There is a prevailing desire in history to determine the proper place for women in society, especially as the modern period ushers in the end of the Victorian era, although women have existed as the counterpart of man of all times. John Stuart Mill's The Subjection of Women as a Pedagogical Composition will be used to better understand the nature and difficulties of Thomas Hardy's Sue Bridehead as she determines her place in society in his novel Jude the Obscure. Mill's essay explores the basis of social institutions that encourage and reinforce the subordination of women as the weaker gender to highlight the inherent wrongness of this practice. While Mill's essay describes the existence of female intelligence and individuality that is constantly suppressed, Hardy presents his female protagonist Sue Bridehead as a woman entirely unique to her time and place in society. Sue Bridehead's nature and lifestyle conflict with what society prescribes her to be as a woman, as she tries to balance living a happy life without social pressures that infringe on her individuality. Unfortunately for Sue, as Mill's essay explains, the mores of society are so ingrained in its people that not even Sue can escape what is expected of her as a woman. JS Mill and Sue Bridehead converge with the belief in natural law and the equality of the sexes, the rejection of marriage as a social reform and the harmful effects of social pressure on women. Sue Bridehead embodies many of the characteristics of Mill's ideals about women, although, as Mill's essay explains, Sue is also a product of her society and, unable to escape its pressures, in her breakdown, gives up her individuality and independence for relieve his anxiety and guilt. .Successfully... middle of paper... omens, like Sue Bridehead, will suffer at the hands of their society. Human history's concern with status and class ultimately hinders individual progress as social standards are emphasized more to control the population, rather than celebrate achievement within a community. John Stuart Mill and the fictional Sue Bridehead address women's struggles to exist as individuals and gain recognition for their inherent qualities, rather than dismissal based on gender. Sue exhibits the characteristics that Mill praises in independent women, yet she cannot separate herself from the social pressures that are also present in Mill's predicament for women. The paradox for Sue is that her individualism is what Mill praises and hopes for in more women, whereas it is that individualism that Sue displays at the end of the novel when she conforms to social conventions..