Apartments and Houses
Imagery of different apartments and houses is very important throughout the novel. The apartment on Lispenard Street, where Willem and Jude live together as young men, is given a prominent role and lots of description; later, Jude's apartment on Greene Street is carefully described and clearly very important to him. Harold and Julia's houses, which Jude frequently visits, are given a lot of description, and the reader also gets a vivid portrait of Lantern House, where Jude and Willem spend time together in the summer months. The imagery of different apartments and houses is important because it reveals Jude's perpetual longing for a home where he can feel truly safe and secure. Growing up unwanted and without a family, Jude always wished he could finally have a home. Part of why he was seduced by Brother Luke was Luke's promises that they would have a cabin and a real home together. Jude's financial success allows him to create and customize spaces that are both beautiful and accessible for his needs. Especially once Jude and Willem are a couple, they both take a lot of pleasure in creating beautiful homes together because they grew up without any real sense of a home.
JB's Art
Throughout the novel, JB's art is carefully described using vivid and precise imagery. The technical term for this representation of a piece of visual art in a literary text is "ekphrasis." The imagery used to describe JB's art is important because it shows his vision and style and sheds light on his character. JB's character is often not very sympathetic because of his narcissism, drug use, and demanding attitude towards his friends. It would be easy for JB to become an unlikable character, especially given that only limited sections of the novel are portrayed from his point of view. By using imagery to give readers a sense of JB's art, the narrator shows that JB is actually very sensitive, intuitive, and deeply emotionally connected to his friends. He can observe and capture the fine nuances of their behavior and relationships to one another. Although JB is often insensitive in the way he interacts with other people (such as when he makes fun of Jude's limp), the imagery of his art reveals that he can be deeply sensitive in other ways.
Self-Harm
Throughout the novel, Jude performs acts of self-harm. He cuts his wrists, and, at one point, he attempts to light himself on fire. The scenes are meticulously presented, as the blade pierces his skin and the blood runs. The graphic imagery of these scenes of self-harm can be disturbing, but it is also deeply important to the novel. Readers need to understand the depth of the pain and damage Jude is inflicting on himself so that they can gain at least a little understanding of how much psychological pain he is enduring. What Jude does to his own body is unimaginable to most people, so using imagery is important in order to make this experience clear and explicit. The detailed imagery devoted to Jude's self-harming behavior is also important because it helps the reader to sympathize with the frustration and fear felt by the people around Jude who have to spend years witnessing this behavior and knowing that they cannot stop him. Andy, in particular, keeps treating Jude for his injuries while also being horrified and powerless. The imagery describing what Jude does to himself forces the reader to be fully engaged in the experience of what Jude is doing to himself.
Cooking and Food
Jude is a talented cook and baker. Throughout the novel, there is repeated imagery of Jude cooking, often for parties, and sometimes as a way to try and master his impulse to self-harm. For example, when Willem is away filming and Jude is desperately trying not to hurt himself during the long and lonely hours of the night, he spends hours baking cakes and cookies. The imagery of cooking shows that Jude is a talented and meticulous person who can easily master skills, and that he is always committed to excelling in whatever he does. Jude is anxious to please people and he hopes that by cooking for them, he can win their favor and be perceived as worthy of affection. The imagery of Jude cooking as a way to avoid harming himself also shows the degree to which trauma has robbed him of the ability to enjoy small pleasures others would take for granted. Cooking a meal is not a pleasure he can enjoy as a way of nurturing himself; it is something he is compelled to do in order to avoid hurting himself.
