Jude the Obscure · Chapter
V explained
Jude, now about sixteen, continues his self-education while working as a baker's delivery boy.
What happens
Jude, now about sixteen, continues his self-education while working as a baker's delivery boy. He reads classical texts on his rounds, often kneeling to recite hymns to pagan gods, which leads him to question the harmony between his pagan studies and his Christian aspirations. He decides to focus on the New Testament and patristic literature, and begins learning stonemasonry as a trade to support his dream of moving to Christminster. By his nineteenth year, he has become a skilled mason's apprentice, still determined to pursue scholarship.
Themes in this chapter
Education and Ignorance
Jude's relentless self-education, reading classics on his bread cart despite the dangers and societal disapproval, highlights the tension between his thirst for knowledge and the practical limitations of his station.
Religion and Doubt
Jude's internal conflict over reading pagan literature while aspiring to be a Christian divine, and his subsequent shift to the New Testament and patristic works, underscores his struggle to reconcile faith with intellectual curiosity.
Ambition and Frustration
Jude's determination to reach Christminster, his decision to learn stonemasonry as a means to support his scholarly goals, and the constant obstacles he faces (e.g., the policeman's warning) reflect his ambitious yet frustrated pursuit of a better life.
Characters to notice
- Jude Fawley
Now about sixteen, Jude balances his bakery work with intense self-study of Latin and Greek, often reading while driving his cart. He experiences a crisis of conscience over his pagan readings and shifts to Christian texts, while also learning stonemasonry as a practical trade.
- Aunt Drusilla
Jude assists his crusty maiden aunt with the family bakery business, which has grown due to his efforts.
Key passages
“He turned first to the shiny goddess, who seemed to look so softly and critically at his doings, then to the disappearing luminary on the other hand, as he began: Phoebe silvarumque potens Diana!”
Jude knelt by the roadside and recited a Latin hymn to the moon and sun, feeling a superstitious awe that he would never have indulged in daylight.
This moment illustrates Jude's polytheistic fancy and his later realization of the inconsistency between his pagan studies and Christian aspirations.
“He could not go far wrong in following his uncle's footsteps, and engaging himself awhile with the carcases that contained the scholar souls.”
Jude decided to learn stonemasonry, thinking it a fitting trade to support his scholarly ambitions, as it involved working on the buildings that housed learned men.
This decision marks Jude's pragmatic turn toward a manual trade to fund his dream of attending Christminster.