How can we talk about the theme of marriage in Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy?

Marriage is the central issue in this novel. This is true
in the practical aspects of marriage as well as the ideological elements of the
institution. 

Jude's marriage to Sue is the most
significant one in the novel, but far from the only one. Jude also marries Arabella and
Sue also marries Phillotson. Arabella also has a second
marriage. 

Each of these unions is examined in terms of its
honesty and in terms of its balance. Conversations abound regarding the logic of a
permanent bond formed between two humans fated to change their minds about their
preferences. 

Jude's marriage to Arabella, like Sue's
marriage to Phillotson, grows out of obligation and deceit, not love. Yet the legal bond
endures long after the emotional bond is broken. This lamentable fact also is discussed
at length. 

The bitterness of "false" marriage marks both
Sue and Jude. 

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Sue’s marriage to Phillotson has led her to
despise the institution, much as Jude’s problems with Arabella Donn had caused him to be
fearful.

The practical and
legal difficulties that grew from their failed marriages are clearly drawn in the novel.
The ideological difficulties of marriage are explored throughout the novel but find
fullest expression in the extended pseudo-betrothal between Jude and
Sue. 

As Jude and Sue are freed to marry one another after
each getting divorced from their first marriages, they postpone doing so.

Several debates take place that articulate varying
challenges to the legal structure of marriage, the moral (and demoralizing) effects of
marriage on individuals, and the natural resistance of free spirited people to such a
permanent institution.

Marriage is defined by rules.
Society sees marriage, in this novel, as a set thing. To play with the rules of marriage
is to endanger the society. This notion is demonstrated when Phillotson is fired from
his teaching position after the town discovers that he permitted Sue to leave him so
that she could live with her lover.

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Phillotson gives his consent to her departure;
when his superiors at the school discover the arrangement, he is relieved of his
position.

The town, as a
representative of society, was not even slightly interested in allowing a breech of the
well-understood protocol surrounding marriage. To challenge the institution of marriage
is to challenge the moral authority of society at large. Acting unconventionally leads
to ostracism, as we see with Phillotson and later with Jude and Sue as they are run out
of town. 

Marriage, in light of these arguments, can be
seen to symbolize social rules generally, which often stand in opposition to the will of
the individual.