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"Our fellows in mortality"

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Date Issued:
2010
Summary:
In Jude the Obscure, Thomas Hardy depicts characters who are especially sensitive to the suffering of all living creatures and thus engages his novel in the topic of animal rights. In this project I examine the human-animal relationships in Hardy's novel in terms of the ideas of two different philosophers: Peter Singer and Cora Diamond. I argue that, while Singer at first seems to provide a useful model for understanding these relationships in Jude, Diamond's account of these relationships is ultimately a more helpful tool for understanding Hardy's ideas about animals. Diamond helps us see that Hardy believes people should help all living creatures in pain, no matter the cost to themselves, not because they recognize their suffering, but because they recognize a shared commonality with all sentient creatures.
Title: "Our fellows in mortality": kindness to animals in Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure.
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Name(s): Brockway, Jessica L.
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Thesis
Issuance: multipart monograph
Date Issued: 2010
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Extent: v, 33 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: In Jude the Obscure, Thomas Hardy depicts characters who are especially sensitive to the suffering of all living creatures and thus engages his novel in the topic of animal rights. In this project I examine the human-animal relationships in Hardy's novel in terms of the ideas of two different philosophers: Peter Singer and Cora Diamond. I argue that, while Singer at first seems to provide a useful model for understanding these relationships in Jude, Diamond's account of these relationships is ultimately a more helpful tool for understanding Hardy's ideas about animals. Diamond helps us see that Hardy believes people should help all living creatures in pain, no matter the cost to themselves, not because they recognize their suffering, but because they recognize a shared commonality with all sentient creatures.
Identifier: 779178129 (oclc), 3334248 (digitool), FADT3334248 (IID), fau:1387 (fedora)
Note(s): by Jessica L. Brockway.
Thesis (B.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, Honors College, 2010.
Includes bibliography.
Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Subject(s): Hardy, Thomas, 1840-1928
Singer, Peter, 1946-
Diamond, Cora
Animal rights (Philosophy)
Human-animal relationships in literature
Symbolism in literature
Animals and civilization
Held by: FBoU FAUER
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3334248
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Host Institution: FAU

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