The thematic role of tradition in “Jude the Obscure” Essay Example for Free

The thematic role of tradition in â€Å"Jude the Obscure† Essay Hardy as a purely Victorian writer (Carpenter, 1964) felt, however, a degree of cognitive dissonance and inner inconsistence with the existing realities, in particular, with the social pressure and the dissolution of individuality in the countless traditions and rituals. The novel â€Å"Jude the Obscure† demonstrates the Victorian mores from a peculiar viewpoint, in terms of the opposition between the spiritual nature of the personality, their aspirations, ambitions and longings, and the clutches of tradition that encumber the characters in their self-actualization. In the present novel, the role of tradition is demonstration through the lens of family, cross-gender relationships and social class. Traditionalism seems to blossom in the realm of cross-gender relationships, as they are strongly regulated by the society. In order to illustrate this assumption, it is necessary to analyze the situation Jude encounters after having dated with Arabella for certain time. Due to the fact that their relationships implied no mutual responsibility, Jude decides to leave the girl after his infatuation decays: â€Å" â€Å" I am going away†, he said to her. â€Å"I think I ought to go. I think it will be better for you and for me. I wish some things had never begun! I was much so blame, I know. But it is never too late to mend† â€Å" (Hardy, Part 1, Ch. 9, 1994, at http://www. gutenberg. org). The young woman, in her turn, from the very beginning of their affair, dreams about the marriage to him, because of the persistent social tradition, which prescribes the only model of livelihood for women, which is marriage. Moreover, single women are always criticized and treated as â€Å"peculiar†, the Victorian tradition even attributes mental disorders to such individuals only for their marital status; due to the fact that the stereotypes associated with spinsters are very unattractive, Arabella is eager to observe the social tradition and create her family as early as possible. Women by the tradition are supposed to be more interested in marriage therefore. In terms of cross-gender relationships, it is also important to outline the development of the affection between Jude and Sue, his cousin. Jude gets attracted to the girl after seeing her portrait, but, being aware of his marital status, he doesn’t allows himself to approach the girl: â€Å"The first reason was that he was married, and it would be wrong. The second was that they were cousins. It was not well for cousins to fall in love even when circumstances seemed to favour the passion. The third, even were he free, in a family like his own where marriage usually meant a tragic sadness, marriage with a blood-relations would duplicate the adverse conditions† (Hardy, Part 2, Ch. 2, 1994 at http://www. gutenberg. org). As one can see, the most important reasons are close-knit to the socially imposed perspectives of cross-gender relationships: in order to avoid blaming rumors and gossips, Jude at first deliberately creates a barrier even to the friendship with Sue. The dominance of traditions, regulating and controlling family, are to great extent similar to the previous group, as any relationship between a man and a woman (except the cases of close kinship) are considered a potential family. The family should be officially registered and approved by both secular and clerical institutions – only in this case the children, born in this partnership, are legitimate. In this sense, even though Jude is unwilling to marry Arabella, he gives his complete consent after learning that his girlfriend is pregnant. Moreover, the family-oriented tradition of the epoch harshly discriminates these children, so that they bear the burden of their parents’ â€Å"social disobedience†. Consequently, the young woman’s pregnancy appears false, but Arabella’s manipulations seem partially justified by the society, as they are directed to the creation of family, a structural unit, which is easier to control in the macro- and mezzosocial levels. Arabella’s friend, Anne, even demonstrates childlike glee after learning about the method the young wife has lassoed Jude: â€Å"Mistaken! Well, that’s clever – it’s real stroke of genius! It is a thing I never thought o’ wi’ all my experience! † (Hardy, Part 1, Ch. 9, 1994). Another vital point of the depiction of the societal regulation in terms of family can be found in the beginning of Sue and Jude’s cohabitation and the subsequent scandal. It begins with the response of Mr. Gillingham, Phillotson’s friend, with who the man shares information that sue, his wife, intends to live with another man. Gillingham seems to speak in the name of the whole society, in the present dialogue he embodies the pressure of social tradition: â€Å" But- you see, there’s the question of neighbours and society – what will happen if everybody – [†¦] I am quite amazed, to tell the truth, that such a sedate, plodding fellow as you should have entertained such a craze for a moment, You said when I called that she was puzzling and peculiar: I think you are! † (Hardy, Part 4, Ch. 4, 1994). The responsibility for the wife’s adultery is traditionally placed to great extent upon her spouse; both this quotation and the fact that Phillotson is threatened with termination of his employment because of Sue’s behavior points to the idea that woman is not merely inferior, she is also viewed by society as an infantile create, who should be â€Å"reared† and â€Å"brought up† by her spouse. After Sue and Jude begin to live together, they become severely ostracized by the society. First of all, Jude becomes a stonemason, as no other work is available to him, whereas Sue works as a street seller. Learning that the couple are not married, all lodging owners refuse the take sue and Jude, even though they travel with young children and thus need an accommodation as soon as possible. Therefore, the scorn for the couple living without official registration of their partnership is even stronger than the pity for the infants, as the children ,born in such an affair, can not be equated to legitimate children; and the social tradition which normally prescribes that society take care about minors, ignores their needs. The tragic ending of the novel can also be interpreted as the victory of social tradition. In fact, Sue and Jude’s children are murdered by Jude and Arabella’s son; â€Å"He looked in bewilderment round the room. At the back of the door were fixed two hooks for hanging garments, and from these the form of the two youngest children were suspended, by a piece of box-cord round each of their necks†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Hardy, Part 6, Ch. 2). Importantly, Little Father Time was born in the wedlock, i. e. he symbolically has more rights, freedoms and entitlements in the family, comparing to other children. His name also points to the fact that he represents the interests of the epoch as well as its social tradition. Thus, the deaths of the children are a symbolic punishment, imposed by the social tradition for committing adultery and not creating a full-fledged family. In terms of social class, tradition is represented, first and foremost, in the point of Jude’s efforts towards getting access to education. Due to the fact that his only caregiver, his aunt, is a baker, she would wish him to remain within the working class, and when young Jude asks her about Christminster and education, she responds that his future livelihood could not be combined with education, moreover, that their family has nothing in common with the intellectual circles form the city. The woman therefore refers to the Victorian tradition, which strictly determines interclass boundaries, stratifies individuals, and creates obstructions to their penetration to the higher class. To sum up, as depicted in the novel, social traditions regulate the most important areas of human life, including the relationships between genders, marriage and family as well as career and class behavior. As one can see from the novel, social traditions is extremely critical to any cross-gender relationships that do not imply official marriage, in which the man and woman, however, have disproportionate interest. Uniting into families is viewed as the most appropriate and traditionally approved way of social interaction, whereas individuals, living in an unregistered partnership, are marginalized. As for the social class, the tradition seeks to retain individual within their strata through regulating the access to education, training and employment. Due to the fact that the major plotline in â€Å"Jude the Obscure† is built upon the combination of these three representations, the role of social tradition is strong in the writing, moreover, with respect to the aforementioned obstructions and judgments the society develops in response to the characters’ actions, one can understand that Hardy addresses it in the negative, rather then positive or supportive tones. Works cited Carpenter, R. Thomas Hardy. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1964. Hardy, T. Jude the Obscure. 23 September 1994, http://www. gutenberg. org/files/153/153-8. txt