Jude the Obscure · Chapters

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Chapter companions for Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy.

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Chapter 1
Jude the Obscure
The novel opens with the young Jude Fawley leaving the village of Marygreen, guided by his schoolmaster Phillotson, who is departing for Christminster. Jude is an orphan living with his great-aunt Drusilla, and he dreams of following Phillotson to the university city. The chapter establishes Jude's intellectual aspirations and the harsh realities of his rural life.
Chapter 2
Part I: At Marygreen
Jude Fawley, a young orphan living with his great-aunt Drusilla in the village of Marygreen, is deeply influenced by his schoolmaster Richard Phillotson, who leaves for Christminster with dreams of university education. Jude becomes obsessed with the idea of following him and pursuing a scholarly life, but his circumstances and lack of formal education present formidable obstacles.
Chapter 3
At Christminster Again
Jude, Sue, and their children arrive in Christminster during the commemoration festival. Jude engages with a crowd, reflecting on his failed aspirations and the social formulas that thwarted him. Sue spots her former husband Phillotson in the crowd, causing her distress. They struggle to find lodgings due to their children, eventually securing a room in Mildew Lane.
Chapter 4
II
Sue and the children are in a cramped lodging near the colleges. Father Time, deeply troubled by their poverty and the news of another baby, expresses a wish never to have been born. The next morning, while Sue is out, he hangs himself and the two younger children. Jude and Sue are devastated, and Sue blames herself for speaking too honestly to the boy.
Chapter 5
III
Sue, convalescent and spiritually broken, and Jude, working again at his old trade, live in new lodgings near Saint Silas. Their conversations reveal Sue's growing religious submission and guilt over her past, while Jude urges legal marriage. Arabella visits, claiming Sue is not Jude's wife, and Sue later retreats to the church in despair, where Jude finds her prostrate and weeping.

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Jude the Obscure

Part I: At Marygreen

At Christminster Again

II

III