Jude the Obscure

by Thomas Hardy

Jude the Obscure: Setting 1 key example

Definition of Setting

Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Setting
Explanation and Analysis:

Thomas Hardy wrote Jude the Obscure between 1894 and 1895, and the novel is set in about 1855-6. Hardy's own experiences in 19th-century England provided the inspiration for the social pressures and cruel restrictions his characters face. This was a period of enormous social change in the world, with advances in medicine, science, education, and travel happening at an astonishing pace. Jude the Obscure's setting reflects a feeling contemporaneous to its time: namely that with the rapid industrialization and modernization of the world, people might have a chance to break class barriers and find better ways to live. The tragedies that happen to Jude, Sue, and their children reflect Hardy's own view of this being unrealistic, as do the grim weather, grinding poverty, and unrelenting limitations of Victorian social life that appear throughout the novel.