Jude the Obscure Group

Question:

mikegwc
mikegwc
Student
College - Junior

In Shaston, Jude is awakened by the cry of a rabbit caught in a steel trap. What does the rabbit symbolize?

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Posted by mikegwc on Monday November 19, 2007 at 9:17 AM and tagged with characters, jude, jude the obscure, rabbit, symbol.

Answers:


  1. podunc Teacher
    College - Sophomore

    eNotes Editor

    The rabbit in Chapter Two of the section entitled "At Shaston" most obviously symbolizes entrapment. Entrapment is one of Hardy's major themes in the novel, as he investigates how Sue is trapped in a loveless marriage and by nineteenth-century gender roles, as well as how Jude is trapped by his low social standing and the rigidity of England's class system.

    Jude takes pity on the trapped rabbit and kills it by breaking its neck in a scene that may foreshadow the novel's tragic ending.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/jude-obscure

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    Posted by podunc on Monday April 14, 2008 at 9:19 AM