Jude the Obscure created storms of scandal and protest for the author upon its publication. Hardy, disgusted and disappointed, devoted the remainder of his life to poetry and never wrote another novel. Today, the material is far less shocking. Jude Fawley, a poor stone carver with aspirations toward an academic career, is thwarted at every turn and is finally forced to give up his dreams of a university education. He is tricked into an unwise marriage, and when his wife deserts him, he begins a relationship with a free-spirited cousin. With this begins the descent into bleak tragedy as the couple alternately defy and succumb to the pressures of a deeply disapproving society. Hardy's characters have a fascinating ambiguity: they are victimized by a stern moral code, but they are also selfish and weak-willed creatures who bring on much of their own difficulties through their own vacillations and submissions to impulse. The abridgment speeds Jude's fall to considerable dramatic effect, but it also deletes the author's agonizing logic. Instead of the meticulous weaving of Jude's destiny, we get a somewhat incoherent summary that preserves the major plot points but fails to draw us into the tragedy. Michael Pennington reads resonantly and skillfully, his voice perfectly matching the grim music of Hardy's prose, but this recording can only be recommended for larger public libraries.--John Owen, Advanced Micro Devices, Sunnyvale, CA Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Jude the Obscure (1895) by Thomas Hardy is a novel dealing with issues of class, education, religion and marriage. Jude is a working-class young man, a stonemason, who dreams of becoming a scholar. As a youth, Jude teaches himself Classical Greek and Latin in his spare time, while working first in his great aunt's bakery, with the hope of entering university. But before he can try to do this the naïve Jude is seduced by Arabella, a rather coarse and superficial local girl who traps him into marriage. They separate, and he falls in love with Sue, his free-spirited cousin. After a scandal Sue and Jude spend some time living together without any sexual relationship, because of Sue's dislike both of sex and the institution of marriage. Later Sue and Jude have two children together and expect the third-while being unmarried. Jude's employers dismiss him because of the illicit relationship, and the family is forced into a nomadic lifestyle...
1002094607
Jude the Obscure
Jude the Obscure (1895) by Thomas Hardy is a novel dealing with issues of class, education, religion and marriage. Jude is a working-class young man, a stonemason, who dreams of becoming a scholar. As a youth, Jude teaches himself Classical Greek and Latin in his spare time, while working first in his great aunt's bakery, with the hope of entering university. But before he can try to do this the naïve Jude is seduced by Arabella, a rather coarse and superficial local girl who traps him into marriage. They separate, and he falls in love with Sue, his free-spirited cousin. After a scandal Sue and Jude spend some time living together without any sexual relationship, because of Sue's dislike both of sex and the institution of marriage. Later Sue and Jude have two children together and expect the third-while being unmarried. Jude's employers dismiss him because of the illicit relationship, and the family is forced into a nomadic lifestyle...
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Product Details
BN ID: | 2940160226675 |
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Publisher: | Audioliterature |
Publication date: | 02/28/2019 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
Age Range: | 12 - 17 Years |
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