Jude the Shallow

JUDE THE SHALLOW

“You cannot cast away your stone. It is yourself. You cannot evade it and its responsibilities by resigning or remaining absent from the Brotherhood in which you first acquired the stone. Once a Masons, always a mason: in this world and the other world to come. You stand solemnly and eternally covenanted, not only to yourself and your brother hood, but to the Eternal sacred Law, to proceed with your Masonic work to the end. That Law does not permit you stultify an obligation deliberately made upon it, even if made ignorantly. Know Thyself! Once thou break the oath, it is the Brotherhood that killth.” This quotation is the oath which stone masons once swore in their rituals. It was believed by stone workers that now that this oath was taken, in no way should it be broken; if it happened to be broken anyhow, I would cast a spell on him (the one who broke the promise). In Thomas Hardy’s last novel, one can see Jude “The Stonemason” as the good embodiment of how a disobedient stonemason is subjected o this inevitable doom. As a matter of fact, building the structures or shaping the stones is symbolic of Jude’s building up and forming his own personality. When Jude matures into adulthood, he has not been able to build up a strong character, and thus he is doomed to face defeat and frustration due to his unstable personal integrity. Jude has the foundation (his self and personal traits); he has the stones (aspirations and ideals), but he lacks cement (essential skills to incorporate wishes into one’s character). How do the stones stay together without mortar or cement? Likewise, the bricks of Jude’s character cannot stick together; that is he cannot give a certain shape to his personality because he is a man of impractical dreams, contradicting emotions and beliefs, and over-sensitivity and modesty.

To begin with, Nature in the novel is based solely upon the survival of the fittest as Phillotson says “Cruelty is the law pervading all nature and society and we cannot get out of it if we would.” Jude struggles patiently to realize his dream of a university education but is thwarted by a cruel fate and rigid, conservative social order. Jude is not wanted at Christminster, and this university city is described in unfavorable terms in the novel: “the rottenness of the stones- it seemed impossible that modern thought could house itself in such decrepit a superseded chambers.” It is emphasized that Jude will always remain an outsider, denied access to improvement not because of lack of ability but because of social class. On the other hand, Jude holds a romantic and illusionary view of Christminster. He sees it as “a city of light where the three of knowledge grows: it is like a castle manned by scholarship and religion.” When he starts making indirect inquiries about entering the university, he realizes that a scholarship is the only solution. However, he needs a good deal of coaching for that to be possible. He could not compete with those who have the advantage of trained teachers all their lives. “Buying” his way into the university is impossible; it would have taken him many ages. Once he receives the letter from the head of Biblioll College, he accepts that the task seems hopeless and realizes how impractical his illusions have been. Another reason why Jude is utopian in