Herzen im Aufruhr (Roman) (1895)

I said this before, in another review, that Thomas Hardy is such a literary talent that you can't give him less than three stars, no matter what you may think of the story itself. And I sure didn't think much of this one. I don't mean that it wasn't thought provoking, I just didn't care for the thoughts it provoked. I think it should have had an additional title: "Sue the Absurd", because this woman was too unbelievable to be believable. She's supposed to be a modern woman yet she acts more like an old fashioned martyr, sacrificing herself, for no really good reason. She makes a foolish marriage to Phillotson, who physically repulses her, makes the wise choice to ask him for her freedom, but once that's granted and Jude, (whom she loves....or cares for, since I don't think she was emotionally capable of love) gets his freedom from his conniving wife, Arabella, she won't marry him, and risks the disapproval of society by just living with him. Even when they're both legally free, she prefers not to revisit the altar, (or whatever). Makes perfect sense: marry a man you hate, but don't marry one you love. Her short fiasco with Phillotson couldn't have soured her on marriage that badly, and while it's true there was plenty of hypocrisy in it back then (not to mention mercenary gains, social pressure, and plenty that has nothing to do with love), back then, if you want children it should have been clear that they'd be much better off if their parents were legally wed.

So, they live together, but can't settle anywhere, too much disapproval, (so much stupidity....how many "respectably" married people had "bits on the side", as they said back then, and yet had the nerve to judge others) and are never really happy. When a terrible tragedy results, Sue's answer is to do penance by sacrificing herself and returning to Phillotson, despite her physical repulsion. He's all too eager to remarry her (talk about a desperate man, I'm guessing he couldn't find any other woman to sleep with him, including prostitutes), makes perfect (non)sense! Why not devote yourself to good works, charities, helping orphaned children, cleaning the street of horse manure, whatever....but this was just too ABSURD to be believed!

Almost as absurd as Jude believing that Arabella's kid was his. Considering that she had lied before about being pregnant (and he fell for that trap like a real nincompoop), left him for another man, and couldn't keep her legs together if she tried, not to mention there weren't even blood tests back then, let alone DNA ones, does it really seem likely he was the boy's father? I think NOT. But then again, considering the way the kid acted....insanity does run in families!

To sum it up, neither of these fools deserved a happy ending and I'm sure glad they didn't get one. ( )

La storia romanzata dell'eterna lotta che, da quando esiste il mondo, il libero pensiero si trova a intraprendere contro le convenzioni sociale imperanti. La storia di un altalenante susseguirsi di vittorie apparenti e altrettanto apparenti sconfitte, di anime decise a trascender i limiti che la società avrebbe voluto imporre loro e della disperazione che le coglie ogni qualvolta condiscendono al suasivo, ma velenoso richiamo della cosiddetta "normalità ". Una storia in sé triste, che fa di questo dolore un monito e un'accusa. ( )

Wow hardy was a feminist ( )

Oh, how Hardy can break your heart. Poor Jude, poor Sue, poor tiny children. Society is so cruel, and there is no good solution out there. Human life is too fragile for people, judgment, and convention.

The novel brilliantly and tragically asks questions about what respectability costs, what it means, and who holds it. But what really shines is how Hardy can surprise you with things that seem like they will be incredibly dull to read about. How cares about manual labor, hats, travel, sick aunts? Well, now I do, because Hardy drew out my heart strings and then slowly plucked them until they snapped.

Still not 100% sure how I feel about Sue’s final conclusions, but that’s part of the appeal—thinking about how it all went down for a long time after finishing the book and never being completely decided.

Unexpectedly a big Hardy fan. ( )

PB-2