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I have been meaning to read Thomas Hardy for ages so when Danielle proposed we read Far From the Madding Crowd together it was easy to say yes. I was expecting a very depressing book because that’s my impression of Hardy, but I apparently managed to read his least depressing story. In fact, as I mentioned when I began the book, it was actually full of humor. The humor fades out to occasional as the book progresses and the farmhands are always the ones who provide it, which ends up coming across as mocking the uneducated worker at times.
The story is about Bathsheba, a young, pretty and clever woman whom Gabriel Oak declares vain upon first meeting her. Bathsheba ends up inheriting her uncle’s farm and instead of hiring someone to take care of it for her, decides to do it herself. It is a brave move on her part since women aren’t supposed to have a head for farming or business, but she holds her own and even does better than many. Unfortunately it is subtly hinted that part of her success comes from the use of her feminine charms to disarm the men and confuse them into paying her more for her grain.
Bathsheba’s strength is also further undermined by the steady Gabriel Oak who, unbeknownst to Bathsheba, performs many of the duties the hired overseer would do if Bathsheba had decided to have one. Oak begins the book as his own farmer, just starting out with his own sheep, an undertaking he has scrimped and saved for and invested everything in. All is going well until he decides to get a new dog to help his ageing dog herd the sheep. Only the new dog takes too well to his sheep herding training and manages to herd the entire flock of sheep off a cliff! I know I am not supposed to find this funny but it makes me laugh every time I think about it. Gabriel is ruined and ends up working as the shepherd for Bathsheba on her farm. Oh, and Oak loves Bathsheba and when he was still a farmer had asked if he could court her and she turned him down with “You’re a nice man and all but I’m not interested in marrying so can we just be friends?”
Bathsheba’s farming neighbor is Mr. Boldwood who is, as his name suggests both wooden and bold. First we get the wood. A prosperous farmer, he is the most eligible bachelor around but in spite of all the ladies trying to catch him he is just not interested. His inability to be swayed by flirtation provokes Bathsheba to send him a Valentine card as a joke. But the joke backfires as the wooden man suddenly is swept away by love and becomes bold to the point of harassment. Bathsheba does not love him though and when finally pressed, tells him so, even says she suspects she would never love him. She apologizes repeatedly for her bad joke but Boldwood refuses to leave the woman alone so certain is he that she will eventually love him back.
When the dashing Sergeant Troy meets Bathsheba one evening as she is walking around her farm checking on things before retiring for the night, he is immediately charmed. Troy catches his spur in Bathsheba’s dress which forces many minutes of inappropriate closeness while Troy bumblingly (on purpose) disentangles himself. Troy is actually in love with another woman with plans to marry her, but is so taken up with the challenge of making Bathsheba love him that he abandons poor Fanny Robin to an ultimately sad end. Bathsheba falls hard for Troy just like boldwood fell for her. Troy’s flirtation is relentless and he is all things charming and irresistible given that her other prospects were Oak and Boldwood. The pair marry which causes Boldwood to slip into a depression so deep he begins neglecting his farm and losing money.
Bathsheba starts losing money too because it turns out Troy is not what he represented himself to be and takes distinct pleasure in neglecting his new duties as head of farm and instead going to the racetrack to lose Bathsheba’s money. If this isn’t soapy enough for you, the suds increase when Troy runs away, goes skinny dipping in the ocean, gets caught in a ripetide and rescued just in time by some men in a boat at which point he decides to ship out with them. But someone from the neighborhood saw Troy being pulled out to sea and missed the rescue. Of course no body is found. Nonetheless, Boldwood is back on harassment duty and forces Bathsheba into to agreeing to marry him after seven years when Troy can be legally declared dead.
The years fly by but as the seven year date approaches and Boldwood is readying to swoop in for the win, well, you will just have to read the book yourself to find out. It’s very Days of Our Lives. But the book can’t end without Bathsheba being married because a woman on her own is not allowable.
Throughout the book Hardy makes comments and observations about marriage and relations between men and women. His culminating statement comes down to this:
This good-fellowship—camaraderie—usually occurring through similarity of pursuits, is unfortunately seldom superadded to love between the sexes, because men and women associate, not in their labours, but in their pleasures merely. Where, however, happy circumstance permits its development, the compounded feeling proves itself to be the only love which is strong as death—that love which many waters cannot quench, nor the floods drown, beside which the passion usually called by the name is evanescent as steam.

Hardy rocked the stache
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Do pop over to A Work in Progress for Danielle’s thoughts about the book.
You describe it perfectly! I have to say Bathsheba grew on me as the story unfolded–she sort of painted herself into a corner and was willing to keep her word even though you could tell she had not an ounce of interest in Boldwood–happily fate intervened! 🙂 It’s funny that this has a happy ending — all things considered, but it does! I had no idea of Hardy’s personal life–he isn’t at all what I imagined, but you’re right that is quite a moustache! Thanks for reading along with me–and sorry it took me so long. Next time I promise to not allow myself to lag so far behind. 😉
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Danielle, thanks! Yes, you have to give Bathsheba credit for being willing to keep her word in spite of everything, but gosh, what a trap she found herself in! Yeah, quite the happy ending, kind of. Sometimes I couldn’t help but feel like the book was all about taking Bathsheba down for being vain. It was fun to read the book with you so no worries about anything! 🙂
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She did pay, didn’t she?! Even at the end when she had her ‘happy’ ending, she was most certainly taken down a notch. She did get herself into a mess, and while I am happy she ‘learned’ or matured (better to think she matured) I hate the idea she lost her spiritedness!
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Yes, let’s say matured, so much better than learned her lesson. Hopefully she didn’t completely lose her sass, but I fear she did and now with Oak she will be a good and humble wife.
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Did you ever see the old film Far from the Madding Crowd, staring Julie Christie and Alan Bates? A classic. Of all the film versions made of the novel, this is my favorite.
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Agree with you Richard about the ,writs of the film. The only part I really didn’t like,e was the scene where Troy demonstrates his sword playing technique to Bathsheba. I know its rich with sexual tension but it goes on far too ,ong
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Richard, I have not seen the film. Perhaps I will try and find a copy of it sometime.
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This sounds so good I had to stop reading your review, because I want to discover the story for myself! I’ve had it on my list for ages, but never really knew what it was about. I did not so long ago read Tess and liked it, so I hope I will like more Hardy as well.
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Jeane, when you get to the book I hope you enjoy it! I’ve not read Tess, have seen the movie though. Must get to the book one of these days.
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I LOL’d at your warning against taking marriage advice from Hardy. 🙂
I love Thomas Hardy novels Jude the Obscure and Tess being two of my favourites but I’ve never read this one. Thanks for the review.
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novelproject, he got a bit moralizing in this one on occasion but then I suspect he probably has a tendency to do that in all of his books. Now that I have broken the ice with Hardy I will probably find it easier to get around to reading others of his books.
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I must be one of the few, the very few who cannot, and I mean CANNOT abide by Hardy. Far From the Madding Crowd was also my first Hardy and I could not like Bathsheba despite her show of independence sprirt. It got progressively bad as I managed to survive through The Mayor of Casterbridge and Jude the Obsecure but post Tess of the d’Urbervilles, I gave up on Hardy and have since led a very happy contended and satisfying reading life!!! I know what you mean by his humor, that stuc me as well – iit seems like a mockery of those not privileged and I kind of always felt this extended to even his description of Oak, who would have otherwise been a wonderful character!
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cirtnecce, ah, poor Hardy 😉 Bathsheba is hard to like, I agree. I ended up feeling more sorry for her than actually liking her. I didn’t love the book but I liked it enough to want to read others. But I can totally understand your dissatisfaction!
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I am a huge Hardy fan and love Far from the Madding Crowd . Some of Hardy can be a tiny bit depressing but not all of it is. Gabriel Oak is one of my favourite Hardy characters too.
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heavenali, Oak is such an appropriately names character! I’m sure I will eventually find out which of Hardy’s are depressing and which not as I plan to read more 🙂
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This was the first Victorian novel I read, and though I loved it in my teens I was a little disappointed when I re-read it lately. As you say, it’s very ‘Days of Our Lives’.
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Fleur, oh I bet I would have loved it in my teens too! So melodramatic! Exactly what a teenager wants!
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Hardy doesn’t often let his characters enjoy much happiness. Gabriel and Bathsheba come out of this not marred too much by tragedy but Fanny’s story is such a sad one
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I really must read this because I enjoyed the Hardy I have read ( Casterbridge, Jude and Madding Crowd) but can understand people not enjoying his relentlessness. I don’t think I agree with Cirtnecce’s comment about Hardy mocking the unfortunate because in his flinty way Hardy is a rather compassionate writer in a complicated way.
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Ian, most of the time Hardy’s humor was great, but now and then I did find it a bit mocking, not in an especially mean way, and I don;t think he intends to be mean. But there is a farmhand who often drinks too much and he is made a joke of in one especially long scene that did not come off so very well. Overall though, it was good and I will definitely be reading more Hardy in the future.
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BookerTalk, I know, poor Fanny! She is such a little tragic side story but still very important to the main one. Why is it the women have to be the ones to suffer from the actions of the men? So unfair!
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In Jude would yiu say it’s the other way around? That Sue is a decide,y odd creature
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I’ve not read Jude so I can’t say. But now I have something to look forward to! 🙂
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Your caption on Hardy’s photo did make me laugh! I have not read Far From The Madding Crowd, though I know a lot of people who have, given that it was one of the set texts for the A level exams when I was at school. I’ve just read Danielle’s review and now yours, and I’m pretty sure I enjoyed both of them more than I’d enjoy the book itself. So thank you for telling me all about it so I don’t need to read it! Oh one thing, I think the comedy servants come from a long line of humour that descends from jesters and kings. Have you read any Bahktin? I’m on slightly shaky ground as it’s a while since I read it myself, but I believe in his description of the carnivalesque, he understands all that sort of humour as being loved and admired as a way of undermining traditional power structures. What’s low – low in the body, low as in class, low as in daft and/or cunning, is associated with fertility, pleasure, fun and all sorts of jolly things. So you don’t need to worry that the lower classes were being mocked – I think it’s coming from a different tradition.
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Litlove, your captions always make me laugh so glad I could return the favor! Isn’t it nice to feel like there is at least one book you don’t need to read? I read something by Bahktin long ago in grad school but have worked hard through the years to block out the traumatic experience that was the lit crit seminar. But I am relieved to know that perhaps Hardy was not being cruel after all!
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I’m still reading this one, has been a while. But I’m enjoying it, albeit in snail pace. I want to finish it before the new movie adaptation comes out. I’ve seen the 1967 Julie Christie’s version, and can’t remember all the details. Since your review is so detailed, which is marvellous, I’ve skipped the last few paragraphs so I can finish my book without spoilers. But will come back after I’ve finished the book. It will be interesting to see how the new adaptation will fare. I hope it is a worthy project. The trailer is superb.
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Arti, nothing wrong with a snail’s pace! I forgot there is a new movie version of it coming out. It will be interesting to see what they do with it. I am looking forward to your thoughts on both the book and the movie 🙂
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Fun review. Thank you. I loved the book, so surprised at the wonderful humor and didn’t get any of the ruffled feathers about Bethsheba – I loved her and yet disappointed in her falling too too far for Troy and letting him ‘take over’ (when she was doing FINE with the farm) – anyway, I got invested. LOVED this book and am holding Hardy in higher esteem. I don’t think I really finished Tess… I am now wondering which Hardy to tackle next. Also a big thank you to Litlove for some ‘chorus’ perspective on the working class issues discussed.
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Thanks! I wasn’t completely sure what to expect so there were some pleasant surprises. Bathsheba did get herself stuck between a rock and a hard place, the farther I have gotten from the book the more sympathetic she seems.
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Great discussion of the book here! Really enjoyed reading the comments. I liked Bathsheba well enough but I did find her problematic and inconsistent (perhaps, complex, if I was being more charitable). I like Hardy a lot, but I tend towards his darker novels and this is definitely at the lighter end of his register (despite deaths, unrequited loves, etc.). Definitely a book I can see working well as a film, although I haven’t seen the new one yet.
My review: Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
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