The characters in Jude the Obscure embody the struggle against societal constraints, despite their inherent goodness and moral integrity. Jude Fawley, Richard Phillotson, and Sue Bridehead all demonstrate kindness, compassion, and a sense of justice. However, they find themselves ostracized and punished for defying conventions.

For Jude, that struggle first emerges as an attempt to rise out of his class status and pursue an education in Christminster. Although most of the wise people in his life tell him that the place is not for people like him, Jude sets his sights on the distant city and teaches himself the subjects that he knows he will need to master to gain entry. The tragedy of this struggle, particularly in the early chapters, is that Jude does not know the enormity of the constraints he is trying to fight. Believing obstinately in personal merit, he cannot imagine that where he learned Greek and Latin will matter more than the fact that he has learned them. Jude’s intellect means that he almost immediately becomes aware of his predicament when he gets to Christminster; even so, it takes the direct rejection from the Master of Biblioll College for him to internalize the message.