Far from madding crowd by Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy:

Thomas Hardy was born to a stonemason and a local builder, Thomas, and a well-read mother, Jemima in Dorchester in 1840.He went to school and demonstrated academic potential, however his formal education ended when he was sixteen as his social position did not allow him to study in a university. Before he moved to London and enrolled in King’s College in 1862, he had become a local architect. He felt uncomfortable in London, conscious of his inferior status and class divisions and five years later, returned to Dorchester, committing his life to writing.

Far From Madding Crowd:

Setting (England):

•          Geography: England includes the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, plus offshore islands like the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Scilly. It is bordered by two other countries of the United Kingdom, to the north by Scotland and to the west by Wales.

•          Terrain: England's terrain mostly comprises of low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north (for example, the mountainous Lake District, Pennines, and Yorkshire Dales) and in the south west (for example, Dartmoor and the Cotsworld).

•          In the late 19^th century, when this novel was written and published, the country life was at threat from many sides.

•          The Corn Laws had been repealed, forcing many farmers away to leave the land of their ancestors and migrate to the city.

•          Industrialisation, which had started in the previous century, had now spread, compelling many farmers to leave their farms and move to the urban setup where the industries offered attractive wages.

•          To an extent, Hardy’s stories of the ‘Wessex’  attempted at making the displaced farmers nostalgic as it covered the whole rural setup with charters having the characteristics one would associate with the country people, that is, folk wisdom, tradition and a sense of community.

                           Wessex, the location for Far from the Madding Crowd, is an imaginary English county that Hardy colored with fine details throughout the course of his writing career, introducing it for the first time in ‘Far from the MaddingCrowd’ .Image of 'Wessex’

Themes related to Far Frome Maddding Crowd as like : 

•Hardy's lifetime was threatened with ruthless industrialization. His novel portrays the theme of the importance of man's connection to, and understanding of, the natural world. Gabriel Oak embodies Hardy's ideal of a life in harmony with the forces of the natural world.

•The novel also contemplates the relationship between luck, or chance, and moral responsibility. People have to suffer for their own actions. While some characters, like Gabriel, are always responsible and cautious, others, like Sergeant Troy, are careless and destructive. 

                                The plot of Far from the Madding Crowd concerns a young woman, Bathsheba Everdene, and the three men in her life. One is a poor sheep farmer who loses his flock in a tragedy and ends up working as an employee on Bathsheba’s farm; one is the respectable, boring owner of a neighboring farm who takes Bathsheba’s flirtations too seriously; and the third is a dashing army sergeant who treats her like just another of his conquests. In chronicling their hopes, plans, and disappointments, Hardy presents to readers a clear example of Victorian romanticism. At the same time, his understanding of the lives of farmers and ranchers in rural England makes him a forerunner to the realistic tradition in literature. 

Characters:

5 Character are main inclued...

•Gabriel Oak: Novel's hero, Gabriel Oak is a farmer, shepherd, and bailiff, marked by his humble and honest ways, his exceptional skill with animals and farming, and an unparalleled loyalty. He is Bathsheba's first suitor, later the bailiff on her farm, and finally her husband at the very end of the novel. He can control the world without fighting against it. He possess a humble personality and knows when to take an action.

•Bathsheba Everdene: Protagonist of the novel, Bathsheba is a beautiful young woman who has attracted 3 suitors. At the beginning of the novel, she is penniless, but she quickly inherits and learns to run a farm in Weatherbury. She is independent financially as well as in spirits.

 •Sergeant Francis (Frank) Troy: He is the novel's antagonist. Troy is handsome, vain, young, and irresponsible, though he is capable of love. Early in the novel he is involved with Fanny Robin. At first, he plans to marry her, but when there is miscommunication about which church to meet at, he angrily refuses to marry her, and she is ruined. He forgets her and marries the rich, beautiful Bathsheba. Yet when Fanny dies of poverty and exhaustion later in the novel with his child in her arms, he cannot forgive himself.

•William Boldwood: He is Bathsheba's second suitor and the owner of a nearby farm. Boldwood, as his name suggests, is a somewhat wooden, reserved man. He seems unable to fall in love until Bathsheba sends him a valentine on a whim, and suddenly he develops feelings for her. Ultimately, he becomes crazy with obsession, shoots Troy and destroys his own life.

•Fanny Robin: She is a young orphaned servant girl at the farm who runs away the night Gabriel arrives, attempts to marry Sergeant Troy, and finally dies giving birth to his child at the poor house in Casterbridge. She symbolizes the fate of women who are not well cared for in this society. 

                               Hardy, with the eye of the artist, loved the color and line of the landscape. Thus he personalized nature. His horses were "sensible," his cat "with half-closed eyes" viewed birds "affectionately." His delineation of people was part caricature, as with Gabriel, and part portraiture, as with the young woman whom Hardy shows through Gabriel's eyes.