Thomas Hardy, an outstanding novelist and poet, had brought the literature world a glorious page. We commemorate him not only for his immortal masterpieces in the period of realism, but also for his excellent techniques in creating sympathetic protagonists vividly in a gloomy time. His most-known tragic novels include The Return of the Native (1878), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891) and Jude the Obscure (1896) . This thesis deals with one of his novels, Jude the Obscure, analyzing the conflicting self and tragic, predetermined life of the hero, Jude.
This thesis consists of three major parts besides the introduction and conclusion. The first part is about Hardy’s tragic visions, which has a lot to do with his growing experiences. He weaves his sad feelings for the poor people in his writing, reflected on the ill-fated protagonists. The second part shows us the conflicting inner self of Jude Fawley, who suffers from fierce struggle between his natural desire and intellectual pursuits. And the third part will detailedly analyze Jude’s insurmountable tragic fate in intellectual pursuits, religious belief and marriage life.
Key words: tragedy, inner conflicts, intellectual pursuits, religious belief, love and marriage