Comparing Hardy`s `jude The Obsure` And Dickens` `great Expectations` In Terms Of Their Portrayal Of Social Mobility

To what extent are Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens conforming to Bildungsroman form in their aim to portray social mobility as an impossible ideal?

Typically, Bildungsroman novels explore the developing maturity, and psychological and moral growth, of their protagonists, thus Jude the Obscure, and Great Expectations, novels that focus their narratives purely on the protagonist s development could be seen as conforming to this particular format. Whereas Dickens protagonist, Pip does seem to improve morally, this doesn t seem to be the case with Hardy s character, Jude, whom has the same beliefs and convictions for the entirety of the novel. Despite this, neither Pip nor Jude are able to socially advance regardless of their efforts due to the fixed class system in place during the Victorian era. Education opportunities, career development and social progress were restricted during this time, hence both Pip and Jude, despite their determination to become educated, face many difficulties. Jude s and Pip s struggle is worsened by their lack of familial stability both being orphaned children. With the emergence of social reform and Fabianism during this time, many writers including Dickens, explored the social hardship of the 19th century and constructed characters that resist the oppression they face in order to subvert the social hierarchy. However, on the contrary, Hardy s passive acceptance of the inevitability of the class system is portrayed through his fatalistic novels.

Both protagonists experience factors that encourage their aspirations-for example, the schoolmaster, Mr Philloston, whom Jude is especially fond of, leaves to go to Christminister and Pip wishes to become a part of the high society to which Estella belongs. This brief insight to a world of class superiority ignites a desire within them to transcend from their surroundings and exceed expectations. The eponymous protagonist, Jude endures a tedious life on a farm in Southern England at the start of the novel which motivates his endeavour to seek a more fulfilling life. His ability to empathise with the birds seemed like himself to be living in a world which did not want them symbolises how he wishes to be liberated from his class restrictions yet foreshadows the rejection he will face in Christminster.

Jude s initial move to overcome social restrictions is through educational pursuit rather than entrepreneurship which is arguably more challenging. Jude approaches the Physician Vilbert, a member of the bourgeoisie, who exploits the ignorance of peasants by selling them fake cures to diseases, to ask him for Latin and Greek grammar sheets. He forgets to bring Jude these sheets which are his only means of freedom, however despite this obstacle, Jude insists on becoming a scholar and requests this grammar from Mr Phillotson instead. Given that he must be autodidactic due to an exclusive education system, he feels he is unable to comprehend and learn the grammar himself. Samuel Smiles, another writer during this time, set out to promote the primer for the poor in self-education and upward mobility (British Library) through Self Help . According to Smiles, autodidactism was effective and successful however this is debatable in Hardy s novel as Jude s defeated nature when he flung down the books .. and was an utterly miserable boy . However, he is not discouraged and eventually becomes literate with much perseverance which suggests that although self-teaching is an extremely difficult endeavour, it is not an impossible task, though it does not result in social elevation. For Hardy, in his novel, meritocracy is a non-existent concept.

Hardy uses the location of Christminster as a fictional representation of Oxford University, which he himself could not access, despite his interest in Classics, due to his poverty. Higher education was only accessible to the rich and its exclusivity was, to hold back the spread of adult education to the working classes in an effort to protect the already over-crowded middle-class professions (Buzwell). Thus, Hardy portrays Jude s attempt to attend a similar establishment as futile in order to reflect his own personal reproach towards the education system of the time. Jude is unable to see Christminister when Hardy states, the vague city became veiled in mist (Hardy, 1993) which implies metaphorically his ignorance of the possibilities available to him. This is also presented through the title of the novel Jude the Obscure , which implies that Jude is trying to find his way out of obscurity. However, Jude is always surrounded by figurative mists, suggesting he never achieves enlightenment. Dickens adopts a similar metaphor when he states, the mists had all solemnly risen now, and the world lay spread before me (Dickens, 1992) which implies that Pip s naivety has been lifted at the end of the first stage of his expectations, as he is about to visit London and become enlightened, conforming to the Bildungsroman form more so than Jude the Obscure. However, the mists also symbolise Pip s future when he states, If they disclosed to me that he should leave his home, they were quite right, too . In this respect, the metaphorical mists reveal the inevitable truth that Pip will never be able to escape his working class status.

Unlike Jude, Pip is taught basic skills in Mr Wopsle s School which impresses his naive uncle Joe, due to his own complete illiteracy. Pip however is not satisfied with his low standard of education due to his great expectations which can be seen as ironic these expectations are futile and unattainable ones. Herbet Pocket teaches him the appropriate social manners and etiquette to facilitate his status as an upper class citizen. Pip s acquired knowledge of how to behave as a gentleman is arguably satirical towards the bourgeoisie, as Pip soon realises that spiritual wealth is far more superior to material wealth. This can be seen through Riches and rank have no necessary connection with genuine gentlemanly qualities (Smiles, 1859). Bentley Drummle epitomises the arbitrary nature of the class system as he is neither moral nor intelligent as can be seen through his temper he swore, took up a large glass, and would have flung it at his adversary`s head however is still an aristocrat. Education, although still difficult to accomplish, appears slightly more accessible in Great Expectations than Jude the Obscure as Pip has support from his seniors whereas Jude is completely isolated in his academic endeavours. Despite this, neither protagonist becomes thoroughly educated because they are denied a formal education as a result of their social class, which reflects the social inequality of the 19th century. Pip s success is arguably a result of him receiving a large fortune from an anonymous benefactor (whom we later learn is Magwitch), rather than his own pursuit of education or intellect. Thus, Dickens suggests that money is the only means of social advancement and that the concept of the self-made man , like in Jude the Obscure, is a myth/illusion rather than a reality.

Jude finds it difficult to compete with those who have been privately schooled even when he arrives at Christminister and when location is no longer an issue. The exclamative and repetitive, Only a wall-but what a wall! (Hardy, 1993) suggests his despair at the fact that he is still unable to access his dreams. Here, Hardy appears to be presenting the notion of the lack of social progression in a capitalist system is due to the fixed class division between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, which can be seen in the glass ceiling that forces Jude into employment as a stonemason, seeing a future he is unable to attain. Another interpretation is that the wall is a psychological barrier as Jude doesn t feel as if he belongs in this society.

The female characters in the novels are also depicted as barriers to the protagonist s social elevation. An example is the profound effect that Estella has on Pip s character causing him to acquire elitist attitudes in comparison to his previous unprejudiced outlook when helping the convict, Magwitch. He disapproves of Joe, I wanted to make Joe less ignorant and common...worthier of my society and less open to Estella s reproach (Dickens, 1992). In fact Pip becomes completely consumed with gaining Estella s approval, an idealised aristocratic figure who contributes to his dissociation from his family. It could be said that Estella epitomises the impenetrability of the social class system as she does not reciprocate Pip s love. Her calm face was like a statue s (Dickens, 1992) which not only shows us how cruel and unaffected she is towards men due her upbringing by Miss Havisham, but also how unwavering and merciless the class system is. Comparably, Jude s idealised vision of his cousin, Sue as a sweet tantalizing phantom hardly flesh at all (Hardy, 1993) suggests his infatuation with her as an intelligent, rich and successful woman. He admires her intellectual capacity, a woman whose intellect was to mine like a star to a benzoline lamp (Hardy, 1993). In comparing himself to a lamp , he argues that his intelligence is easily extinguished whereas Estella s whom is like a star is not only eternal, but also unattainable. The connotations of Estella s name with star also presents her as unreachable. Both encompass the shared dream of the vulnerable Pip and Jude in their high status and intelligence and the fact that they are aloof, only serves to make the protagonists more desperate and self-destructive. They are ultimately catalysts towards their impending doom.

On the other hand, Arabella, a local farm girl ensnares Jude into marrying her, thus limiting him to his social class. She is dubious about his pursuit of education when she tells Jude, I won t have them books here (Hardy, 1993) which suggests that working class citizens prefer to be ignorant to what they can t have as it makes life easier for them. The grammatical error used implies her ignorance and is directly juxtaposed with Jude s eloquent and academic lexis which suggests that he no longer belongs to a class that still ensnares him. This also prefigures Jude s detachment from Arabella as they are divorced soon after due to Jude s quest for wisdom in Christminster. Later in the novel, Jude and Sue s children tragically die which perhaps shows their incompatibility and how unhealthy their relationship was in raising children due to the fact that they both refuse to conform. It was in his nature to do it (Hardy, 1993) suggests that as an unwanted, abnormal child, Little Father Time was destined to commit such an outage as to kill himself and his siblings. The poignant suicide note that Little Father Time leaves Done because we are too menny may suggest from a Marxist critical perspective that Jude and Sue suffered financially due to having such a large family. Consequently, Sue falls into depression and Jude becomes ill. As Arabella is the only character to prosper at the end of the novel, we can assume that this is because she has complied with social conventions whereas the characters who attempted to challenge the social system face dark consequences of depression and even death. Thus, Hardy shows aspirations as dangerous and inadvisable.

The moral decline that wealth and prosperity leads to is apparent in Great Expectations when Pip neglects his origins and disowns his humble family, thus Dickens is critical towards both the self-made man and the aristocracy. To have a good chance of being one of his country s worth a man should be as cold-blooded as a fish and as selfish as a pig (Hardy, 1993). This implies that characters face a dilemma between being successful and heartless or grounded and humble. Pip does not think before exchanging his humble life with a new loveless pursuit of wealth, which is presented negatively by Dickens. It isn t until Pip s discovery of Magwitch being his benefactor that his expectations are shattered and he realises he does not need education and manners to be affluent. Through this, Dickens portrays his disapproval of the upper class and respect towards the lower class, as a reformer for social justice. The inexplicable illness Pip develops is arguably a result of the moral deterioration and corruption which consumes him. This purge is necessary for him to realise the worth of his family and to restore the humble and kind nature that he possessed at the beginning of the novel. Whereas Pip recovers from his illness, Jude dies which suggests that he has become so lost and damaged, that he is irreparable whereas Pip still has a sort of moral bearing on his life despite the corruption to which wealth led to. Whilst Great Expectations conforms to many features of a Bildungsroman novel including catharsis which occurs when the reader realises the inherent goodness of Pip, thus inspiring hope for his future endeavours, Jude the Obscure appears to subvert the format through the protagonist s death and moral deterioration. Dickens reconstitutes a set of moral values to undermine the supposed superiority of the bourgeois, in his favourable representation of the working class whereas Hardy warns his readers to accept their fates, as if they resist them, they will suffer the consequences.

In conclusion, Dickens and Hardy both arguably use their novels to display the futility of attempts at social progression during the conservative Victorian Era, in order to both satirise and critique the class system and show social advancement as both illusory and unattainable. However, Dickens stimulates hope for his protagonist, Pip who manages to climb the wall enough so that he could hold on long enough to have a look over it whereas Hardy presents Jude as less successful in accepting that he will not be able to climb the wall, thus embracing his fate and his working class status. We see that Pip s glimpse into privilege is temporary though as, at the end of the novel he reverts back to his poverty I was in debt and Jude dies, deflating any trace of hope that might have been left for him. Therefore, when retrospectively applying these texts to the Bildungsroman form, it appears that they conform to many of the conventions, however ultimately they usurp them in their focus to, either socially reform in Dickens case, or reveal the limitations of the class system in Hardy s case.

Bibliography

(n.d.). Retrieved 11 13, 2015, from British Library: http://www.bl.uk/collection-items/self-help-by-samuel-smiles

Buzwell, G. (n.d.). Retrieved 11 10, 2015, from http://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/an-introduction-to-jude-the-obscure

Dickens, C. (1992). Great Expectations. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Edition Limited.

Hardy, T. (1993). Jude the Obscure. Hertforshire: Wordsworth Edition Limited.

Smiles, S. (1859). Self-Help. London: Routledge Publishing House.