The extract is taken from the second chapter of Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure. The novel, published in 1895, is the last written by Thomas Hardy and it is also considered the last Victorian novel.

“Done because we are too menny”, the title of the extract, is a quotation from the extract.

“Menny” could be interpreted as "too many" or "too meany”: so there could be too many people, probably a large family, or on the other hand, it could refer to a critical economic situation of the protagonist.

 Besides, the verb “done” implies that the protagonist has committed an action. 

The first sequence starts with the description of a scene, in particular the narrator focuses on details without any comment. The narrator is a third person narrator, not intrusive: he uses the technique of showing.

Jude and his partner Sue, the protagonists, are presented by their actions. The scene deals with the murder of two children; the narrator stresses morbid and horrid elements creating a grotesque image that conveys more hidden aspects of Victorian reality.

Moreover the narrator presents the protagonists, Jude and his wife Sue.

The second sequence (v.23-35) deals with the same scene; there is the description of the death children and the arrival of the surgeon.

At the end of the second sequence there is the repletion of the title; it is isolated from the text and also in upper-case. The phrase might be the reason of children death.

The third sequence starts with “at sight of this Sue’s […]”, so the narrator conveys Sue’s point of view. In particular the narrator exposes a Sue’s reflection, so there is not only the description of the scene, but there is also an introspective view of the character (as it will be in the modernist novel).

 At the line 53 there is a dialogue: Jude using indirect speech refers doctor’s words.

Thomas Hardy’s use of language creates a tragic scene: the reader feels as in a drama.The large use of adjective and detailed description make the reader recreate the scene in his mind.

On the other hand the narrator does not comment, so the reader is totally free in the interpretation.

Last but not least, reader’s interest of character’s thoughts is innovative for Mr.Hardy time.