“So very idly and unreflectingly was this deed done. Of love as a spectacle Bathsheba had a fair knowledge; but of love subjectively she knew nothing”
This inconsiderate act lead Boldwood to believe that Bathsheba wanted marriage with him. As we found out Boldwood is very ignorant to love and because he is a very sensitive character falls into a false sense of security because of Bathsheba’s prank.
In chapter 23 it looked as if marriage was inevitable because Bathsheba promises to marry Boldwood when he returns.
“I shall be able to promise to be your wife”
Boldwood is delighted that he has the opportunity to enter into a marriage with Bathsheba.
“It is enough; I don’t ask more. I can wait on those dear words”.
The level of attraction is neither physical, physiological nor emotional, the only level of attraction is Bellwood’s intellect and social status. In chapter 53 Boldwood proves his love and obsession when Troy returns to the scene. Boldwood is fully aware of the threat Troy will impose and therefore shoots him. From the beginning we can tell that nothing will ever amount between their relationship as the emotion felt by Boldwood isn’t reciprocated. Boldwood feels for Bathsheba on all five levels of attraction physical, intellectual, social, psychological and emotional. Within the Bathsheba Boldwood relationship Hardy is trying to promote the fact that for a relationship to be a success there must be an equal level of attraction. Hardy believes that it is great to be in love but it is a lot better to be loved.
The second mistake, probably Bathsheba’s biggest mistake was Sgt. Frank Troy. He is the charming soldier who meets Bathsheba in a romantic twilight on the plantation. Hardy doesn’t let us live in this dream world for long because he reveals the true identity of Troy. Troy impresses men, lies to women and misuses his intelligence and power in flirtation and deceit. We are also made aware of one of Troy’s previous relationships with one Fanny Robin. Troy and Fanny had much like the relationship as Bathsheba and troy because she is wooed at first by his charm then finds out what he is truly like. Troy ignores Fanny as she becomes ill and is very poor because of what he had done. However in the Chapter appropriately named ‘Fanny’s revenge’ they examine the dead body and Fanny Robin and it is revealed she was pregnant with Troy’s baby. Troy is devastated and kisses the corpse in front of Bathsheba. Troy’s true love was Fanny not Bathsheba.
Bathsheba is attracted to Troy almost straight away even when she finds out what he is really like. However she turns a blind eye to this because she has already fallen in love with him. With this ideal Hardy is trying to promote the idea that love is blind. In the early stages of their relationship troy comes across as a very loving and caring husband who treats Bathsheba like a queen however as a reader we know this is far from the truth.
The pinnacle of his ‘boyish charm’ is within chapter 28, in this chapter Troy exhilarates Bathsheba as he does a sword practise from now on in Troy dominates the relationship and this is where the deceit begins.
“But how could you chop off a curl of my hair with a sword that has no edge?”
“No edge! This sword will shave like a razor. Look here”
The scene is very symbolic because Bathsheba is led to believe the sword is blunt although Troy knows it is extremely sharp. The symbolism is that troy is the sword and Bathsheba is naïve to see that Troy is a sharp edge himself and can do a lot of harm. Bathsheba’s love increases for Troy as the novel progresses until the very last point where Troy is shot and Oak and Bathsheba marry. The relationship begins to diminish as Troy begins to gamble and treat Bathsheba inadequately however she persists to take it. Hardy is trying to promote and empathise with hundreds upon thousands of men and women who become confused and distraught in love and that it takes ‘two to tango’.
Troy possesses many of the levels of attraction however due to his nature and mannerisms they hinder him. We are told he is handsome, we discover he is intelligent however uses it to his own advantage, he is also well known and more importantly respected in Weatherbury, he charms women and then he manipulates them once he has won them over emotionally and he will also say one thing and for it to have another meaning this shows he is very conniving. I believe Hardy has incorporated a character like Troy to try and prove than some mistakes are greater than others and in love there is a tendency for it to go wrong more than once and that there, as there are for a attraction, different levels of love and sometimes it can be perceived wrongly.
Gabriel Oak, probably the most complex character in the novel when it comes down to love because of his simplistic character in all other aspects of the novel. The name has a biblical reference to God our father’s most trusted angel Gabriel. The angel the Gabriel had the very important to tell the Virgin Mary that she was to bare the Son of God. There is also an association with the natural world with the link with the Oak tree, strong, sturdy and reliable. Oak is a very modest and courageous man at times risking his life to help his sheep and risking his heart to be loved. This in my opinion is Hardy showing that you must risk many things for love to prevail. Oak is the third love of Bathsheba and her final husband. Gabriel’s relationship begins at full pace when in the early chapters of the book when he comes to her with a lamb and a marriage proposal. The lamb is a symbol of new beginnings and such to show the first stages of Oak and Bathsheba’s relationship and eventually the lamb will bloom into a full grown and happy sheep reflecting on the outcome of Oak and Bathsheba’s relationship.
The relationship becomes very awkward when Troy enters the scene because Gabriel possesses one of the best human qualities considerations for others; he always wants the best for Bathsheba even though she knocks him back. Until the very lateral stages of the novel Oak’s love is eventually reciprocated but when it is, it is true love. Oak, as I said Oak is very complex character when it comes to love especially at the five levels of attraction. He is intelligent when it comes to farming; he wears his heart and emotions on his sleeve however psychologically he is as strong as an oak and he is eventually handsome because hardy promotes the idea that beauty lies in that of the beholder.
In chapter 21, Bathsheba’s hour of need where her sheep begin to self-combust and the only man who knows how to prevent the sheep exploding is Oak. On her first call of help oak rejects it because he knows she will ask again and he wants to teach her some integrity. The second plea is on an extremely personal tone as she sends him a hand written note with the words, ‘Do not desert me Gabriel!’ This true act of kindness is a symbol of his love however he proves it further when the storm hits Bathsheba’s farm. In chapter 37 the symbolism of instability and anger is represented by the fierce storm and the neglect of the corn by Troy. Hardy named this Chapter ‘The Storm- The Two Together’ implying this is the way it should be. As the storm becomes very severe and pressure is on Gabriel he always calls Bathsheba ma’am this shows he respect her. The pinnacle of the chapter is where the storm becomes extremely fierce and Oak holds tight to Bathsheba as,
“Heaven opened then, indeed. The flash was almost too novel for it’s inexpressibly dangerous nature top be at once realized, and they could only comprehend the magnificence of it’s beauty.”
This shows that they both felt safe and secure although everything around them was losing there stability and this is because the ideal that love will always prevail through good and bad that Hardy has tried to emphasise through out the novel.
Hardy promotes many things as what should be required for a successful relationship and the ideals that he promotes are still or even more relevant today. Oak, we are told is not the most attractive man however Bathsheba still marries him promoting the ideal beauty is skin deep. Oak is far from perfect however according to Hardy the key to perfection is imperfection. In the course of true love there are many converging courses and Hardy shows all of these by the actions of his characters. Love will always be the most desired thing by people but what’s more they want to be loved. Hardy promotes the obvious qualities that should be required for a successful relationship Empathy, Happiness, Trust, Respect and most of all Love.
