A Pair of Blue Eyes
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- Create Date：2021-05-20 10:54:15
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Thomas Hardy
- ISBN：1853262773
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Summary
With a new Introduction by Cedric Watts， Research Professor of English， University of Sussex。
A Pair of Blue Eyes， though early in the sequence of Hardy's novels， is lively and gripping。 Its dramatic cliff-hanging episode， for example， is at once tense， ironic， feministic and erotic。
With settings in Wessex and London， the novel also has some strongly autobiographical features， as the blue-eyed heroine， Elfride Swancourt， is based largely on Emma Gifford， who became Thomas Hardy's first wife。 Elfride's vivacious nature attracts several lovers， but she is beset by sexual prejudice， and the ensuing ironies reveal the constraints of her times。
A Pair of Blue Eyes provides an engaging and moving experience for today's readers。
A Pair of Blue Eyes， though early in the sequence of Hardy's novels， is lively and gripping。 Its dramatic cliff-hanging episode， for example， is at once tense， ironic， feministic and erotic。
With settings in Wessex and London， the novel also has some strongly autobiographical features， as the blue-eyed heroine， Elfride Swancourt， is based largely on Emma Gifford， who became Thomas Hardy's first wife。 Elfride's vivacious nature attracts several lovers， but she is beset by sexual prejudice， and the ensuing ironies reveal the constraints of her times。
A Pair of Blue Eyes provides an engaging and moving experience for today's readers。
Reviews
Matthew
，
A Pair of Blue Eyes is yet another one of Thomas Hardy’s novels about a love triangle。 This time he keeps it simple and confines himself to one love triangle however。Elfride Swancourt is the pivotal figure in this triangle， a young and innocent rustic girl。 She is courted by the self-educated Stephen Smith with her father’s approval， but the discovery that Smith is the son of the local mason soon arouses the snobbery of Swancourt。 Smith leaves to make his fortune and Elfride pledges to wait for A Pair of Blue Eyes is yet another one of Thomas Hardy’s novels about a love triangle。 This time he keeps it simple and confines himself to one love triangle however。Elfride Swancourt is the pivotal figure in this triangle， a young and innocent rustic girl。 She is courted by the self-educated Stephen Smith with her father’s approval， but the discovery that Smith is the son of the local mason soon arouses the snobbery of Swancourt。 Smith leaves to make his fortune and Elfride pledges to wait for him。The third figure in the equation is Henry Knight， a respected city book critic。 Smith has a curious relationship with Knight that arouses Elfride’s jealousy。 He is a younger man who looks up to Knight with awe， and when Elfride asks which of the two of them Smith would save if he saw both of them drowning， he does not seem entirely certain that he would choose Elfride！Whatever the peculiar homosocial associations between the two men， Smith and Elfride hope to marry。 Anyone who has read enough Hardy will easily guess what happens next。 Elfride meets Knight during Smith’s absence， and of course her affections begin to turn。While Hardy did not quite subscribe to the ‘women prefer men who are b*stards’ theory of life， he certainly seemed to think that ‘nice men finish last’。 There is often a man in Hardy novels （Giles Winterbourne， John Loveday， Christopher Julian etc） who Hardy imagines is more deserving of the flighty heroine， but she somehow ends up with a lesser man， and he must marry elsewhere or die alone。What many aggrieved ‘nice men’ do not understand about women is that they are not necessarily attracted by bad men。 They are attracted by character， and being nice is scarcely a character trait。 It is not even the same thing as performing specific acts of goodness。In The Woodlanders， Winterbourne’s most virtuous act is to preserve his loved one’s honour by sleeping in an outside hut， and destroying his health for his pains。 Similarly in A Pair of Blue Eyes， Smith allows Elfride to talk him out of a rushed clandestine marriage before he goes away， though he does enough to unintentionally compromise her before he leaves。Preserving a woman’s honour is not much of a virtuous act however， and I suspect that both heroines would have liked the men better if they had been more ruthless in securing the allegiance of the woman they like。Now let us look at why Knight is so appealing to Elfride。 He is less sparing of Elfride’s feelings。 When she writes a romantic novel， he gives it a scathing review， and does not back down after meeting her。 While Elfride is obliged to let Smith beat her at chess， Knight （his name is a chess piece） simply trounces her。That might not seem appealing， but he challenges and stimulates her in a way that Smith cannot do with his niceness。 Elfride’s thoughts and eventually her feelings naturally begin to shift towards Knight， and Smith returns to find he has been replaced。Smith is discreet about his loss， but Elfride has another danger。 After returning from her failed elopement with Smith， she was seen by a local woman。 This woman’s son died， and the woman blames Elfride for supposedly leading him on。 She now intends revenge by telling Knight。Elfride’s problem here is that Knight is a prototype for Angel Clare， the hero of Tess of the D’Urbervilles。 He lacks Angel’s double standards – Knight has no prior experience of women – but he shares Angel’s priggishness about women who have a past history with men。Soon the truth comes out， the offence compounded by Elfride’s secrecy， and the lovers break up。 Later Smith and Knight meet up， and decide to try once more for Elfride’s hand， but Hardy includes two nasty little twists， which seem mean-spirited， and which add a slur to Elfride’s essentially innocent character so far。This is entertaining， but strictly minor Hardy material。 This time Hardy foreshadows later works by suggesting that the twists of fate， most explainable by human error， are somehow the result of a callous natural force in the world。The book’s most famous passage occurs when Knight has an accident， and is left clinging for his life off a cliff edge。 He sees a trilobite in the rocks， and Hardy includes a long speculation that shows a keen knowledge of the theory of evolution。 The fortunes of the main characters are thrown into relief by a glimpse of their insignificance in the face of history， and their helplessness in the hands of powers far outside their control。The book is worth a read in itself， and this particular passage is the one that makes it most memorable。 。。。more
Mis。Libros。Y。Mis。Mascotas
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Es una historia de amor de un triángulo amoroso que está basada en la época del siglo XIX en un pueblo del oeste de Inglaterra，que esta historia trata de Elfride conoce a Stephen que son de la misma edad porque es contratado por su padre ya que es el rector del pueblo y de la iglesia que necesita reparación pero mientras pasan los días se van conociendo y van pasando cosas entre ellos dos que se terminan enamorando，hasta se dan se besan pero el rector no está de acuerdo con la relación porque lo Es una historia de amor de un triángulo amoroso que está basada en la época del siglo XIX en un pueblo del oeste de Inglaterra，que esta historia trata de Elfride conoce a Stephen que son de la misma edad porque es contratado por su padre ya que es el rector del pueblo y de la iglesia que necesita reparación pero mientras pasan los días se van conociendo y van pasando cosas entre ellos dos que se terminan enamorando，hasta se dan se besan pero el rector no está de acuerdo con la relación porque los padres de Sephen son de otra clase social， entonces se va a la india a hacer un futuro y le promete regresar y casarse。 Pero de ahí el rector se casa con una viuda que era para el bien de Elfride pero pasan años， de ahí conoce a Knight que es un hombre de letras y unos años más grande que ella que al principio no se caen bien pero después que regresa de su viaje Knight se da cuenta que enamorado de Elfride llevan su relación de amigos a una relación amorosa aunque el es muy recto，directo y moral pero suceden cosas durante su noviazgo， que hace que se rompa su relación porque tuvo otro enamorado y la besaron y el no lo acepto。 Pero al final se encuentran Stephen y Knight， Knight sabe la verdad de Elfride que siente un arrepentimiento por lo que hizo， pero después se van a buscarla pero cuando llegan al pueblo descubren que esta muerta y que murió de amor y de alguna enfermedad。Es una novela que se lee muy rápido， es a la vez muy hermosa， con final muy trágico pero iba suceder por lo que sucede durante la historia。Le doy 4 Estrellas por el comportamiento de Elfride。 。。。more
Natalie
，
Utterly beautiful， magical and yet tragic and gut wrenching all at the same time。 A beautiful read。 In fact it's my favourite Thomas Hardy novel so far！ Utterly beautiful， magical and yet tragic and gut wrenching all at the same time。 A beautiful read。 In fact it's my favourite Thomas Hardy novel so far！ 。。。more
Ana
，
3，5*Nu pot să spun că este o carte ce m-a mișcat de la început。 Sfârșitul，în schimb， compensează și este într-adevăr unul de nota 10。 Din toate cele aproape 450 de pagini， ultimele 100 au fost cele mai pline de emoții。Urmărim povestea unei tinere care se lasă pradă sentimentelor mai des decât și-ar dori sau ar trebui de fapt。 În același timp， un bărbat care nu a știut ce este iubirea și nu dorea să afle curând， își descoperă adorația pentru ea după un oarecare timp petrecut împreună。 Dar el o ia 3，5*Nu pot să spun că este o carte ce m-a mișcat de la început。 Sfârșitul，în schimb， compensează și este într-adevăr unul de nota 10。 Din toate cele aproape 450 de pagini， ultimele 100 au fost cele mai pline de emoții。Urmărim povestea unei tinere care se lasă pradă sentimentelor mai des decât și-ar dori sau ar trebui de fapt。 În același timp， un bărbat care nu a știut ce este iubirea și nu dorea să afle curând， își descoperă adorația pentru ea după un oarecare timp petrecut împreună。 Dar el o ia de bună， știe ca nu avea sa plece singură de lângă el， așa ca， în ciuda aparentelor cuvinte drăgăstoase， de fapt încetează să o trateze cu iubirea ce spunea că o posedă și fuge cu prima ocazie de frica propriilor angajamente，ajungând să regrete amarnic decizia。 Probabil judec cartea și dintr-o perspectivă modernă， nu neg， dar sunt de părere， cu toate că stilul de povestire a lui Thomas Hardy îmi este drag， că povestea de dragoste înfiripată în a doua parte a cărții nu este întru totul plauzibilă。 Suntem， cel puțin sper， cu toții conștienți că iubirea， pe cât înseamnă momente tandre și ridicare sufletească， înseamnă și compromisuri！ De ce dacă Knight o iubește atât cât pretinde， nu poate trece peste istoricul ei？ Din nou， nu am fost impresionată de primele 350-400 de pagini， dar ultimele m-au lăsat cu niște întrebări， pe care din păcate nu pot să le adresez autorului așa că probabil le voi avea de acum încolo。 Am încercat， pe cât posibil să caut răspunsul unora recitind anumite pasaje， revizitând anumite scene ale cărții și pot să spun， cu regret， că nu am găsit decât unul :comunicare。 Dacă este ceva ce cartea asta lasă în mintea cititorului sunt următoarele :-Trăiți o singura dată！ -Pentru a face șederea pe acest pământ mai plăcute :comunicați！ Spuneți de ce aveți nevoie și ascultați de ce au alții nevoie！ （Dacă Elfride i-ar fi explicat lui Stephen de ce fuge， poate calea lor ar fi fost diferită， dacă mai târziu， Knight i-ar fi mărturisit tot ei motivul plecării， din nou， finalul ar fi trebuit sa fie cu totul altul！） O recomand celor care au credința că sunt romantici incurabili。 Dar un mic sfat :nu o gândiți prin prisma voastră de acum， ci a personajelor care trăiau în acea vreme。 。。。more
Lisa
，
My question as I started reading my latest Hardy was not whether things would end badly - but how？ And once again， Hardy had me enthralled。 He portrays the inequities between men and women so sharply！ Elfride is a frustrating character - strong willed and impulsive until she falls deeply in love and becomes docile and simpering。 Yet， her mistreatment makes her a sympathetic character。 In another time， perhaps she could have just thrown off her romantic entanglements and lived a life fully on her My question as I started reading my latest Hardy was not whether things would end badly - but how？ And once again， Hardy had me enthralled。 He portrays the inequities between men and women so sharply！ Elfride is a frustrating character - strong willed and impulsive until she falls deeply in love and becomes docile and simpering。 Yet， her mistreatment makes her a sympathetic character。 In another time， perhaps she could have just thrown off her romantic entanglements and lived a life fully on her own terms。 But that wouldn't be a Hardy novel！ 。。。more
Jane Fudger
，
I have read the most famous novels written by Thomas Hardy but decided to read those less well known。 This is the first of those novels relating the story of a love triangle between Elfrida， Stephen and Knight which ends in tragedy。 The novel explores the class system in the UK at the time and how it affects romance and everyday life。Hardy writes this in both a powerful and poetic way。 An excellent read
SnezhArt
，
Когда в любовном треугольнике， ни первый ни второй не достоин пары синих глаз。
Caitlyn
，
I enjoyed this book。 It did feel rather like the more middle class version of Tess of the D'Ubervilles so it was quite predictable。 However， it was an entertaining read and I liked the way all the little pieces came together into an inevitable climax。 I enjoyed this book。 It did feel rather like the more middle class version of Tess of the D'Ubervilles so it was quite predictable。 However， it was an entertaining read and I liked the way all the little pieces came together into an inevitable climax。 。。。more
Julie
，
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。 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
Kelsey
，
2。5。 Impressive that Hardy went from THIS to one of the best books and one of my all-time favorites， Far From the Madding Crowd。 What a glow up， honestly。 I enjoyed the beginning， but the last 1/3 was a combination of being slow while also rushed？ Not sure how to explain that。 I had no idea this quote/saying is so old。 People were hip to this in the 1870s？: "Men may love strongest for a while， but women love longest。" 2。5。 Impressive that Hardy went from THIS to one of the best books and one of my all-time favorites， Far From the Madding Crowd。 What a glow up， honestly。 I enjoyed the beginning， but the last 1/3 was a combination of being slow while also rushed？ Not sure how to explain that。 I had no idea this quote/saying is so old。 People were hip to this in the 1870s？: "Men may love strongest for a while， but women love longest。" 。。。more
Erick Viveros
，
Excelente libro， lo que un par de ojos azules puede incitar y provocar en los hombres， interesante historia， donde cuando se trata de amor， toda razón y lógica nubla el pensamiento del enamorado y atribuyendo que sus argumentos son válidos pero， sólamente es la pasión de sus emociones que domina sus sentidos。
Marbook_gr
，
Στην αρχή λίγο με δυσκόλεψε。 Όμως ， λίγο πριν από την μέση έστρωσε και έγινε τελειο！！ Αξίζει！！
Day
，
E， the ending was not to my liking， the truth is that I had high expectations， but not everything was bad since the plot is good so I recommend it。
Sewingdervish
，
A coronet？ Boom！ Hardy， you tricksy fellow。
_Kimia7221_
，
جدا که آلفرید خیلی لوس، بی ادب، بی ثبات و بی شخصیت بود و به زور تونستم تمومش کنم:|
Richard Ryan
，
What I love about Thomas Hardy is how he portrays strong female characters in his novels。 Elfride though in A Pair of Blue Eyes， supposedly based on Hardy's first wife， is frustratingly irritating。 Full of 'oh I have somesthing so important to tell you but it must wait until tomorrow/end of the week/next Michelmas！ A painfully long drawn out read which was like watching a horse-drawn carriage crash。 What I love about Thomas Hardy is how he portrays strong female characters in his novels。 Elfride though in A Pair of Blue Eyes， supposedly based on Hardy's first wife， is frustratingly irritating。 Full of 'oh I have somesthing so important to tell you but it must wait until tomorrow/end of the week/next Michelmas！ A painfully long drawn out read which was like watching a horse-drawn carriage crash。 。。。more
Ginette Doyle
，
I love Thomas Hardy， studied him for O and A level and particularly like his short stories。 I even appeared in a play based on one of them。 I read a Pair of Blue Eyes many years ago and had forgotten the plot， so it was with pleasure that I re-read this on e-book。 It is not my favourite Hardy， hence only 4 stars， and once again the plot ends in tragedy， but nevertheless another great Classic from Hardy
Eynas
，
أحببت كتابة توماس هاردي رغم أن القصة متوقعة إلا أن النهاية كانت مختلفة 。。。
C。 J。
，
"This novel describes the love triangle between a young woman and her two suitors。 One is the socially inferior， but upwardly striving young man who adores her and connects her with her country past， while the other is the respectable， established， older man who represents London society。 The heroine is caught between multiple expectations （those of the men， her parents， and society）and the desires of her own heart， which she does not always seem to know。 The story is told lightly， however， neve "This novel describes the love triangle between a young woman and her two suitors。 One is the socially inferior， but upwardly striving young man who adores her and connects her with her country past， while the other is the respectable， established， older man who represents London society。 The heroine is caught between multiple expectations （those of the men， her parents， and society）and the desires of her own heart， which she does not always seem to know。 The story is told lightly， however， never burying the reader with a gloomy shroud （until the very end）。 This is a good read for someone who enjoys Hardy and wants to sample his early works。 This novel is of special interest because of the strong autobiographical parallels between the characters and circumstances of Stephen Smith and Elfride Swancourt and those of Hardy and his first wife Emma Gifford。 This was the third of Hardy's novels to be published and the first to bear his name。 -- A pair of blue eyes is a romance and an adventure novel。"It is especially interesting because of the way in which Elfride is emotionally compromised by her earlier promise to Stephen to become his wife once he has succeeded in establishing a secure living for them both， but then unexpectedly finds that during his absence to follow his chosen career path， she has fallen in love with an older man that has many qualities she can admire and causes her to abandon her promise to Stephen and never to think of him again ever， in order to try to win the heart of Knight。 However， all does not go to plan as she would have desired and she has cause to regret her earlier relationship （friendship） with Stephen since it threatens her whole futurehappiness and marriage prospects with Knight， who cannot accept that she had another suitor before him 。 。。。more
Kristin
，
I don't remember this well enough to evaluate it。 I don't remember this well enough to evaluate it。 。。。more
Sophie
，
（7） - read for uniThis book is honestly kind of a wild ride; it didn't go where I expected and also had a literal cliffhanger which was intense。William Worm is maybe my favourite fictional character to exist。 I was very upset that he barely featured in the second half of the novel。 Disappointing。Elfride makes her mark as a resourceful and strong character when she pulls Knight up the side of a cliff with a rope made from her underwear。I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this， and how （7） - read for uniThis book is honestly kind of a wild ride; it didn't go where I expected and also had a literal cliffhanger which was intense。William Worm is maybe my favourite fictional character to exist。 I was very upset that he barely featured in the second half of the novel。 Disappointing。Elfride makes her mark as a resourceful and strong character when she pulls Knight up the side of a cliff with a rope made from her underwear。I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this， and how much easier I found it to understand than Hardy's previous publication。Some of the gender stereotypes were irksome， but for a book published in 1873 I can understand why。 。。。more
Issicratea
，
I read the curiously named A Pair of Blue Eyes （1873） as part of a very enjoyable series of forays into Hardy’s ‘minor’ novels over the past few years。 It’s my fifth so far， following Desperate Remedies （1871）， The Hand of Ethelberta （1876）， The Trumpet Major （1880）， The Woodlanders （1887）， and The Well Beloved （1897）。 There are none I regret reading， even the madly quirky Ethelberta and The Well Beloved， but A Pair of Blue Eyes is perhaps the pick of the bunch so far。Interestingly， as I learned I read the curiously named A Pair of Blue Eyes （1873） as part of a very enjoyable series of forays into Hardy’s ‘minor’ novels over the past few years。 It’s my fifth so far， following Desperate Remedies （1871）， The Hand of Ethelberta （1876）， The Trumpet Major （1880）， The Woodlanders （1887）， and The Well Beloved （1897）。 There are none I regret reading， even the madly quirky Ethelberta and The Well Beloved， but A Pair of Blue Eyes is perhaps the pick of the bunch so far。Interestingly， as I learned from the introduction to the Penguin Classics edition （of which more later）， when Hardy came to sift his novels into ‘novels of character and environment’， ‘romances and fantasies’， and ‘novels of ingenuity’， A Pair of Blue Eyes proved tricky for him to place。 It migrated between the first and second categories。 You can see Hardy’s point。 There are certainly elements of romance in the novel （pointedly， the heroine， Elfride Swancourt， is the author of a medieval romance）， and the insistent formal patterning of the novel， with certain key recurring spaces （the clifftop， the church tower， a family vault） gives it a dreamy and fabulistic quality。 On the other hand， APOBE works perfectly well as a realist novel。 The characters are for the most part strongly drawn—not only the components of the main love triangle （Elfride， the young architect Stephen Smith， his older friend and mentor， Henry Knight）， but also Elfride’s self-satisfied， socially climbing vicar father。 Hardy’s treatment of the dynamics of love is both faintly perverse （no surprise coming from the author of The Well-Beloved！） and also， to my mind， quite believable。 He is very interesting on gender and class and the ways in which they inflect relationships。 （APOBE cannibalises Hardy’s first， unpublished novel The Poor Man and the Lady， which shared some of these themes）。 Apart from its own strengths as a novel， APOBE holds a great deal of interest for the Hardy fan， both for its foreshadowing of Tess of the d’Urbervilles， which reprises Elfride’s story in a very different key， and also for its autobiographical component。 The first part of the novel， describing Stephen’s meeting with Elfride while in Cornwall assisting with the restoration / despoilment of an ancient church， reworks the circumstances of Hardy’s meeting with his first wife Emma Gifford。 （I was fascinated to read that Gifford collaborated with Hardy in his composition of the novel， especially given Elfride’s touching and fresh， but， in some ways， rather ambiguous characterisation。） Hardy draws powerfully on the church restoration theme， with its rich metaphorical resonances。 It is barely exploited at the beginning， but it later supplies one of the most dramatic and haunting scenes in the book。 APOBE was one of Hardy’s favourites among his novels and a great success with the reading public， even though it’s not much read today。 I found myself pondering as I read about canon formation and why some novels within an author’s oeuvre are designated ‘major’， others ‘minor’。 Ideally， these are judgements each generation should revisit， not ones that should remain fixed for all time。 One warning: I’d be wary of the Penguin edition， unless you’re prepared to ignore its endnotes until you’ve finished reading。 Despite stating in its introduction that ‘A Pair of Blue Eyes depends very heavily upon its surprise ending’， the edition manages to inject three or four massive spoilers into its notes—an annoying and oddly pea-brained editorial choice in what is usually an excellent series。 。。。more
GB Noriega
，
I haven't read a book that depicts a woman in such a fatuous way for some time。 I almost swooned by the way she acts。 I almost threw the book at Harry Knight for what he says about women。If I had not known of the events that unfold at the end， I would probably have read it slower， not anticipating any exciting plot twists。 If I had not known of the events that unfold at the end， I would probably have enjoyed the plot twists a lot more， reacting to them sincerely。Because of the end， I like this b I haven't read a book that depicts a woman in such a fatuous way for some time。 I almost swooned by the way she acts。 I almost threw the book at Harry Knight for what he says about women。If I had not known of the events that unfold at the end， I would probably have read it slower， not anticipating any exciting plot twists。 If I had not known of the events that unfold at the end， I would probably have enjoyed the plot twists a lot more， reacting to them sincerely。Because of the end， I like this book。 I overlook the over-dramatic scenes through-out， but I think Hardy intended to criticize Victorian morals through those same scenes。 。。。more
Jonathan
，
A lesson to not always trust what you see on Wikipedia。 Reading that this was one of Hardy's 'lesser works'， it has sat unread on my shelf for almost a year since I receieved it。 Its position there was unjustified， and I was pulled into the sad， sweeping arc of Elfride， Stephen and Mr。 Knight as much as any of Hardy's more acclaimed characters， except perhaps those of the Mayor of Casterbridge， which remains my favourite novel。 A lesson to not always trust what you see on Wikipedia。 Reading that this was one of Hardy's 'lesser works'， it has sat unread on my shelf for almost a year since I receieved it。 Its position there was unjustified， and I was pulled into the sad， sweeping arc of Elfride， Stephen and Mr。 Knight as much as any of Hardy's more acclaimed characters， except perhaps those of the Mayor of Casterbridge， which remains my favourite novel。 。。。more
Kris
，
Loved this one。 A classic Hardy roller coaster
Alice Hazdun
，
Hardy's prose is littered with enchanting descriptions， embedded symbolism and implicit political commentary of his time。 The feminist commentary on women's limitations， through Elfride charecter， really resonated with my own experiences as a woman e。g。 The way her sharp young mind is enticed by superficial materialism to build her self worth as a 'woman'， which is expected by the men around ber， yet slandered by the men as 'shallow'。However， only having known Tess of the Duhbervilles prior， a p Hardy's prose is littered with enchanting descriptions， embedded symbolism and implicit political commentary of his time。 The feminist commentary on women's limitations， through Elfride charecter， really resonated with my own experiences as a woman e。g。 The way her sharp young mind is enticed by superficial materialism to build her self worth as a 'woman'， which is expected by the men around ber， yet slandered by the men as 'shallow'。However， only having known Tess of the Duhbervilles prior， a predictable trope of his seems to be forming。 The troupe of a man's outrage at previous affairs and lack of innocence from women， as a sign of infidelity， leading to an embittered violence。 He captures the 19th century drama of everyday love and romance brilliantly。 Yet， I find his use of blunt violence， albeit symbolic of gendered violence， somehow jarring from the fluidity of the story。 。。。more
Lucy
，
The twist at the end！！！！ tragic love story， loved it
Ellen
，
Considering it was a very long and descriptive book， it ended rather abruptly。 Eldridge didn't even get to tell her story of the last year or more。 Considering it was a very long and descriptive book， it ended rather abruptly。 Eldridge didn't even get to tell her story of the last year or more。 。。。more
Anna
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Upon starting this book ， in the first 10 or so pages， I had faith that I had come across an engaging and well written satisfactory classic。 The language intrigued me， but yet did not confuse me and I could read at my normal pace。 I enjoyed having a few characters rather than a lot。 It mean that I understood each one properly and could picture the plot in my mind with ease（sometimes I have found that a book contains too many characters that are severely underdeveloped）。 In fact， I thoroughly enj Upon starting this book ， in the first 10 or so pages， I had faith that I had come across an engaging and well written satisfactory classic。 The language intrigued me， but yet did not confuse me and I could read at my normal pace。 I enjoyed having a few characters rather than a lot。 It mean that I understood each one properly and could picture the plot in my mind with ease（sometimes I have found that a book contains too many characters that are severely underdeveloped）。 In fact， I thoroughly enjoyed the book up until Stephen left for India。 After Stephen left， I expected the plot to carry on developing， for the gradient of the graph to increase。 But instead， the plot seemed to stay still， and there is only so much appreciation that I have have for interesting language without a good plot to accompany it。 I felt that it was becoming more of a chore to read this book rather than a pleasure。 By 3/4 of the way through， I had to put it down。 I googled the plot， and skim read the last couple of chapters。 Unfortunately， I have to say， I find this book is close to being a knock of version of Anna Karenina。 Elfriede dies， with 2 men she has been involved with still included in the family。 I am afraid to say that to finish off this rather predictable outcome （how else was the story going to finish， I don't think she had the competence to pick between Knight and Stephen）， Hardy confused my understanding of the 2 male protagonists by adding an unjustified does of jealousy and immaturity to both characters which severely diminished the meaning of their presence in the plot。 Unlike in Anna Karenina （also a love drama in which the female protagonist dies）， I struggled to find a meaning behind the situationship。 To me it seemed as simple as a girl who was not ready for love or marriage struggling to make up her mind， and 2 emotionally immature men。 Even if the times at which the book is set in had allowed Elfriede and Stephen to be married when they wished， realistically， neither were ready for it and the marriage would soon have been torn to tatters by jealousy， difference of opinions， and probably and affair。 To top that off， I find Elfriede annoying。 She doesn't know her mind （perhaps not her fault given her upbringing） and doesn't seem to have a lot of substance to bring to the table。 I interpreted her as quite a ditsy， naïve， girl who has not yet got the faintest idea on what life is really about。 To sum it all up， I enjoy Hardy's style of language， however I have serious qualms with the rest of the book。 。。。more
Michael Goldsmith
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One of Hardy's earlier novels which prefigures a lot of his later ideas and preoccupations - it perhaps has a few flaws in style but I actually thought it was excellent。 The character of Elfride Swancourt is portrayed with great complexity and the plotting is well patterned and neatly done。 Definitely underrated！ One of Hardy's earlier novels which prefigures a lot of his later ideas and preoccupations - it perhaps has a few flaws in style but I actually thought it was excellent。 The character of Elfride Swancourt is portrayed with great complexity and the plotting is well patterned and neatly done。 Definitely underrated！ 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=A Pair of Blue Eyes
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=A Pair of Blue Eyes&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,A Pair of Blue Eyes&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0