What does this passage about the atmosphere blowing in Cyprus and the Galilee mean in "Jude the Obscure" mean?

Question

When Jude is in the church, when he was following Sue, we see this line: >...was like the dew of the Hermon, and he remained throughout the service in a sustaining atmosphere of ecstasy. Though he was loth to suspect it, some people might have said to him that the atmosphere blew as distinctly from Cyprus as from Galilee. What does this line about the atmosphere mean? I'm assuming it'd meant to be metaphorical, but I'm not sure what it's meant to be a metaphor *for*.

Answer 1

What a good question. I think it's easy to surmise that in Jude the Obscure he is often thinking about his own Christian morality. Hardy is using the motif of external factors to Christian faith. It's on Jude's mind throughout the book, especially in conjunction with Sue. In this part of the book though this recurring theme comes to a head. At this point Jude is in a state of ecstasy almost and even in the paragraph above mentions that it feels as though the music being played, is in fact being played for him.

In some terms he is putting Sue on a pedestal. She goes to church, she must be the kind of women he is seeking. She is pius, pure, intelligent and exactly the kind of woman he needs and wants. He is lamenting back to the old testament. Jude is thinking that Sue would be a positive influence in his life. Looking at Christianity, which Jude harkens to continuously, it's important to note that Jesus came from Galilee. Cyprus was known more as a pagan city. So these two places are polar opposites. Galilee can be his or all Christian morality and Cyprus s is the "sexual" or "social" feelings Jude is having that are not pius or pure. There is also something interesting to note, something that Hardy himself would've been aware of, but Aphrodite is said to have come from Cyprus and Sue at this point is clearly Jude's own Aphrodite. I think this again plays into the theme of Jude not knowing if his thoughts and feelings for Sue are pius or if they are outside the realm of his faith. Other worldly feelings and associations.