A Pair of Blue Eyes in Catching up on Classics (and lots more!)

Nov 05, 2019 Candi rated it really liked it

Shelves: classics-shelf, kindle-book-i-own

"These eyes were blue; blue as autumn distance—blue as the blue we see between the retreating mouldings of hills and woody slopes on a sunny September morning. A misty and shady blue, that had no beginning or surface, and was looked INTO rather than AT."

This is my third Thomas Hardy novel, and I’ve now learned not to expect a joyful, sentimental sort of story from him. Melancholic and brutally honest – yes, that is more Hardy’s line of writing. I admire his keen insight regarding the social barr "These eyes were blue; blue as autumn distance—blue as the blue we see between the retreating mouldings of hills and woody slopes on a sunny September morning. A misty and shady blue, that had no beginning or surface, and was looked INTO rather than AT."

This is my third Thomas Hardy novel, and I’ve now learned not to expect a joyful, sentimental sort of story from him. Melancholic and brutally honest – yes, that is more Hardy’s line of writing. I admire his keen insight regarding the social barriers surrounding both women and class. His perceptivity into the hearts of women is certainly worthy of esteem. I don’t typically quote from the bible or walk around with numerous biblical sayings floating around in my head, but I couldn’t help but think that Hardy would find 1 Corinthians 13 rather absurd. "… Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs…" Rather, love is challenging, judgmental and jealous. It is not tolerant - it demands perfection!

Hardy’s protagonist, Elfride Swancourt, might seem like a silly girl on the surface, but I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Motherless and raised by her father, the vicar of Endelstow, Elfride is not the worldliest of women. Her social opportunities are naturally lacking, and her father is, let’s face it, a bit of a hypocrite and a blockhead! The plot revolves around Elfride and two men, a love triangle of sorts. Not the irritating sort of triangle, but one that gives the reader much food for thought. Stephen Smith is an up and coming architect, raised by parents from a lower social class than that of the Swancourts. Elfride doesn’t mind, but of course good ole’ papa does. The bankrupt vicar has more ambitious plans for his beautiful daughter. Henry Knight, mentor to Stephen Smith, is a more educated, cultured sort of fellow. Maybe he isn’t quite good enough for dear old dad either?! But Elfride falls for him hard and fast. Torn between the two men, Elfride develops in her own, subtle way. I ended up finding her to be an interesting heroine, flaws and all.

"Elfride’s capacity for being wounded was only surpassed by her capacity for healing, which rightly or wrongly is by some considered an index of transientness of feeling in general."

Victorian pressures and social norms would not have suited me at all (who would they suit?!). Elfride struggles against them constantly. The expectations that are placed on Elfride are stifling, and she may not always make the ‘right’ choices. I wanted to place all blame on the men in this novel, simply because they were ‘Victorian’ men; but that would be unjust. Through Hardy’s crystalline lens, I was able to see both Stephen and Henry as clearly as Elfride. No one has the advantage in love, regardless of rank, class or sex. It’s a sticky mess!

If you enjoy classics, then I can easily recommend this one. Hardy’s writing is lovely and engaging, not too dense. His observations are intelligent and relatable despite the distance of time. There’s even a breathtaking, perilous scene that left me super tense! And the ending was, well, quite perfect.

"If I really seem vain, it is that I am only vain in my ways—not in my heart. The worst women are those vain in their hearts, and not in their ways."
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Nov 20, 2019 Franky rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance, classics, 2019-reading-challenge

This is my fourth read from Thomas Hardy and each one I have enjoyed. A Pair of Blue Eyes brings to light many of Hardy’s repeated themes within his novels: human emotions and conflicts, the nature of love and relationships, an examination of social class structure, and picturesque depictions of rural life and Nature.

At the very heart of A Pair of Blue Eyes is a love triangle that involves the three central characters: Elfride Swancourt (I always love Hardy’s character’s name), a blue-eyed, you This is my fourth read from Thomas Hardy and each one I have enjoyed. A Pair of Blue Eyes brings to light many of Hardy’s repeated themes within his novels: human emotions and conflicts, the nature of love and relationships, an examination of social class structure, and picturesque depictions of rural life and Nature.

At the very heart of A Pair of Blue Eyes is a love triangle that involves the three central characters: Elfride Swancourt (I always love Hardy’s character’s name), a blue-eyed, young daughter of a pastor; Stephen Smith, a young architect; and Henry Knight, an older man who is a reviewer and friends with Stephen.

After the initial love and courting between Elfride and Stephen, certain elements come to the surface about Stephen’s social status and standing which creates a bit of a problem and conflict. When a bit later in the narrative Elfride becomes acquainted with a man who reviewed a book she wrote (the aforementioned Henry), suddenly she becomes romantically involved with him. This creates quite the love triangle and quite a bit of tension within the plot. I have to say that I was very interested to see how everything would pan out, so the plot moves rather quickly.

An interesting aspect from A Pair of Blue Eyes is that it not only examines Elfride’s relationship with Stephen and then Henry, but it also examines Stephens’s relationship and friendship with his mentor, Henry. So, in that way, there are many revolving conflicts that must be resolved in some way, and I think this also pushes the flow of the book forward in quick manner.

Additionally, another interesting element and tidbit about this novel is that is supposedly the first novel to coin the term “cliffhanger”, a term that literally and figuratively come into play in the novel. Literally because there is a character whose life is in jeopardy in a scene involving a cliff, but figuratively because Hardy has an amazing knack to leave the reader hanging with suspense at the end of chapters with certain developments with the plot. It really is very Dickensesque.

Moreover, I do believe that Hardy captures certain Shakespearean elements within his plot. Through his characters, he not only examines the frailty of humans and the emotions that they deal with in daily life and society and its structure, but also there is a level of pathos and emotion, both in romance, and in tragedy, that he also brings to the table. We become invested in these characters, and empathize with them and their predicaments.

Of all the elements, I did believe that the ending was just a tad rushed and hastily put together compared to everything else in the plot and how we arrive to certain developments in the conclusion, but other than that, just another enjoyable and engaging book from Hardy.
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Dec 05, 2012 Laura rated it it was amazing

Shelves: british-literature, audio-books, victorians, read-2012, fiction-19th-century

From BBC radio 4 Extra:
Thomas Hardy's partly autobiographical story about the love triangle between a young woman, Elfride Swancourt, and her two suitors from very different backgrounds

Jeremy Irons is splendid!!! ...more

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Feb 27, 2016 Everyman rated it really liked it

Although not one of Hardy's best known novels, A Pair of Blue Eyes is classic Hardy, and well worth reading. It starts out as a seemingly simple, innocent tale of a very sheltered young woman living with her father in a country vicarage meeting and falling in love with a young man of no good character and intelligence but no family or fortune. Her father, naturally, forbids the marriage. With a twist I won't reveal here they get engaged but aren't able to marry secretly, and he goes off to India ...more

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Nov 06, 2020 Debra rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Unexpected outcomes

Though not the brightest of Hardy’s novels, this one perhaps conveys the most feeling, a journey of the heart. I had read that Marcel Proust was a great fan of this novel and that the romance described in it was that of Hardy, so it made me curious. It contains some of the telltale signatures of a Hardy novel — filled with bucolic scenes and simple lives that he brings to life in a manner that fascinates the imagination. Hardy is a master at creating suspense out of events tha ...more

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Apr 03, 2021 Julie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: did-not-finish, classic-novels

I read a third of it and had to stop. Not one of Hardy's better novels. While the writing itself is gorgeous, the trite love triangle was too irritating to continue on with. I have a hard time understanding the extreme class consciousness of that era. It strikes me as petty and pointless and not worthy of the fuss. Life is too short to spend reading a book that isn't a good fit. ...more

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