Dark-Light Imagery in Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure
Graduation Date
Summer 1969
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Document Form
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Degree Granting Institution
Catholic University of America
Program Name
Humanities
Abstract
Although critics have turned increasingly to "poetic" techniques in Hardy's prose, the imagery in Jude the Obscure continues to invite close attention. Norman Holland sees Jude as more allegorical than realistic. In his view. Hardy uses symbols and images to deny the relevance of Christianity to the modern world and to criticize the Christian ideal of self sacrifice. McDowell gives his discussion a less allegorical focus and endeavors to relate various images to the actual lives of Jude Fawley and Sue Bridehead in society. Alastair Smart, on the other hand, explores the influence that art and artists had on Hardy's pictorial imagery. Whereas these and other critics have discussed symbolism and imagery in Hardy's novels, there appears to be no detailed analysis of the dark-light imagery in Jude the Obscure. It is the aim of this study, then, to explore this imagery in relation to the total structure by 1) describing briefly the nature of that structure, 2) establishing and classifying the dark-light images involved and 3) demonstrating their structural functions. For the purposes of this investigation, imagery may be understood as including figurative language.