If Susanna Bridehead from Hardy's novel, Jude the Obscure, lived in the present, her actions would seem very old-fashioned. She was a near-powerless woman compared to some of the successful and assertive women who exist now. Sue was so timid that she had no say in what her husband wants to do to her, lacks assertiveness and self-control, and is treated as if she cannot make decisions for herself. What amazes me is that with all this being true, she was thought of as having inappropriately independent beliefs for a girl – almost a feminist before her time. In fact, the unacceptable behaviors of Sue were so unlike the social norms of the year of publication, 1895, that the novel aroused a great deal of controversy and criticism in Britain and the United States. Hardy ultimately gave up writing fiction as a result of this novel.
             Although Sue is considered a brave and liberated character for her time as a whole, there were a few times in the story when she is portrayed as powerless. These feeble actions reflect the social norm of the time of the novel, including showing how women were relatively powerless, and that society only values women for their beauty. For example, when Sue begins working for Phillotson in Part II, he puts his arm around her, and she removes it, and he puts it back, and she lets it stay. This action shows her weakness very clearly. Another example is in Part III, when Sue writes a series of notes to Jude. The first one says something like, "Do not love me Jude, you can only like me," an assertively stated letter. The next note read something like, "Never mind, you can love me if you want to," which is not how she really feels but she says it anyways. The final note said "I am sorry for my rash words," a blatant apology for her assertiveness in the first note. Sue's actions were also limited when she agreed to marry Phillotson even though he was about thirty years her...