Jude the Obscure
In Hardy's Jude the Obscure, Hardy shows his views on religion and commitment to the
Church which were said to have declined in the latter years of his life. (Ingham, xxvii)
Throughout the book Hardy displays his feeling that religion is something that people use
in order to satisfy themselves by giving their lives' meaning. One instance in which
Hardy clearly displays this is when he writes, "It had been the yearning of his heart to
find something to anchor on, to cling to." (Ingham, 94) In order to bring out this point
Hardy chooses to create Jude as an orphan and has him come from obscure origins. By doing
this he creates a character who is looking for something to give him an identity. As a
result of his relationship with Mr. Phillotson (who leaves for Christminster in order to
become ordained), he finds religion and feels that he can use it to help him gain an
identity.
Hardy feels that people should shy away from their old ways of thinking and begin to form
new opinions of their own. He feels that people should not just blindly follow religion
without deciding for themselves that this is what they want. People should not be as Jude
who becomes obsessed with religion simply because his mentor Phillotson felt this way.
One of the major reasons that causes Hardy to have these views is that he feels religion
leads to hypocrisy. He feels that man has many desires that go against the laws of
religion, and these desires lead man to feel very hypocritical. These feelings of
hypocrisy then cause man to have many inner conflicts that lead to many problems.
This negativity towards religion is seen both through symbols in the book and in the plot
itself. The symbols that convey this message are the name Jude, which is an allusion to
Judas Iscariot who was a traitor to Jesus. The name Jude can also be a reference to the
wandering Jew. The second symbol is Christminster. Christminster symbolizes a world in
which Jude sees how remarkable the Church is, but it is a place that exists only in
Jude's imagination. Another symbol that we encounter is that of Samson who is symbolic of
man going after women that are forbidden to him. We also encounter a reference to
Nebuchadnezzar's furnace, which is used to question God by asking why the righteous
suffer. Finally, the job Jude chooses is also symbolic of the anti-religious attitude
that is shown.
The negativity towards religion is first revealed in the name Jude. Jude is an allusion
to Judas Iscariot. Judas betrayed Jesus to his enemy for thirty pieces of silver. He
identified Jesus to the soldiers by kissing him, and this is what led to Jesus's death.
He later returned the money he received to kill Jesus and then went off and killed
himself. Jude's life seems to contain many similarities to Judas's life. When Jude was in
his younger years he had strong feelings towards religion. Jude began to move away from
God as his life progressed. This occurred when he started to feel the guilt that arose
from his feelings for Sue. These feelings of guilt caused Jude to move away from the
Church and "betray" God, as he states, "The Church is no more to me." (Ingham, 221)
By making the comparison to Judas, Hardy is conveying to us the message that religion
causes one to feel very unsure of oneself. Judas's life is filled with uncertainty; at
first he is very religious and spends much time with Jesus. He then abruptly betrays
Jesus for a mere thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave. He is very unsure of
himself and it is the hypocrisy that seems to eat away at him until he can longer take
it, and as a result he ends up killing himself. Jude is very unsure of himself when it
comes to religion, mirroring Judas. At first, he wants to be ordained, but, only because
he wants to follow in the footsteps of his mentor Phillotson. He then is no longer able
to keep his religious views because he can not live with the fact that they go against
his deepest desires to be with Sue. As with Judas, religion causes Jude to act very
hypocritically. Jude wanted to be religious, yet at the same time he wanted to remain
together with Sue. Finally, Jude can longer cope with all these feelings of guilt and
confusion and he is forced to leave the Church.
Thus we see that religion causes someone to be very confused and act in a very
hypocritical manner. Hardy feels that these feelings are not necessary and could be
avoided by avoiding religion. Had Jude and Sue not fallen into the "trap" of religion,
it is very probable that the whole story would have been different, and would have ended
on much brighter note. Had Jude and Sue not had the conflict of religion they would have
been able to marry each other without having any guilty feelings. They also would have
been able to avert any ill feelings that the towns' people had felt towards them.
The word Jude can mean the wandering Jew. By calling the main character of the book
Jude, Hardy is making a reference to a group of people who believe in God and are
classified as wandering. By using this allusion Hardy is trying to convey to us that the
path of religion is not one that has a true destination, but rather it is one of fallacy
that leaves people wandering. Hardy further illustrates this point by making Jude a
"wanderer." Jude is a wanderer both literally and figuratively. Literally we see him
wandering from place to place to find work, and figuratively we see him searching for his
own identity.
We encounter a negativity towards religion by the town called Christminster.
Christminster can be broken down into Christ and minister. At first, Christminster is
symbolic of a place that is supposed to be wonderful like the world of the Church. It is
likened to the Church by the phrases in which Hardy uses to describe it. He writes that
Jude sees Christminster as "the city of the light," in fact it is seen as "a place he had
likened to the new Jerusalem," the city of redemption. (Ingham, 85) These biblical
references lead us to make a religious connection between the Church and Christminster.
Christminster is also seen as a place where he hopes to fulfill all his hopes and
dreams. "From the beginning, Jude sees in Christminster and its university the image of
an attainable ideal world. His desire for this ideal vision involves a rejection of
reality. For his own sporadically controlled, partially understood world, he substitutes
the image of an ideal unified, stable, and understandable one." (Bloom, 193) However,
this wonderful world exists only in Jude's imagination. He does this in order to escape
his complicated reality. Hardy is trying to tell us that we should not fall into the same
predicament as Jude; we should not allow ourselves to run after religion as an escape to
our problems because it will only lead to hardships. We see Hardy's message as Jude
encounters many major rejections in Christminster; included in these are his not getting
into any of the colleges he desired to attend and his love Sue leaving him for
Phillotson. Here we see that the two major goals that Jude had hoped to achieve in
Christminster both remained unfulfilled. What Hardy is trying to tell us is that at in
many instances religion may seem to be the path to take. However, after one delves deep
into the meaning of religion he finds, as Jude does in Christminster, that while it may
seem great from a distance, it is actually just filled with many letdowns. Thus, the view
on religion is: it seems to be the "light" we should follow, but, it is actually only an
illusion.
Hardy shows that Jude's desire to go to Christminster and dedicate himself to the church
stemmed from his admiration of Phillotson. By saying this, Hardy is telling us that it
was not Jude's own true wish be a part of the Church, but rather he was just following
someone there. He then realizes that with his true feelings he can not continue to
follow the Church because it would be hypocritical. What Jude is realizing is that one
must choose his own path and should not feel compelled to follow God, if he does not come
to the conclusion himself.
When Jude an Arabella go walking together, they stop at an inn to drink tea. At this time
Hardy makes mention of the picture on the wall. The hanging picture is of Samson and
Delilah. Samson, although a fighter for his nation, was not someone who strictly adhered
to the laws of religion. Samson showed his lack of adhesion to the laws of the bible by
sleeping with three forbidden women. This is very similar to Jude who is going after the
"forbidden woman" (forbidden because she is his cousin). Samson is thus a symbol of one
going against the proper views of the bible, as Jude.
By bringing up Samson at such a time Hardy is trying to tell us something. He is trying
to tell us that even though one of the great heroes of the bible has gone and committed
sin with forbidden women, he was still able to become a hero. Hardy therefore brings this
to our attention to show us that religion is not necessary in order for one to lead a
successful life.
By making this reference Hardy is trying to make Jude into a tragic hero. This is done
through the mention of Samson. Hardy is saying that as Samson Jude is also a hero. While
Samson was a hero because of his strength and ability to triumph in battle, Jude is a
hero because he has the strength to fight against what society deems to be acceptable
(the ways of the Church). Jude is not swayed like most by what others feel he should do,
but rather he is a fighter.
Hardy compares Jude to Jesus in many instances, one of which is when Jude is angry at Sue
for marrying Phillotson. This comparison is brought up when Jude and Sue are talking
about which inn to go to, in order to avoid being seen by others. Here we have Jude
intending to commit adultery with Sue and we have Hardy comparing him to Jesus. Although
in the end of the seen Jude and Sue do not end up sleeping with each other, at the time
the comparison to Jesus is made, it is Jude's intention to sleep with Sue.
"You simply mean that you flirted outrageously with him, poor old chap, and then to make
reparation, married him, though you tortured yourself to death by doing it."
"Well-if you will put it brutally!--it was like that-that and the scandal together-and
you concealing from me what you have told me before!"
He could see that she was distressed and tearful at his criticisms, and soothed her
saying, "There, dear; don't mind! Crucify me if you will! You know you are the world to
me, whatever you do!" (Hardy, 216)
In this instance Hardy's negative views towards religion are seen. We encounter Jude and
Sue arguing about her feelings for Phillotson. Once Jude realizes that he has caused Sue
to feel bad he immediately tries to comfort her. Here Hardy compares Jude to Jesus by
having him say "crucify me if you will." This phrase is very
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