Far from the Madding Crowd Literary Elements

Realist novel; Victorian novel

Hardy's fictional region of Wessex, located in the southwest of England. While Hardy invented new names for the places he featured in his novel, many can be identified as actual locales. The setting for much of the novel is rural, and also includes some scenes in towns.

The novel is narrated by an omniscient, third-party narrator with a distinctive voice and perspective, who sometimes interjects to make remarks about the characters and the world around them. The point of view alternates in different scenes, ranging from Bathsheba to Gabriel to Boldwood to Troy to Fanny.

The tone for much of the novel is thoughtful and reflective. The narrator uses the experiences of specific characters to draw broader inferences about human experience. The tone can be affectionate towards many of the primary characters, and this might be reflected in the narrator adopting a tenderly chastising tone towards a character like Bathsheba, or a pitying and sorrowful tone towards a doomed character like Fanny. The tone suggests that the figure of the narrator observes characters making decisions and mistakes, and comments on them, perhaps with the aim of instructing the reader.

Both Bathsheba and Gabriel can be considered the protagonists, and the special attention paid to them as characters is part of what signals that they are ultimately meant to be together. Boldwood and Troy both function as antagonists.

The major conflict of the novel revolves around whether or not Bathsheba and Gabriel will recognize that they are well-suited to one another and would lead a happy life together. The conflict is created through Bathsheba's stubbornness and ignorance about what type of partner would actually suit her best, as well as the coincidences and bad luck that make Gabriel a less viable suitor after he loses his economic stability. Boldwood and Troy both further the conflict and function as antagonists by acting as alternative suitors who distract Bathsheba and compete with Gabriel for her hand in marriage.

The climax of the novel occurs when Bathsheba, distraught at the news that Gabriel is going to stop working at the farm, shows her unhappiness at losing him, and this gives Gabriel the courage to propose again. This time, she accepts him.

Foreshadowing is used relatively heavily throughout the novel. Much of the novel's plot revolves around characters who are either able to judge astutely and accurately anticipate future events (such as Gabriel), or who fail to see future consequences and have to learn difficult lessons as a result (such as Bathsheba). Foreshadowing works to signal to a reader when a character either is or is not accurately anticipating future consequences. For example, Gabriel's faithful help during the fire at Bathsheba's farm foreshadows that he will be conscientious, diligent and careful; his willingness to come back and help Bathsheba after her sheep sicken themselves from eating clover foreshadows the loyalty and support he will show to Bathsheba, even when she makes bad decisions. On the other hand, the scene where Troy laughs with the other soldiers about Fanny foreshadows that he does not have much respect for women, and will not treat Fanny or Bathsheba well in the future.

Understatement is sometimes used in the novel, especially to describe Gabriel's comments and reactions. Gabriel is a character who feels very deeply but does not often fully display his emotions. Sometimes this characteristic helps him to be successful, because he is cautious and deliberate rather than impulsive, but it can also hurt him because it leads to Bathsheba often doubting whether he loves her or not. Some examples of Gabriel's understatements include the scene where he and Bathsheba recognize each other after he helps put out the fire; he simply asks her whether she wants to hire a shepherd, rather than trying to express the complex emotions raised by running into each other again. Towards the end of the novel, when Gabriel tells Bathsheba he is going to stop working at her farm, he simply says that he wants to try farming in California, and does not discuss the emotions involved in leaving her. This understatement of his feelings leads Bathsheba to mistakenly believe he does not love her.

Hardy uses many allusions throughout the novel, particularly to Biblical stories and to Classical mythology. These allusions were expected to be readily understood by an educated, Christian reader of the time, and to enrich the reading experience by encouraging the audience to draw connections between the novel and other important texts. For example, when Bathsheba bursts into tears after Troy kisses her for the first time, Hardy writes that "It had brought upon her a stroke resulting, as did that of Moses in Horeb, in a liquid stream" (163). Hardy alludes to the Biblical story in which Moses is leading a group of tired and exhausted Israelites through the desert. God instructs to strike a rock on Mount Horeb and when he does so, it splits open and water pours out for the people to drink. The allusion therefore helps the reader to understand the vulnerability and danger Bathsheba is experiencing at this moment, and the way her tears are a way to relieve her complex feelings.

Two other important allusions are contained in the name of one of the protagonists, and in the title of the novel. Bathsheba's unusual name would immediately bring to mind the Biblical story of David and Bathsheba. In this story, a beautiful woman named Bathsheba attracted the attention of King David when he saw her bathing, and even though she was already married he seduced her. Afterwards, when Bathsheba became pregnant, in order to cover up the adultery, David gave orders to ensure her husband would be killed in battle so that he could marry her himself. This story of lust, deception, and rivalry echoes some of the major themes of the novel.

The novel's title is an allusion to a line from Thomas Gray's poem "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" (1750). This poem describes the speaker reflecting on the types of lives led by the humble countryfolk who now lie buried in a humble churchyard (graveyard). The poet describes how "Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife/Their sober wishes never learn'd to stray," implying that the rural inhabitants were satisfied with the traditional, time-honored lives they led, and Hardy uses this allusion to signal the rural focus of his novel.

See the section on Imagery.

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Because Bathsheba is courted by three different men, each of her suitors is a parallel figure to the others. One clear example of parallelism is how each man responds differently to her rejecting him and trying to end the relationship. Gabriel responds by accepting her answer and never bringing the subject up again; he respects Bathsheba's boundaries even though he continues to go on loving her. Boldwood responds by continuing to pressure and nag her; he refuses to give up, and even at inappropriate moments, such as when she learns of Troy's death, he remains obsessed with finding a way to get her to marry him. Troy resorts to trickery and manipulation: when she comes to Bath intending to end the relationship, he tells her about a woman who is more beautiful than she is. By provoking her jealousy, he successfully coerces her into agreeing to marry him.

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