
And in vain do I urge my unsight
To conceive my lost prize
At her close, whom I knew when her dreams were upbrimming with light
And with laughter her eyes.
What scenes spread around her last days,
Sad, shining, or dim?
Did her gifts and compassions enray and enarch her sweet ways
With an aureate nimb?
Or did life-light decline from her years,
And mischances control
Her full day-star; unease, or regret, or forebodings, or fears
Disennoble her soul?
Thus I do but the phantom retain
Of the maiden of yore
As my relic; yet haply the best of her – fined in my brain
It may be the more
That no line of her writing have I,
Nor a thread of her hair,
No mark of her late time as dame in her dwelling, whereby
I may picture her there.
***
The Darkling Thrush
I leant upon a coppice gate,
When Frost was spectre-gray,
And Winter’s dregs made desolate
The weakening eye of day.
The tangled bine-stems scored the sky
Like strings of broken lyres,
And all mankind that haunted nigh
Had sought their household fires.
The land’s sharp features seemed to me
The Century’s corpse outleant,
Its crypt the cloudy canopy,
The wind its death-lament.
The ancient pulse of germ and birth
Was shrunken hard and dry,
And every spirit upon earth
Seemed fervourless as I.
At once a voice arose among
The bleak twigs overhead,
In a full-hearted evensong
Of joy illimited.
An aged thrush, frail, gaunt and small,
With blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
Upon the growing gloom.
So little cause for carolings
Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
Afar or nigh around,
That I could think there trembled through
His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew,
And I was unaware.
***
A hard-core reader, Neena is married and a mom to two humans and two dogs.
Tied to Deceit, which was selected in Kirkus’s 18 Indie Books Worth Discovering list, is her debut novel.
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The Things I Know 