# IV explained — Jude the Obscure > Chapter companion for Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy. ## What happens Jude, disappointed by Physician Vilbert's failure to bring the promised grammars, writes to Mr. Phillotson for books. When they arrive, he discovers that learning Latin and Greek requires memorization, not a simple cipher, leading to despair. The chapter also recounts Jude's initial meeting with Vilbert and his hopeful agreement to promote the quack's medicines in exchange for the grammars. ## Themes in this chapter ### Education and Ignorance Jude's journey from naive belief in a 'secret cipher' for learning languages to the harsh reality of rote memorization highlights the gap between aspiration and the grueling process of formal education. ### Ambition and Frustration Jude's burning desire to reach Christminster and master Latin and Greek is met with repeated setbacks, from Vilbert's betrayal to the daunting task of memorization, embodying the tension between ambition and reality. ## Character check-ins ### Jude Fawley Jude is a young boy, deeply idealistic about education, who experiences both hope and crushing disappointment in his quest to learn Latin and Greek. ### Physician Vilbert An itinerant quack-doctor who promises Jude grammars in exchange for promoting his medicines, but fails to deliver on his promise. ### Richard Phillotson The former schoolmaster who sends Jude old Latin and Greek grammars from Christminster, inadvertently shattering Jude's naive assumptions about language learning. ### Aunt Drusilla Jude's great-aunt, whom he keeps in the dark about his correspondence with Phillotson for fear she will thwart his educational ambitions. ## Key lines > He learnt for the first time that there was no law of transmutation, as in his innocence he had supposed... but that every word in both Latin and Greek was to be individually committed to memory at the cost of years of plodding. Jude realizes that learning Latin and Greek is not a simple code to crack but requires years of memorizing each word individually. _This moment marks Jude's disillusionment with his romanticized view of classical education._ > The charm he had supposed in store for him was really a labour like that of Israel in Egypt. The appealing prospect of learning classical languages turns out to be a grueling task akin to the slavery of the Israelites in Egypt. _Jude compares his educational struggle to biblical bondage, emphasizing his despair._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/jude_the_obscure_se/chapters/iv - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/jude_the_obscure_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/jude_the_obscure_se/chapters