This book broke my heart — and not in a sweet, wistful way. This is a gut-punch of a novel that takes on Victorian morality, gender roles, and the unforgiving weight of societal judgment. While the story takes place in rural 19th-century England, its themes still echo uncomfortably in the present day. Hardy doesn’t hold back in showing how the world punishes women for the sins of men and the hypocrisies of a supposedly moral society.