Literary Criticism (Queer Theory)

Jude the Obscure

(A Summary)

by Thomas Hardy

Jude the Obscure opens as a young Jude Fawley watches his school teacher, Mr. Richard Phillotson, depart the small town of Marygreen and travel to the university at Christminster. Sharing Phillotson's goal of earning a degree, Jude hopes to one day follow the same path and so studies intently. Meanwhile, he lives with his great-aunt, Drusilla Fawley, and learns the trade of stonemasonry in order to earn money for his future. Several years pass and Jude, now nineteen years old, meets Arabella Donn, the daughter of a local pig farmer. Sensuous and physically attractive, Arabella pursues Jude, and the two become lovers. Eventually Arabella convinces Jude that she has become pregnant by him, and they marry. Quickly growing tired of her new husband, however, she leaves him and emigrates to Australia. Jude than resumes his original plan and journeys to Christminster. There he meets his distant cousin Sue Bridehead, an intelligent, unconventional woman with whom he immediately falls in love. He later learns that Sue has also attracted the attention of Phillotson. Disheartened by this news and his inability to gain acceptance to the university, Jude departs Christminster for Melchester, where he hopes to pursue theological studies instead. Now also in Melchester at a training college, Sue spends time with Jude, but grows cold when he professes his love to her. After a fearful Jude reveals to her that he is married, she responds by proclaiming her own marriage, to Phillotson. However, the marriage is not to Sue's liking, and the return of Arabella, who has since married an Australian man, prompts Sue to change her mind about Jude.

At the funeral for Jude's recently deceased aunt, Sue kisses Jude passionately. Thinking himself no longer suitable for a career in the Church, Jude forsakes his theological studies. Sue, meanwhile, asks Phillotson for his permission to leave. Sue and Jude move in together in the nearby town of Aldbrickham, while Phillotson eventually grants Sue a divorce. After a year Sue still refuses to make love to Jude, until Arabella appears once again, and Sue and Jude, though unmarried, consummate their relationship for the first time. Arabella notifies Jude that they have a son together, a gloomy boy who is called Little Father Time. The boy arrives shortly from Australia to live with Jude and Sue. Meanwhile, public dislike for the couple's unwed lifestyle costs Jude his job, and the two leave Aldbrickham for Kennetbridge. More than two years pass, and Jude and Sue now have two children of their own, while Sue carries another unborn. When Little Father Time hears his adopted mother's unhappy reaction to the pregnancy he mistakenly believes that he and the other children are the source of the family's woes. He responds by hanging his siblings and then himself. He leaves a note nearby that reads "Done because we are to menny." Soon after, Sue delivers her child stillborn. Jude, meanwhile, falls ill and works only irregularly. Arabella then reappears—her Australian husband has since died—with a revived interest in Jude. She contacts Phillotson, who writes to Sue, urging her to return to him. Sue, feeling that she has been wrong to live with Jude unmarried, agrees. Arabella then contrives to get Jude back, and the two remarry. Jude, who has grown more and more ill over time, professes his enduring love for Sue, but both remain, unhappily, with their former spouses. When Jude dies one year later, having never realized his ambitions, he is attended only by Arabella and Mrs. Edlin, a family friend.

Queer theory or gender studies questions and problematizes the issues of gender identity and sexual orientation in literary texts. In this novel, since there were no issues with regard to the real identity or personal preference of the main character, Jude Fawley, his sexual orientation would then be the issue of criticism. Many people have criticized this novel of Hardy since it has a very vulgar or frank presentation of the sexual desires of the characters.

Jude had a critical life when it comes to his relationships with women. He is torn between with his relationship with the whom he got pregnant, Arabella  and his distant cousin Sue. Even the supporting characters, the women were very vulgar which opposed the idea of conservatism. This way of describing such characters as Arabella and Sue was the technique of the author to probably caught the attention of the readers. It was mentioned that Arabella tempted Jude and told him that she got pregnant by him which only prove how sensual her character is. This was also observable on Sue's character whom despite of her relationship with Phillotson, managed to have a relationship with Jude.

Probably one more thing that cause high negative reactions from the readers is the immorality that was presented in this novel. Evidence of this is the reality that whatever it is, Jude and Sue are still cousins yet they were described to have an intimate relationship. The lines ..."Sue kisses Jude passionately" is a proof for this. 


Moreover, the novel is not a good sample for inspiration. It was very serious and most of the situations are harsh and tragic. The son called Little Father Time killed his siblings and his self which portrayed a possible psychotic problem with that particular character.

At the end, the author still managed to deliver the lesson that one could get from the story. Wherever you'll be, whatever may happen, the ones who love you for real will always be there. Another thing, a desire will always be a desire. One can't have it until old days. What will be left is the love and true concern of the people who's always there for you.