SOURCE: "Order and Disorder in Jude the Obscure," in English Literature in Transition: 1880-1920, Vol. 24, No. 1, 1981, pp. 6-15.

In the following excerpt, Sonstroem focuses on Jude's at times "disorderly, random, [and repetitive" migrations within the structured course of Jude the Obscure to illustrate the thematic implications of Hardy's framing of chaos in "intricate order."]

In his thought-provoking "A propos de la construction de Jude the Obscure,"¹ Fernand Lagarde presents Hardy's novel as a rigidly balanced quasi-architectural construction, within which characters dance an intricate "ronde" or quadrille. In support of his view he points to the symmetrical disposition of chapters within each Part of the novel and among the six Parts, to the placement of a crisis at the precise center of each Part, and to many other such structural harmonies. He notes, too, the extensive network of similarities and contrasts among the personalities and careers of the four...