that should not come into the reckoning of regular appointments

[suprunp]

One week's end Jude was as usual walking out to his aunt's at Marygreen from his lodging in Alfredston, a walk which now had large attractions for him quite other than his desire to see his aged and morose relative. He diverged to the right before ascending the hill with the single purpose of gaining, on his way, a glimpse of Arabella that should not come into the reckoning of regular appointments.
(T. Hardy: Jude the Obscure)

Have I understood the part in bold right?

His short visit to Arabella on his way back to his aunt's was going to be nothing more than just saying "Hello" to each other, apart from the appointments they were having regularly, in other words, they were seeing each other now.
(A reckoning here should mean roughly an account or a record, therefore, this short meeting should not be viewed (registered) as one of their regular appointments.)

Thanks.

[J&K Tutoring]

I think the key phrase to help you understand is a glimpse of Arabella. He is not stopping to chat with her- he just wants to see her as he goes by, but not so near or in such a way that she knows he is looking at her. To actually have an appointment to talk with her would have been, in those days, a rather complicated thing, with certain protocols and preliminaries, and he may not be ready yet to commit to all that.

It's been a long time since I read that novel, so my understanding may not be correct, but that's what I get from the few lines in your post. It seems plain that he would not be going to see his aunt were it not that his path will take him where he can see Arabella, but if anyone were to ask him why he was going that way, he had the handy excuse that he was going to see his aunt.

[suprunp]

Thank you, J&K Tutoring!
Then the phrase "that should not come into the reckoning of regular appointments" should roughly mean that his 'glimpsing of Arabella' couldn't be considered as a regular appointment and this therefore means that they were not yet seeing each other at that point.
Is my understanding correct?

Thanks.

[J&K Tutoring]

Uh, it seems so. Aren't you reading the book? Can't you tell from the story line whether they are 'seeing each other'?

While I realize that fine points of grammar and usage can be difficult to grasp for learners, if you are unable to follow such a major point of the story as whether these two are spending time together or not, then maybe you need to find a different book.

[suprunp]

Uh, it seems so. Aren't you reading the book? Can't you tell from the story line whether they are 'seeing each other'?

While I realize that fine points of grammar and usage can be difficult to grasp for learners, if you are unable to follow such a major point of the story as whether these two are spending time together or not, then maybe you need to find a different book.

Thank you for an interesting question.
If I had surmised from the very story whether they were seeing each other or not my first question probably would never have appeared here.
The problem seems to lie in the way the author 'jumped' from one point of time (namely the next day after the day (almost night, actually) when they kissed for the first time; Jude departed this day for his lodging in Alfredston) to another ("One week's end Jude was as usual walking out to his aunt's at Marygreen [...]).
"One week's end", in my book, suggests that it was not the very next week's end after the day of his departure (if it had been, I would have assumed that they very likely did not come to the point of seeing each other on regular basis).
It was maybe the second, the third or maybe the tenth week's end after the day of his departure described earlier.
The aforesaid is ambiguous to me and it is why I am 'unable to follow such a major point of the story'.

If my logic is flawed, please correct me.

Thanks.

[J&K Tutoring]

I see. No, you logic is not flawed. "One week's end" does indicate some undetermined future weekend.

Sorry to cast doubt on your motives, but your posts did read suspiciously like those of a student assigned to read a novel but too lazy to actually read it and, being tested on small facts that could only be gleaned from reading, tries to get answers from a source other than the book itself...

[Barb_D]

Let the record show that of all the books I was every assigned to read while in school, no book comes even close to this one in the amount of loathing I felt for it. I do understand people have different taste in literature, but I honestly cannot fathom why anyone would read this voluntarily. That said, I hope you enjoy it. I can't understand how you could, but the possibility does exist.

[J&K Tutoring]

I can see how you might feel that way. Fortunately, I read The Mayor of Casterbridge and Far from the Madding Crowd first, so got through this one on momentum I guess. Same with Dickens- I had so much fun reading Pickwick Papers that it carried me through quite a few of his works until he got too depressing.

Tried a few times to start Faulkner- never succeeded...

[Barb_D]

Well, I liked the Dickens I did read. As I Lay Dying was in the group of most loathed. But Jude was Secretariat and the rest were also-rans. (10th grade had a dystopian section - loved those!)