What is the significance of Fanny Robin in Far From The Madding Crowd?

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Claire Ainscow

10MR

Essay: Far From The Madding Crowd

What is the significance of Fanny Robin in Far From The Madding Crowd?

As Fanny Robin does not appear very often throughout the novel and because the events in which she is involved would not at first appear significant for the reader, she would therefore not appear to be a main character in Far From The Madding Crowd, although as the novel progresses, we can see that she is in fact very important in the plot and has several functions throughout the novel: she is used by Hardy to create drama in the plot and create a sense of tension and suspense; she highlights the different sides of the nature of the other main characters in the novel, and helps to develop a reader’s opinion about these characters, Frances Troy in particular; along with Bathsheba, Fanny also allows Hardy to focus on social attitudes towards women; finally, she is an example of how fate and chance affect the characters throughout the plot and so helps Hardy to present one of the main themes of the novel.

Fanny Robin’s first and most obvious role in the novel is to enable Hardy to create a feeling of suspense and drama for the reader in some sections of the plot. When Fanny is first introduced into the plot, there is a lot of tension and drama in Weatherbury which is caused by her disappearance and the consequent search for her. When  Joseph Poorgrass says “What a night of horrors! I’ve heard the news-bells ringing quite bad enough for murder, and I’ve seen a magpie all alone!” and then goes on to talk about Fanny’s disappearance, shows a reader that the people of Weatherbury are concerned as to her whereabouts  and this makes a reader wonder what has happened to her. The fact that she left without any indication as to where she was going makes a reader curious about the circumstances surrounding her disappearance and this creates interest for the reader. When the farm workers are saying “Oh - ‘tis burned - ‘tis burned!” and “No - ‘tis drowned!” and “Or ‘tis her father’s razor!” as they discuss the cause of Fanny’s disappearance also adds to the reader’s interest as to what has happened to her. Again, when we are told that Fanny has gone missing from the farm, we are not told that she is the same girl that Farmer Oak had encountered by the side of the road so, although we learn of this later in the novel, the fact that Hardy has kept her identity secret adds to the atmosphere of tension and suspense which Hardy is building up in relation to Fanny towards the start of the novel. When Oak and Fanny meet by the side of the road, Fanny tells Oak to “let you having seen me be a secret” which again makes a reader curious as to why she would want their meeting to be kept secret. The mystery surrounding her earlier is made even more intense by her not showing up for the wedding. The heavy silence in the church as Troy is waiting for her adds to the tension which is already surrounding her character, so, although Fanny hasn’t appeared very often at this stage in the novel, a reader is already getting an impression of how the situations in which she is involved are very melodramatic.

Another role for Fanny Robin is to expose specific aspects of other characters in the novel, especially Troy. Her function for Hardy is to reveal to the reader different aspects of Troy’s nature, and to highlight his bad points and therefore present him in a negative view for the reader.  

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However, Troy is not the only character with which Hardy uses Fanny to expose different sides of their characters. Gabriel Oak initially appears to be very solitary and self sufficient as we are told he lives alone on his farm where he looks after his sheep and makes a living from this. However, when he sees Fanny by the side of the road, he greets her, although he doesn’t know her, and then is sympathetic when she asks him for help, “she seemed won by his heartiness”, and the fact the he offers Fanny all his spare change shows how ...

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