What is the explanation of the theme of class in Jude the Obscure?

Jude dreams of becoming a scholar. A rather romantic
dream, none-the-less, this vision for himself never quite releases its grip on Jude, who
comes back again and again to the city where he hoped to attain a formal
education. 

The dream of scholarship is also a dream of
social climbing, as demonstrated by the response Jude receives to his letter seeking
entrance in a university:

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Jude is told by the university officials that
someone of his class would be better off without a
degree.

As the
novel moves forward, Jude comes to terms with his class status for the most part. He
attempts to let go of his university dreams, along with his religious aspirations and
beliefs. 

However, on returning to Christminster with Sue
and his three children, Jude is drawn to discourse with some bitterness on the
regrettable intractability of the class system. He laments that he attempted to do
something in one lifetime (by becoming a scholar) that practically takes several
generations. 

Details of the class-based, daily experiences
of Jude and Sue are presented throughout the novel. These relate to the odd jobs taken
by each of them, the descriptions of lodgings they take, and descriptions of the people
who they mingle with in the various towns where they
live. 

Discussions of aspirations also occur throughout
much of the novel, regarding Jude, Phillotson, Sue and Arabella. These discussions often
concern ideas of 1) dealing with the realities of social class and 2) lamenting the
difficulty of moving up in the world.