Book profile
Jude the Obscure
- Subgenre
- romance
- Edition year
- 1895
- Spice
- Heat not verified
Trope map
Tags are supported by source descriptions; they are not reader votes. See how verification works.
Why these tropes fit
Jude Fawley, a poor villager, dreams of entering Christminster's divinity school but is tricked into marriage with Arabella Donn, who fakes pregnancy. Abandoned by Arabella, Jude works as a stonemason and falls in love with his independent-minded cousin Sue Bridehead. Sue marries the schoolmaster Phillotson out of obligation, but unable to bear living with him, she returns to Jude and bears his children out of wedlock. Their poverty and society's disapproval weigh heavily on them, culminating in tragedy when Jude's son by Arabella hangs Sue and Jude's children and himself. Devastated, Sue returns to Phillotson and the church in penance, while Jude reconciles with Arabella before dying miserably.
Get the book
Read the source evidence
- Forbidden Love: “there he falls in love with his independent-minded cousin, Sue Bridehead” source
- Angst: “Their poverty and the weight of society's disapproval begin to take a toll on Sue and Jude” source
- Small Town Romance: “Jude Fawley, a poor villager” source
- Gothic: “Their poverty and the weight of society's disapproval begin to take a toll on Sue and Jude” source
Metadata source: Open Library. Quotes are used only to verify the tags.
Content notes
- infidelity
- suicide
