The main difference between Gabriel and Bathsheba at this point in their relationship is that Gabriel respects Bathsheba and her feelings. Bathsheba does not take into account how much she is hurting Gabriel by laughing at him when he tells her how much he loves her. But although this offends Gabriel, he still has the manners to respect the fact that she doesn't want to marry him.
Gabriel is dejected by Bathsheba's refusal and when he learns that she has left Norcombe to go to Weatherbury thinks that nothing else can go wrong, but the worse is not yet over. Hardy begins to create an atmosphere for disaster by describing that the "well-known idle tinkle" of the sheep-bells are instead "beating with unusual violence and rapidity." He uses many words and phrases that increase the reader's feelings that everything is moving very fast, such as the sheep-bells "beating with unusual violence and rapidity", the flock were running "with great velocity", Gabriel "jumped out of bed…tore down the lane".
Hardy increases the tension when it becomes obvious that the sheep that form the bulk of Gabriel's flock have completely disappeared from the hill. He enforces the reader's image of Gabriel being completely alone on the dark vast landscape - "the valleys and furthest hills resounded". He is calling out to two hundred sheep and there is "not a single bleat." This tells the reader that there is something very wrong. When Gabriel gets to the "extreme summit" he sees the younger dog, George's son, "standing against the sky-dark and motionless as Napoleon at St. Helena." Considering Napoleon died on the reclusive island of St. Helena, the reader gets an extra sense of foreboding as to what is about to come next. Indeed, this is exactly what Gabriel has as, "with a great sensation of bodily faintness", he looks over the precipice. What he sees is the first major disaster in the novel. "The ewes lay dead and dying at its foot-a heap of two hundred mangled carcases".
As stated in the introduction, Gabriel has very human feelings, and one would think that anybody's first reaction in a situation like this would be self-pity, but one of Gabriel's admirable assets is his humanity, and the first thing he feels is sorrow for "the untimely fate of these gentle ewes". It takes a second or two to remember that the sheep are not insured. All at once he realises that the ten years of hard work, patience and will to carry on have been "dispersed at a blow", and his dream of becoming an independent farmer has been virtually ruined. Knowing this, it is like all his energy has been drained out of him and he "covered his face with his hands" in despair. However, he does not dwell on his current predicament, and his final reaction is one of thankfulness that he is not married - "what would she have done in the poverty now coming upon me!" He feels very relieved that Bathsheba has not consented to marry him after what has happened, because she too would otherwise be in the same position he is in now. He is always more conscious of the situation of others, even animals, than of his own.
This is quite a remarkable quality he has, considering he is now left "with the clothes he stood up in, and nothing more." Even in the most catastrophic of situations he puts others before himself, and this characteristic proves to be a great aid in helping his relationship with Bathsheba develop.
As bad as things are for Gabriel, he is not the type of person to be got down by bad luck and goes off to Casterbridge fair in the hope of finding some work. He fails to gain employment as a bailiff in the morning, but when he adopts the dress of a shepherd in the afternoon, he is rebuffed again. It would seem that fate is not smiling down at all on Gabriel, but ironically enough, it is this which draws him into contact with Bathsheba again. Although he has the intention of going to Shottsford fair, he finds out that it is near to Weatherbury, where Bathsheba was headed. Overhearing a conversation in the back of a wagon, Gabriel decides that even if the men were not talking about Bathsheba, "the woman alluded to seemed to be the mistress of some estate" and therefore resolves to take his chances to see if he can seek employment from there.
As he comes to a gate in a hedge he notices "an unusual light" and as he observes it, realises it is a fire. Unbeknown to Gabriel, this fire acts as an instrument of fate which brings himself and Bathsheba together again. Hardy uses very descriptive images to personify the fire, such as "individual straws in the foreground…were knots of red worms", "imaginary fiery faces, tongues hanging from lips, glaring eyes and other impish forms". This makes the fire seem as if it has been sent from hell and all the devilish creatures are intertwined with the flames. At first Hardy makes it seem quite exciting - "shadows danced merrily up and down, timed by the jigging of the flames" and "tongues of yellow hue licked and darted playfully" don't make the fire seem very serious, but it soon becomes apparent that it is very dangerous, predominantly by the way Gabriel takes charge.
Hardy makes Gabriel seem like a hero even more in this chapter because, amongst a babble of commotion and confusion, he is the only pragmatic person. He knows exactly what to do and has no scruples of doing everything he can to stop the fire. Even when told that "the ladder was against the straw-rick and is burnt to a cinder" he doesn't let it become a hindrance and finds an alternative way of getting up to the wheat-stack. He seems even more heroic by the way he is battling against the fire with only very simple tools. He has only his crook and a beech-bough as 'weapons' and yet he still defeats this dangerous force of nature.
Again this shows the reader how Gabriel puts others before himself. He does not even know the owner of the farm, and yet he still risks his life for them. He doesn't stay a "mere spectator" as he could so easily have done, his first instinct is to help. The thought that saving the ricks could mean employment for him does not even cross his mind until he has saved them, which shows that he is a genuine hero.
However, he is not prepared for what is about to happen next. As he comes up to speak to the mistress of the farm, he could not be in a more dishevelled state. His apparel is "burnt into holes and dripping with water", "his features smudged, grimy and undiscoverable from the smoke and heat". He is very conscious of his appearance and so with humility he advances, lifts his hat "with respect, and not without gallantry" and says hesitantly, "Do you happen to want a shepherd, ma'am?" Saying this to a stranger would be embarrassing and uncomfortable enough, but when the "female form" turns around, Gabriel finds himself face-to-face with none other than his "cold-hearted darling, Bathsheba Everdene".
Although Gabriel hoped to find Bathsheba in Weatherbury, he is stunned to find her mistress of the farm he has just salvaged. But more than just shocked, he is abashed. He is still deeply in love with Bathsheba and is reunited with her, not as a smartly dressed, impressive farmer, but as an unkempt, unemployed man appealing for a job. When he proposed to her in Norcombe he was the one who said he could give her all sorts of things, such as a piano, nice flowers, a gig for market, but now the roles have switched and it is Bathsheba who needs to give Gabriel something. This makes Gabriel feel as though Bathsheba was right and he isn't enough of a man to tame her. However, he can at least find solace in the fact he is now no longer unemployed and, despite the circumstances, reunited with the woman he loves.
Gabriel continues to work for Bathsheba until one day when they have a major disagreement in which Bathsheba's pride gets wounded when she is told some very appropriate home truths, and she sacks him in a fit of temper. This, however, proves to be a very foolish mistake on Bathsheba's part, as the very next day another disaster strikes her farm which has near-fatal consequences. Bathsheba's prime flock manages to break their way into a field of clover which, upon eating it, makes them severely bloated. None of her other shepherd's can save them, the only shepherd who can do it, ironically, is Gabriel.
At first Bathsheba resolutely declares, "Never will I send for him-never!" but when she sees one of the ewes die, she is forced to change her mind. Vexed that she has to send for him, she tells one of her shepherds, Tall, to deliver quite an impertinent message to Gabriel; ordering him to "return instantly". However, when Tall returns with his reply, there is no Gabriel. Gabriel forces Bathsheba to swallow a great deal of her pride by retorting that "beggars mustn't be choosers" and she must ask him for his help "civilly and in a proper manner". He is not asking her to beg, he is asking her to realise that she was in the wrong and accept it. Gabriel is being a true friend to Bathsheba - he isn't going to jump every time she snaps her fingers, he is going to make her see that a friendship is a two-way thing and that in order to keep a friend, she has to be one too. The second time she asks for his help in a note, adding the words, "Do not desert me, Gabriel!" at the bottom. This time Gabriel comes.
Gabriel turns out to be the hero once again, and the reader can note he is saving this disaster with the practicality and efficiency he used when saving the farm from the fire. Again, he only has a simple tool as "the instrument of salvation", but uses it "with a dexterity that would have graced a hospital-surgeon." By "selecting the proper point, he punctured the skin and rumen with the lance as it stood in the tube; then he suddenly withdrew the lance, retaining the tube in its place." He successfully performs this operation on forty-nine of the sick sheep and "owing to the great hurry necessitated by the far-gone state of some of the flock, Gabriel missed his aim in one case and in one only".
To save forty-nine sheep completely by himself is a huge achievement, and shows the reader that he may be an "every-day sort of man", but he is an exceptionally skilled farmer. Taking this into account, it is important for the reader to note that if Bathsheba hadn't unfairly fired Gabriel, it is highly unlikely that the sheep would have been able to break into the clover field. However, Gabriel is not the type of person to hold any grudges, and we can see his undying loyalty to Bathsheba when he agrees to stay on with her. This disaster has brought them closer together and we can see that not only is Gabriel's relationship with Bathsheba is growing, but also Bathsheba is growing as a character.
As can already be seen, Gabriel's relationship with Bathsheba seems to mature through a series of disasters. Chapter thirty-seven above all proves to the reader his heroism and enduring devotion to her, even though she has married Troy. Once more he saves Bathsheba's farm from ruin with his practicality and courage, but this chapter is a lot more frightening than the previous ones. He has already had to contend with one force of nature; now he has to fight an even stronger one - a storm.
Hardy makes this chapter seem like an epic battle between Gabriel and the universe, again because of his resourcefulness. This time he has to contend with all the major natural forces - thunder, lightning and wind - and his only 'weapon' to fight the storm with is his ricking rod. When "a blue light…flickered down near the top of the rod" it is almost as if the storm knows Gabriel is a rival and wants to make it a personal battle between them. Feeling "his position to be anything but a safe one" he descends from the stack, but after a few moment's consideration decides to return after asking himself the question "Was his life so valuable to him after all?" He knows it is a risk but feels that his own prospects do not compare to the "important and urgent labour" needed to be carried out to save Bathsheba's profits.
This is typical Gabriel behaviour, to put everything before himself and directly compares Troy's irresponsible, self-centred behaviour. Gabriel is prepared to risk his life for Bathsheba while her own husband is lying asleep, drunk, in the barn. Troy is the soldier, not Gabriel, yet it is evident to the reader he does not have the same courage that Gabriel has.
The language Hardy uses to describe the storm is very powerful and makes the reader envisage how prodigious the storm is. He uses numerous animal comparisons, such as in the very first sentence of the chapter - "A light flapped over the scene as if reflected from phosphorescent wings crossing the sky". This makes the reader imagine a monstrous bird flying overhead, with every flap of its wings a strike of lightning. The alliteration he uses in the sixth paragraph is also quite effective - "spring of a serpent".
All the animals Hardy uses to compare the storm to are animals or creatures associated with hell: serpents, fiends, skeletons, and enforces the idea of Gabriel being the good battling against the evil. Another good comparison which verifies this is "The lightning…gleamed in the heavens like a mailed army". The universe has a whole army whereas Gabriel is fighting valiantly on his own.
We can comprehend just how terrifying the storm is and how brave Gabriel is by the way Hardy describes the exaggerated effects of the lightning and how intense the darkness is that follows. A tree being "like an ink stroke on burnished tin", a rick suddenly brightening "with the brazen glare of shining majolica" lets the reader know that every time the lightning strikes, every little detail is outlined and lit so vividly it is almost blinding. Hardy also uses many contrasts of light and dark within the chapter, a good example being "It hardly was credible that such a heavenly light could be the parent of such a diabolical sound", referring to the lightning and thunder. This is the third disaster to happen at night and validates the idea of Gabriel being portrayed as the Angel Gabriel who lit up the darkness.
The most important outcome of the storm, however, is the new relationship between Gabriel and Bathsheba. Despite everything that has previously happened between them, they have to work together in order to save the ricks and consequently the farm's future. Although Bathsheba tries to be blind to Troy's faults, she cannot excuse the fact that it is Gabriel, not her husband, who is endeavouring to save her farm. Because of this, she feels impelled to tell him what really happened when she went to Bath. She is ashamed to explain it but finally admits to him that the real reason she married Troy was "between jealousy and distraction". Gabriel, instead of acting coldly towards her, can see she is distressed and tired and so speaks to her "gently as a mother". This shows us again how Gabriel can empathise with a person despite what he may be feeling inside. For once, Bathsheba is grateful towards him and thanks him "a thousand times". She speaks to him "more warmly than she had ever done whilst unmarried and free to speak as warmly as she chose." The storm, although nearly catastrophic in reference to the farm, proves to be a vital turning point in their relationship and ultimately leads to their marriage at the end of the novel.
As could be predicted, the story finishes with a happy ending. Gabriel has been a sincere friend to Bathsheba throughout and has been there to support her every time another difficulty befalls her. Gabriel may not have the surface qualities that Troy had, but after his death Bathsheba eventually realises that Gabriel's kindness, loyalty and true love for her are worth far much more and it is an "every-day sort of man" she needs most. Their relationship is not based on "pretty phrases and warm expressions" it is based on trust and friendship and has a much more solid foundation. As said in the blurb on the back cover, Bathsheba achieves a painful but necessary self-knowledge - that it is much better to love someone, rather than just be in love.
I admit I was prejudiced at first that this would not be a very romantic novel, but as I have followed their relationship and seen how the characters develop and pull through everything that comes their way, I have no hesitation in contradicting my first opinions and can say that it is one of the most romantic love stories I have ever read.
Rachel Beesley
Year 10