Troy was first mentioned in the novel as being the lover of Fanny, a work maid from Bathsheba’s farm. He starts off a being the stereotypical romantic hero, he is dashing and attractive in a soldiers uniform! He is a sergeant in the army and is very highly looked upon. As the story progresses you can see that Troy is not quite the person that he appears to be. He is very untrustworthy and unreliable, not qualities associated with a romantic hero. When he meets Bathsheba on the path for the first time he is very blunt and quite rude. Some good quotes from the book that describe Troy are “He was moderately truthful towards men, but to women he lied like a Cretan” and “He could in this way be one thing and seem another; for instance, he could speak of love and think of dinner; call on the husband to look at the wife; be eager to pay and intend to owe.” These quotes are an insight into the personality of the real Troy. He is seen as being very arrogant because he knows that he is portrayed as being a ladies man and to some degree thinks that he can get away with whatever he wants. The fact that he leaves the church because Fanny Robin is a few minutes late, shows that he didn’t really want to marry her and just agreed to do so to keep her happy. Troy needs to learn that you can’t keep everyone happy with lies and weak promises.
On the other Hand Gabriel Oak is totally different. He is described as being “A good man” with “Good character”. He worked on a farm from a young age and after many years of hard work he became bailiff. Oak is a very sincere and dependable man but he seem to be somewhat inexperienced around women, this is shown when he proposes to Bathsheba so soon after first meeting her. Whenever he sees Bathsheba he can’t help but stare at her beauty, he begins to fall for Bathsheba in Chapter 2 “Oak, upon hearing these remarks, became curious to her features,” and “He painted her a beauty”. Both these quotes show how Oak slowly falls in love with Bathsheba.
The incident where Bathsheba saves Oak from the fumes in his house is very significant. Opening his eyes Oak found himself “Laid with his head upon her lap, his face and neck were disagreeably wet and her fingers were unbuttoning his collar.” This very sexual and romantic position made Oak’s feelings for Bathsheba even stronger; he now totally loved her. Oak at this point is very vulnerable and proposes to Bathsheba. When she refuses Oak breaks down but he does not really accept her rejection. Oak later redeems him self though, when he loses all his sheep and has to leave the farm. He doesn’t give up like others may have done but carries on and finds other work showing that he can be strong. This shows his stoicism which is his main strength.
The other main male character in the novel is farmer Boldwood. He is quite a lot older than Troy and Oak. Boldwood owns his own farm and is financially independent. He had everything but a wife and his very serious nature meant that “If an emotion possessed him at all, it ruled him.” This shows when Bathsheba sends him a valentines card with the words Marry Me stamped on the back, most men would have realised that this was a joke but Boldwood did not. He takes life in general too seriously.
Throughout the novel Boldwood seems to be in control of his feelings, but this is really all just a mask hiding his real emotions. At the end of the story he is driven to insanity by the return of Troy and shoots him out of pure jealousy. This kind of behaviour takes him out of contention as far as being a stereotypical romantic hero.
In my opinion, out of the three men, Gabriel Oak most fits the stereotype of the romantic hero. His actions through the novel show the sort of qualities we expect to see in a romantic hero. He may not rescue Bathsheba physically but he saves her livelihood on two occasions and his support as a friend is constant. He is a good honest man with descent intentions, he truly cares for Bathsheba.
Neither Troy nor Boldwood show this reliability even though they have different qualities such as Troy being handsome and charming, and Boldwood being kind and financially stable.
