Dec 19, 2009

Jude the Obscure | Historical Background

Thomas Hardy lived at a time of intense and rapid social change in England, and his novels reflect on many of these changes, especially those affecting his native Dorset.

Hardy’s career as a novelist roughly paralleled the late Victorian era, named after Britain’s Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837 to 1901. The Victorian period was an era of change and paradox which cannot be easily summarized.

Victorians were known for prudishness about sex. Though there has been debate over the veracity of this generalization, certainly Jude the Obscure was written against...