She pays her workers more than sufficient, which shows she is generous and kind. This scene of woman- power and strength contrasts well with chapter eleven where Fanny goes to meet Sergeant Troy. She is described as a ‘slight and fragile creature.’ This is a clear description of typical women in the nineteenth century. There is a tragic aura about Fanny she appears to be undiscovered and mysterious.
Secondly I’d like to talk about their class and status as I feel this has strong links to the way we view their experiences. Bathsheba has humble origins. She inherits the farm and it is clear that she has independence and determination ‘I shall astonish you all.’ Bathsheba is in an unusually powerful position for women of the nineteenth century. Bathsheba’s class and status contrasts well with Fanny’s poor and plain life. Fanny doesn’t have the luxury of choice like Bathsheba. Where as Bathsheba has independence, Fanny depends on others.
Bathsheba’s independence affects her reputation especially due to the time the novel was written. It was very rare and astonishing to see a woman with independence and strength. Their reputations are both very contrasting. However there is a similarity between the women, Bathsheba’s vanity also affects her reputation. In chapter twelve, ‘the most dignified and valuable man in the whole parish’ withheld his eyes from Bathsheba. He walked passed ‘as unconsciously and abstractedly as if Bathsheba and her charms were thin air.’ This annoys Bathsheba. She cannot see why this man unlike the others should not be attracted to her. So she sends him a valentines card. I feel the valentines card affects her reputation a great deal. Many women of any era (present day or past) find Valentines Day exciting and often send valentines for jokes. Intentionally this card was sent for humour however the mistake was impulsively stamping it with the words ‘marry me’. Hardy reflects that Bathsheba knows nothing of love.
When Boldwood does receive this letter he pretends and tries to tell himself that this letter is not for him. However he takes note of the sealed ‘Marry me.’ Boldwood wants it to be kept quiet; ‘I should be much obliged to you if you would keep the contents of this letter a secret for the present, dear friend’. He knows that reputation is indeed very important. For a woman to ask a man to marry her would indeed affect a woman’s reputation.
One of the main differences between these two contrasting women is that Bathsheba was messing around in the valentines card. Where as in chapter eleven when Fanny goes to meet Sergeant Troy, she unconventionally keeps asking about the matter of marriage, ‘I love you so and you said lots of times that you would marry me.’ This scene affects Fanny and her reputation. It shows to the reader that she is desperate.
Hardy is an expert at viewpoint. He is able to give his own view as well as a characters Bathsheba’s workers gossip about her and her ‘men’. They do not see how a woman will cope, ‘A headstrong maid, that’s what she is and won’t listen to no advice at all. Pride and vanity have ruined a many cobblers dog’. This isn’t just Mark Clark’s view, it is also Hardy’s and a lot of men in the 1870’s.
Fanny breaks many social taboos. She has unmarried sex and tragically falls pregnant. Sex before marriage would have severely damaged a woman’s reputation.
To finish off Fanny’s bad reputation she has no dignity in her death. Her home and village must bear the expense of her funeral.
Bathsheba also shows signs of jealousy, she is jealous when other women talk about Troy and especially when Troy tells her that he is in love with Fanny. In fact Bathsheba even states that she married Troy because she was jealous, ‘ Between jealousy and distraction I married him.’
Bathsheba wants to marry for love. She makes it quite clear in chapter four that she wants taming, ‘I want somebody to tame me; I am too independent; and you would never be able to.’ She cannot see how practical Gabriel will do this and therefore rejects him.
After sending the Valentine Card to Boldwood and receiving his attention, then also like she did to Farmer Oak, rejects Boldwood. Through the novel she is chopping and changing her mind but when she meets Troy she is dazzled, ‘the man to whom she was hooked was brilliant in scarlet and brass’. She also is impressed by his looks. However she is not treated particularly well by Troy and even though her wish of being tamed is granted she feels she is losing power. I find this topic of particular interest as I feel that if the book were written now, there would be a big issue about the way Troy treats Bathsheba but because of the time the novel was written it is put down to everyday life.
When Bathsheba meets Troy she is dragged down and changed by the cruelty. When she finds out that Troy had always been in love with Fanny Robin and was the father of fanny’s baby she is heartbroken and feels used, ‘Finally with the superfluous magnanimity of a woman whose narrower instincts have brought down bitterness upon her instead of love…’
However despite feeling dragged down, she does feel passion and care for him. In chapter forty-eight when a man came looking for Bathsheba to mistakenly tell her that Troy has drowned she was overwhelmed, ‘the ice of self command which had latterly gathered over her was broken, and the currents burst forth again, and overwhelmed her. A darkness came into her eyes, and she fell.’ The shock and fear had devastated her.
I think that the chapter suitably named, ‘Converging Courses’ is particularly interesting. I think the way Hardy directs the blame at Bathsheba in this chapter is very secretive. At the beginning of this chapter she says that ‘ I am the cause of the party and if it have not been for me then there wouldn’t have been one.’ This is another example of Hardy showing his viewpoint. I think that this quote is not only vain Bathsheba making a point, but also Hardy. He knows what is going to happen at the end of the chapter (Troy being shot by Boldwood) and blames Bathsheba for the death of Troy at the beginning. He is telling the reader that if it wasn’t for her and her indecisive mind maybe none of this would have happened. This is another example of Hardy being sexist.
Bathsheba’s love life superbly contrasts with Fanny’s. Fanny has fewer choices of men than Bathsheba. In fact she only has one choice – Troy. Troy uses her and she ultimately becomes the victim of this man.
In the first paragraphs of my essay I stated that Fanny too is attractive. However, Hardy has made the reader begin to think that due to Fanny’s bad luck with men, she may not be quite as attractive as we first thought. Other men are kind to her, e.g. Oak and Boldwood but not attracted to her in the way they are to Bathsheba. This is also due to class and social factors. Maybe if Fanny had not have broken social taboos and had come from a wealthier and higher class, maybe she would have been of more attraction.
I find this topic of interest because in present times, class and status are not particularly important and it is not strange for women to not get married.
Because Fanny is so dependent on Troy, it makes the reader feel sorry for her.
Hardy makes the reader pity poor Fanny. He does this through fate. One will notice the
continuous bad luck Fanny has throughout the novel, late for her wedding with Troy,
ultimately loses the chance, falls pregnant and is too late to stand a chance at the workhouse,
where she tragically dies. Bathsheba’s luck and fate is more of a roller coaster. She does have
bad luck, i.e.) the death of her husband – ultimately being tangled up with Troy. But also has
a lot of good luck, including inheriting the farm and having three suitable and dignified men
chasing after her.
I feel the fate has particular importance to the way we view the women. Hardy gives Fanny
lots of ill fortune to show how weak and unlucky she is. Hardy also does this through the use
of imagery.
In chapter eleven when Fanny goes to meet Troy imagery plays an important role to the
setting of the scene. ‘It was a night when sorrow may come to the brightest without causing
any great sense of incongruity, hope sinks to misgiving…’, this bad night is not only used to
show the bad weather but is also used to give us an impression of Fanny’s character. The
night suggests that Fanny is a weak and vulnerable girl.
Bathsheba dresses in red. Hardy dresses this woman in red to hint at passion and danger.
Near the end of the novel she dresses in black at the Christmas- Eve party –
the night Troy gets shot. Hardy does this to reflect her mood.
It is also evident that Hardy has made her relationships ebb and flow with the seasons. She
meets Troy in the summer, which reflects heat and passion. Then later she returns to see
decay and a swamp, which reflects her mood and relationships.
Throughout the novel Hardy continuously makes suggestions on Bathsheba’s character and
love life. He continuously makes the point that women are vain and that love is always
miserable for women.
Oddly enough, he gives Bathsheba a happy ending. Which, to some readers may be a bit of a
let down. Throughout the novel he has given Bathsheba good times and bad times with the
condition that the good times turn out bad, i.e.) Bathsheba’s relationship with Troy. I feel he
surprisingly gave Bathsheba a good ending because he felt he had given Bathsheba enough
bad luck and for a woman she deserved a happy ending.
In conclusion I find various stages throughout the novel, ‘Far From The Madding Crowd’ of
particular interest, which help one understand some of Bathsheba’s and Fanny’s experiences.
In particular I find Hardy’s view on women extremely interesting because it differs some
what to modern views and modern society. Through the novel he has made us feel sorry for
their grief and sorrow by using imagery, fate and giving us a clear view of his opinion -that
love is always miserable for women.
Their lives are dictated by the time and place they live in. If the book was written in the 21st
century and had been set in the middle of the city I don’t think the their lives and experiences
would have given the same affect on the reader, especially as women of the 19th century were
treated a lot differently to the way women are now.
I feel the message Hardy is trying to portray is that when women like Bathsheba begin to
have choice and power, things begin to go wrong. The contrasting character of Bathsheba-
Fanny who had no power and was weak may have survived and had been with Troy if it
weren’t for Bathsheba who had (in Hardy’s opinion) too many choices.
Also from reading other stories written by Thomas Hardy I think that his sexist views on
women are constant throughout his writings,
‘Bathsheba had a fair knowledge; but of love subjectively she knew nothing.’
By Caroline Stephens 11F2
