Summary
Arabella attends a chapel service but finds herself distracted after spotting Sue at the fair. Despite her recent widowhood and newfound religious devotion, she confesses to her companion that she can't stop thinking about Jude. Her religious conversion proves shallow—she dramatically throws her religious tracts into a hedge, declaring she must be true to her nature. During their journey home, they encounter Phillotson, Jude's former teacher and Sue's ex-husband. Arabella reveals that Sue was innocent of adultery when Phillotson divorced her, causing him visible distress. She criticizes his decision to let Sue go, arguing he should have kept her 'chained.' Meanwhile, Sue successfully sells her cakes at the fair and returns to find Jude recovering from illness. She tells him about encountering Arabella, who now lives nearby in Alfredston. This news troubles Jude, reinforcing his desire to leave the area. He confesses he wants to return to Christminster despite how the university city has rejected him—it remains the center of his universe because of his early dreams. The chapter ends with their arrival in Christminster, where Jude hopes to recover his health and perhaps find acceptance at last. This convergence of past relationships and unresolved feelings sets up inevitable confrontations, while Jude's return to his dream city represents both hope and potential tragedy.
Coming Up in Chapter 43
Back in Christminster, Jude and Sue encounter the vibrant energy of university life during celebration season. But their return to the city of Jude's dreams may bring more pain than healing as old wounds reopen in familiar surroundings.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
N the afternoon Sue and the other people bustling about Kennetbridge fair could hear singing inside the placarded hoarding farther down the street. Those who peeped through the opening saw a crowd of persons in broadcloth, with hymn-books in their hands, standing round the excavations for the new chapel-walls. Arabella Cartlett and her weeds stood among them. She had a clear, powerful voice, which could be distinctly heard with the rest, rising and falling to the tune, her inflated bosom being also seen doing likewise. It was two hours later on the same day that Anny and Mrs. Cartlett, having had tea at the Temperance Hotel, started on their return journey across the high and open country which stretches between Kennetbridge and Alfredston. Arabella was in a thoughtful mood; but her thoughts were not of the new chapel, as Anny at first surmised. “No—it is something else,” at last said Arabella sullenly. “I came here to-day never thinking of anybody but poor Cartlett, or of anything but spreading the Gospel by means of this new tabernacle they’ve begun this afternoon. But something has happened to turn my mind another way quite. Anny, I’ve heard of un again, and I’ve seen _her_!” “Who?” “I’ve heard of Jude, and I’ve seen his wife. And ever since, do what I will, and though I sung the hymns wi’ all my strength, I have not been able to help thinking about ’n; which I’ve no right to do as a chapel member.” “Can’t ye fix your mind upon what was said by the London preacher to-day, and try to get rid of your wandering fancies that way?” “I do. But my wicked heart will ramble off in spite of myself!” “Well—I know what it is to have a wanton mind o’ my own, too! If you on’y knew what I do dream sometimes o’ nights quite against my wishes, you’d say I had my struggles!” (Anny, too, had grown rather serious of late, her lover having jilted her.) “What shall I do about it?” urged Arabella morbidly. “You could take a lock of your late-lost husband’s hair, and have it made into a mourning brooch, and look at it every hour of the day.” “I haven’t a morsel!—and if I had ’twould be no good… After all that’s said about the comforts of this religion, I wish I had Jude back again!” “You must fight valiant against the feeling, since he’s another’s. And I’ve heard that another good thing for it, when it afflicts volupshious widows, is to go to your husband’s grave in the dusk of evening, and stand a long while a-bowed down.” “Pooh! I know as well as you what I should do; only I don’t do it!” They drove in silence along the straight road till they were within the horizon of Marygreen, which lay not far to the left of their route. They came to the junction of the highway and the cross-lane leading to that village, whose church-tower...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road Back to What Broke You
The compulsive tendency to circle back to people, places, or situations that previously caused pain, convinced this time will be different.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to recognize when you're returning to something from strength versus weakness, hope versus unfinished psychological business.
Practice This Today
Next time you feel drawn back to a person, job, or situation that previously hurt you, ask yourself: What specifically has changed since I left, and am I returning from strength or from the need to prove something?
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Chapel member
A person belonging to a nonconformist Protestant church, separate from the established Church of England. Chapel members were often working-class and emphasized personal morality and temperance.
Modern Usage:
Like someone who joins a strict religious community but struggles to live up to all the rules and expectations.
Temperance Hotel
A hotel that served no alcohol, part of the temperance movement that promoted abstinence from drinking. These establishments catered to religious and morally-minded travelers.
Modern Usage:
Similar to dry counties today or venues that don't serve alcohol for religious or health reasons.
Gospel tracts
Small pamphlets containing religious messages meant to convert or inspire people. Distributing these was considered a Christian duty among evangelical groups.
Modern Usage:
Like religious flyers people hand out on street corners or leave in public places today.
Broadcloth
High-quality woolen fabric used for formal clothing, indicating respectability and middle-class status. Wearing broadcloth showed you had achieved some social standing.
Modern Usage:
Like wearing your best business suit to show you're respectable and successful.
Tabernacle
A large tent-like structure or temporary building used for religious worship, especially by nonconformist churches. Often used before permanent chapels were built.
Modern Usage:
Like a mega-church or large temporary venue used for religious services and revivals.
Weeds
Black mourning clothes worn by widows, especially the heavy black dress and veil that showed respect for the deceased husband and indicated the woman's unavailable status.
Modern Usage:
Like wearing all black to a funeral, but extended for months or years to show you're still grieving.
Characters in This Chapter
Arabella
Jude's first wife and antagonist
Attends chapel service but becomes distracted after seeing Sue. Despite her recent religious conversion and widowhood, she throws away her religious tracts and admits she can't stop thinking about Jude, showing her shallow faith.
Modern Equivalent:
The ex who claims they've changed but keeps stirring up old drama
Sue
Jude's current partner and co-protagonist
Successfully sells cakes at the fair and encounters Arabella. She reports this meeting to Jude, which troubles him and reinforces his desire to leave the area for Christminster.
Modern Equivalent:
The partner trying to build a stable life while dealing with interference from the ex
Jude
Protagonist
Recovering from illness when Sue returns from the fair. Learning that Arabella lives nearby troubles him, but he still dreams of returning to Christminster despite repeated rejections from the university.
Modern Equivalent:
The dreamer who keeps chasing the same goal that's already rejected them multiple times
Phillotson
Sue's former husband
Encounters Arabella and learns that Sue was innocent of adultery when he divorced her. This revelation causes him visible distress as he realizes he may have made a terrible mistake.
Modern Equivalent:
The ex-husband who realizes too late that he threw away a good relationship
Anny
Arabella's companion
Accompanies Arabella and serves as a sounding board for her confessions about abandoning her religious duties to think about Jude again.
Modern Equivalent:
The friend who has to listen to all the drama but can't really change anything
Key Quotes & Analysis
"I've heard of Jude, and I've seen his wife. And ever since, do what I will, and though I sung the hymns wi' all my strength, I have not been able to help thinking about 'n; which I've no right to do as a chapel member."
Context: Arabella confesses to Anny that seeing Sue has disrupted her religious focus
This reveals how shallow Arabella's religious conversion really is. The moment she encounters her past, all her new moral commitments crumble, showing that people can't easily escape their true nature.
In Today's Words:
I saw my ex's new girlfriend and now I can't stop thinking about him, even though I'm supposed to be over all that drama.
"She was innocent."
Context: Arabella tells Phillotson that Sue never actually committed adultery
This revelation devastates Phillotson because it means he divorced Sue based on false assumptions, throwing away his marriage for nothing. It shows how misunderstandings can destroy relationships.
In Today's Words:
She never actually cheated on you.
"You ought to have kept her chained up."
Context: Arabella criticizes Phillotson for letting Sue go so easily
This shocking statement reveals Arabella's view that women should be controlled and possessed rather than respected as individuals. It contrasts sharply with Phillotson's more enlightened approach to letting Sue choose her own path.
In Today's Words:
You should have made her stay whether she wanted to or not.
Thematic Threads
Self-Deception
In This Chapter
Jude convinces himself Christminster is still his 'universe center' while Arabella abandons religious conversion for her true nature
Development
Evolved from earlier self-deceptions about social mobility and marriage into deeper patterns of identity denial
In Your Life:
You might catch yourself making the same excuse for different versions of the same mistake.
Class Boundaries
In This Chapter
Jude's return to Christminster represents his inability to accept his class position despite repeated rejections
Development
Deepened from initial academic ambitions into existential need to prove worth through institutional acceptance
In Your Life:
You might find yourself repeatedly seeking validation from institutions or people who've already shown they don't value you.
Shallow Conversion
In This Chapter
Arabella dramatically discards religious tracts, admitting she must be 'true to her nature' rather than maintain spiritual facade
Development
Introduced here as counterpoint to Sue's earlier genuine spiritual struggles
In Your Life:
You might recognize when you're adopting new behaviors for show rather than genuine change.
Convergence
In This Chapter
All major characters are drawing back to the same geographic and emotional spaces, setting up inevitable confrontations
Development
Built throughout the novel as characters' paths repeatedly intersect despite attempts to separate
In Your Life:
You might notice how avoiding difficult conversations often leads to more complicated encounters later.
Hope vs Reality
In This Chapter
Jude frames his return as hope for health and acceptance while readers see the setup for tragedy
Development
Consistent throughout as Jude's optimism repeatedly collides with social realities
In Your Life:
You might catch yourself confusing wishful thinking with realistic planning.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
Why does Arabella throw away her religious tracts and declare she must be 'true to her nature'? What does this reveal about the depth of her conversion?
analysis • surface - 2
Despite being repeatedly rejected by Christminster, Jude insists on returning there because it remains 'the center of his universe.' What psychological need is driving this decision?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see this pattern of 'gravitational return' in modern life—people going back to places, relationships, or situations that previously hurt them?
application • medium - 4
What questions should someone ask themselves before returning to a situation that previously caused them pain? How can you tell if you're returning from strength or weakness?
application • deep - 5
Both Jude and Arabella are drawn back to their sources of disappointment. What does this suggest about how we remember pain versus potential?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Own Gravitational Pulls
Think of a place, person, or situation you've left but felt drawn to return to despite past disappointment. Draw a simple map with that situation in the center, then list around it: what originally attracted you, what went wrong, what's changed since you left, and what you hope would be different if you returned.
Consider:
- •Be honest about whether the fundamental dynamics have actually changed or if you're just hoping they have
- •Notice if you're remembering the dream more clearly than the disappointment
- •Consider what returning would cost you versus what staying away might gain you
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you returned to something that had hurt you before. What drove that decision? How did it turn out, and what did you learn about your own patterns?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 43: The Outsider's Speech at Christminster
What lies ahead teaches us public humiliation can become a moment of unexpected dignity and truth-telling, and shows us society judges success by outcomes rather than the worthiness of the attempt. These patterns appear in literature and life alike.