Due occhi azzurri

Hardy's detailed depiction of rural Victorian society really immerses the reader. I'm curious what motivated him to focus so heavily on class distinctions and social mobility.

The characters' decisions felt so rooted in their social circumstances that it made me wonder if Hardy was critiquing those constraints or simply illustrating them.

The rural English landscape is almost a character itself here, shaping the characters' dreams and disappointments. Did the setting enhance the story's melancholic tone for others?