Jude the Obscure

by Thomas Hardy

Jude the Obscure: Pathos 1 key example

Definition of Pathos

Pathos, along with logos and ethos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Pathos is an argument that appeals to... read full definition
Pathos, along with logos and ethos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Pathos is... read full definition
Pathos, along with logos and ethos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective... read full definition
Part 6, Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Too Menny:

Thomas Hardy appeals to the audience's sense of pathos with his horrifying description of the suicide of Jude's children in Part 6, Chapter 2. When Jude and Sue return from a brief excursion, they are flabbergasted to find all their children hanging dead in the cupboard:

Moreover a piece of paper was found upon the floor, on which was written, in the boy’s hand, with the bit of lead pencil that he carried: ‘Done because we are too menny.’ At sight of this Sue’s nerves utterly gave way, an awful conviction that her discourse with the boy had been the main cause of the tragedy, throwing her into a convulsive agony which knew no abatement.