Jude the Emo and His Failure to Fight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A large number of people have commented on the fact that Jude the Obscure is "depressing," or that it "lacks any characteristic of redemption that would make a novel worth reading." I sympathized with that position, partially because last class I hadn't read what I have now. After viewing the novel in retrospect, in its entirety, it remains relatively depressing. Jude is one-hundred percent pure "emo." There really is no way to debate that fact. But I used to be emo once. Yes, though it may be hard to believe, I was that "emo kid" who constantly struggled to care enough to wake up in the morning, and who couldn't ever find the strength to overcome depression. I was in a bad place. Like the dog in the video below this paragraph, Jude seems to just roll over and die when life's challenges are thrown his way. (Now that's an emo thing to do, isn't it?) Now, you're likely asking yourself - What is this guy talking about? Is he insane? Jude was so persistent when he tried to get into Christminister. Jude continually overcame the atrocities that plagued his life. He lived on despite the fact that he was tormented by evil women. Well, not exactly: "...there arose on Jude's sight the circular theatre with that well-known lantern above it, which stood in his mind as the sad symbol of his abandoned hopes, for it was from that outlook that he had finally surveyed the City of Colleges on the afternoon of his great meditation, which convinced him at last of the futility of his attempt to be a son of the university" [Thomas Hardy, Jude the Obscure Part VI. 2006 New York, Dover Thrift Edition p. 244]. Even in the campy movie Galaxy Quest they had enough grit to take on the motto, "Never give up, and never surrender." Well, Jude seems to have had no problem giving up, and his surrender is only further evidence of his ongoing inability to change his odds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A huge part in Jude's life and possibly the most prime example of his general weakness is in his relationships to Sue, his cousin, and Arabella (depicted to the left), an all-around general psychopath. After his marriage with Arabella falls apart in shambles, Jude becomes relatively pathetic until he meets his cousin, Sue, who is at the time married to another man. This is where Jude's morals come into question, and his fallacies in this area start to foreshadow his downfall. Jude's theft of Sue from her husband is the ultimate foreboding. It is when Sue leaves Jude (basically for his pathetic nature) towards the end of the book that Jude becomes completely incapable of functioning. After Sue says her goodbyes to Jude: "Jude had no heart to go to work that day. Neither could he go anywhere in the direction by which she would be likely to pass. He went in an opposite one, to a dreary, strange, flat scene, where boughs dripped, and coughs and consumption lurked, and where he had never been before" [Thomas Hardy, Jude the Obscure Part VI. 2006 New York, Dover Thrift Edition p. 274]. At this point in time Jude reaches what I like to call "terminal patheticness." But I've been there too. I've been at some pretty bad points. But you don't see me whining.

 

That's the thing with Jude, and here's the parallel between him and I spelled out. Jude was a product of his environment, as we all are, but Jude, like myself was unhappy with the environment he was in and strove for something to make him a more complete man. When I was fifteen I was at a school that I hated, an environment of oppressive teachers with the narrowest of minds. These teachers were Catholic monks who lived in a monastery on the property. Let me just put it this way: see the image to the left. Thinking outside the box was uncalled for. Women - ha! It was an all boys school. Needless to say, me, myself, and my Magic Johnson all hated it. I needed an out. I was emo for a long time just like Jude. I whined and pouted and did nothing. But then one day I realized that I was either going to be miserable or I could do something about it. Long story short: I was expelled. Now, I'm happier than ever. Coincidence? Not really. I had to rebel against the environment to change the environment. Did Jude do that? No. Not really. Not at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Though Jude never committed suicide or gave in to his depression, he still wasn't a fighter. Though he had ethics and morals (questionably in some senses), he was still persistently embattled with the social structure of the society in which he lived. Though he could've rebelled against it, he chose to work within it, and by not taking the kind of action that would've probably permitted him a better life he remained in his position. By not being stronger willed and more abrasive towards those who put him down he eventually earned his death. Jude was a relatively moral character, even though his relationships with women and distraction in sloth bring that element of Jude's life into question. But one thing sealed his fate: He never had his revolution. The image to the left more accurately explains how Jude rebelled against the establishment. He rolled over, and never stood up for himself in a way that would've changed his circumstances.