Circular Structure of the novel 'Jude the Obscure'

     Hello readers, I'm writing this blog as an assignment given by the Department of English, MKBU. Here, I'm trying to analyse the circular structure of the novel 'Jude the Obscure'. 

About Author - Thomas Hardy:  

Thomas Hardy, (born June 2, 1840, Higher Bockhampton, Dorset, England—died January 11, 1928, Dorchester, Dorset), English novelist and poet who set much of his work in Wessex, his name for the counties of southwestern England.

     As a post-Victorian writer, Hardy revolts against the then invariable and prevailing Victorian narrative norm, i.e. linear narration and pursues a non-linear narrative mode. This attempt of Hardy is primarily reflected on his adept application of circular structure or ring in geometry into his literary work Jude. The arrangement of circular structure roughly lies in space transition and plot development model. Hardy has tried to show the circular structure in two ways:

1 Circular Structure in Space Transition:

2 Circular Structure in Plot Development Model:

     Model 1: Jude’s Pursuit of Love and Career

     Model 2: The Protagonist's Destiny 

     Let's see it in detail.

1) Circular Structure in Space Transition:

     Jude the Obscure is divided into six parts, each identified by the name of the places in Wessex, centering about the fictitious named university town of Christminster. Two of the six parts, in fact, are set in Christminster: Part Second, and Part Sixth. Jude’s transient life moves on along with five particular place names which follow the route: Marygeenà, Christminsterà, Melchesterà, Shastonà, Aldbrickham and elsewhere Christminster. After a thorough reading of the text, we may observe that this arrangement is not merely a simple circulation of places but that of Jude and Sue’s life experience.

     Marygeen seems to be the first stop or commencement of Jude’s life. This is absolutely not the case. He was brought up at Marygeen, but practically Marygeen does, in no sense, pertain to him. He is merely abandoned there in a night just as his son is at Aldbrickham. To this extent, Jude begins his pursuit in life in Christminster, which is “paradise of the learned” and “a castle, manned by scholarship and religion” from Jude’s perspective. It is in that very scholarly city, that Jude initiates his persevering struggle for a scholarly life in Christminster, and that having met his cousin Sue Bridehead, Jude develops a growing affection or love for her. 

     After the collapse of Jude's University hopes at Christminster, Jude continues his life at Melchester, where he sustains his second dream - “the ecclesiastical and altruistic life as distinct from the intellectual and emulative life.” But this pursuit is also discouraged by his infatuation for Sue until Sue gets married to Phillotson, who used to be his schoolmaster. 

     Shaston is the next stop in Jude’s life, which serves as the turning point in the destiny of Jude and Sue and also the attributing factor procuring their union of love, unmarried.

     Afterwards, the unmarried couple left Shaston for Aldbrickham and elsewhere in order to sustain a living while finding refuge from the inquisitive and unwelcome eyes of the world. There they are always on the move from one place to another, leaving to the readers with agitation and depression.

     The final stop of Jude’s life is still Christminster, the starting and end point of his life and dream, which also functions as the peak of Jude’s tragedy. The alarming and catastrophic child-murder committed by the precocious Little Father Time is the final deathblow to Sue’s belief in love and religion. She resigns herself physically back to Phillotson and that proves to be the deathblow to Jude’s life. He closes his journey of life at Christminster.

     To summarise, the life course of Jude and Sue practically starts from Christminster and ends at that right place taking the form of a circular structure. In a sense, Jude experiences his circle of life with the transition of places: Christminsterà Melchesterà Shastonà Aldbrickham and elsewhereà Christminster. Christminster is an enchanting city imbued Jude with all his aspirations in life; Christminster is also a city with disillusionment and lethality to Jude. During the process each step on for Jude and Sue is an intensified tragedy. Thus an irony of fate and tragic effect is accomplished.   

2) Circular Structure in Plot Development Model:

     Circular structure also appears in the plot development model of the novel. As shown in the previous section, Jude’s travelling route between the five places can also be described as his life-long persistent but hopeless pursuit for learning and love. The plot extends gradually to the readers according to Jude’s personal experience. The plot development model of the text can be illustrated as follows in sequence:

1 Jude parted from her wife Arabella and went to Christminster pursuing his aspirations for learning 

2 Handicapped in learning, Jude followed Cousin Sue to Melchester, only to find that she had been wedded to another persona

3 Thwarted in love, he followed Sue to Shaston and they fell in love unmarried 

4 The couple reached Aldbrickham and elsewhere living happily

5 They returned to Christminster experiencing the childmurder, they returned to their former spouse separately, Jude died lonely there with unfulfilled or lost love and career. 

Model 1: Jude’s Pursuit of Love and Career:

     The novel starts with Jude’s attempt to pursue his love and career and ends up with the loss of his love and career. The protagonist starts with nothing and culminates in nothing. The two things combined mould a unique circular structure. First, the geographical reversion Christminster — Melchester — Shaston — Aldbrickham and elsewhere — Christminster shown in Jude and Sue’s life circle is one clear marker of circular structure in space transitions of the fiction.

    

Model 2: The Protagonist's Destiny:

    Second, another circle of their doomed destiny or fate shapes with the sequence “misfortune — struggle — happiness — misfortune”, as depicted in the following chart. 

     This circular narrative structure, encloses every taste of life. In this life course, Jude does not undergo much change from beginning to end, whether geographically or in his social status and living conditions. Ambitious as he is, he can never practice other careers except as a stone-mason; his final wife is also her first one; Christminster - the enchanting city of light where his life starts is also where his life ends; He ultimately dies in a renting house in misery, just as is the case he once lived humbly in her aunt’s shabby home. Likewise, his cousin Suzanne Bridehead, his dearest love also undergoes a circular life. 

 Revolting  against the Victorian conventions, Sue divorced his husband Phillotson, eloping with her true love, Jude, in cohabitation; whereas her willfully rebellious spirit fell thoroughly into collapse in face of the child massacre. In salvation she returned to her husband selling torpidly her flesh and soul. In this circular narrative structure, the plot develops upwards from some particular crises or coincidences. To a great extent, every time Jude steps on to a new place, there is invariably a coincidence or chance which acts as a turning point in his life, leading the protagonist, step by step, to a tragic ending. This preconceived storyline breaks the Victorian narrative conventions of linear narration and strengthens the personal tragedy of the characters.

Word count: 1192