• Fate has a role in the letters--timing is off
• Inconsistency in Sue's letters--crafted responses to Jude
• Letters are a private means of communication--they allow Sue an outlet
• Letters become a sign of Jude's fate (and his lack of persistence in pursuing an education; he allows the professor to write him off)
• Letters create distance, allow Sue to say things she can't say face to face
• Letters indicate contrary states
• Difficulty in interpreting the letters--not always reliable
• Letters are a treasure
• Letters signify intention--Phillotson may hold Sue to her word

Presentations: Brian and LaTanya

Important Moments in Part III

• Jude now studies to be a curate (a cleric, one who assists a vicar; from the Latin meaning spiritual charge )
• Comparison of Christ and Jude
• Rail replaces the cathedral as the center of life--onset of modernity, out of the middle ages
• Mechanical reproduction--Sue gives a photo to Jude and to Phillotson--this allows simultaneous desire
• Sue dresses like a man, thinks like a man in some ways
• Sue rearranges the Bible (121)
• Jude gives Sue away--women still like property
• Arabella returns; Jude falls prey to his passions

Reading Response Study questions

• Explain the tension between tradition versus modernity.
• Explain the importance of letters.
• Why does Sue rearrange the Bible?
• Discuss Hardy's use of ancient cultures/texts/knowledge/models (Jerusalem versus Greece; Judeo-Christian models versus Pagan, Roman Greco models).
• Why is education difficult for Jude?
• How are Jude and Sue similar?