Trope of Disillusionment in Thomas Hardy’s Jude The Obscure

Solomon O. Olaniyan

Abstract

Disillusionment is one of the major thematic thrusts of literary enterprise from the time immemorial. This foregrounds the fact that man’s disillusionment is ontological. The study investigates the trope of disillusionment in Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure. The paper reveals different struggles that Jude, the eponymous character, passes through. Through Hardy’s explicit portrayal of life in Victorian society, Hardy condemns human institutions which endlessly perpetuate people in suffering, castration of hopes and limit them sociopolitically. In spite of his legitimate and lofty dreams, Jude dies like a dog. Moreover, social factor responsible for the abortion of Jude’s ambitions and ruination of his destiny are emphasised in the study. The literary relevance of Hardy’s Jude the Obscure is not limited to the Victorian period which was the time when he wrote. This assertion is based on the fact that Hardy has fictionalised the struggle of the common man in the face of helplessness. Thus, the narrative has universal and timeless significance. Disillusioned protagonist is a recurrent figure in much of the twentieth century English fiction. The trope of disillusionment is an attempt to depict the hopelessness, confusion, frustration, alienation, disintegration and estrangement of modern man.