Works of Thomas Hardy discussion
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Far From The Madding Crowd
Far from the Madding Crowd
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Far From the Madding Crowd 1st Thread: Chapter 1 - 8
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This tragedy is a sobering lesson for Gabriel about the ways in which circumstances can be beyond one’s own control, and natural forces intervene against the best-laid plans. The shooting of the dog is portrayed as a similarly grim, similarly illogical solution, though it is also presented as simply the way things were done at this time.
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I just have to highlight this evocative description, at the moment after Gabriel Oak realised the sheep had been herded over the precipice:
“Oak raised his head, and wondering what he could do, listlessly surveyed the scene. By the outer margin of the Pit was an oval pond, and over it hung the attenuated skeleton of a chrome-yellow moon which had only a few days to last—the morning star dogging her on the left hand. The pool glittered like a dead man’s eye, and as the world awoke a breeze blew, shaking and elongating the reflection of the moon without breaking it, and turning the image of the star to a phosphoric streak upon the water. All this Oak saw and remembered.”
And isn’t it true that at moments of great shock and drama, we do remember some things in extraordinary detail?
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We read that the colour of the old dog George’s fur had been “scorched and washed out of the more prominent locks, leaving them of a reddish-brown, as if the blue component of the grey had faded, like the indigo from the same kind of colour in Turner’s pictures.”
“Indigo blue” is a deep but unstable pigment, which tended to fade when used in painting. J.M.W. Turner was an English artist noted for the brilliance of colour in his works.
“wool of a poor quality and staple”
“staple” here means wool fibre graded for length.
A “down” is another word for a grassy hill, used for grazing. It is often part of the name as is “hill”.
Gabriel calls to his sheep with the words “Ovev, ovey, ovey”. Thomas Hardy himself said:
“It is somewhat singular - possibly a survival from the Roman occupation of Britain - that the shepherds of this region should call their sheep in Latin.”
(The Latin word for sheep is “ovis”.)
At the moment of highest drama we read:
“He called again: the valleys and farthest hills resounded as when the sailors invoked the lost Hylas on the Mysian shore; but no sheep.”
This refers to a fable in the 13th Idyll of Theocritus. When Hercules and the Argonauts landed on the coast of Mysia, Hylas, a favourite of Hercules, was attracted by nymphs in a spring where he had gone to get water. Hercules and his sailors called for him in vain; the nymphs had carried Hylas off with them.
There are a number of paintings of Napoleon brooding, silhouetted against the sky, during his exile on the island of St. Helena. The comparison of Gabriel’s dog to the emperor Napoleon seems way over the top, but it’s also a way for the novel to underscore the high stakes and tragic dimensions of a world that may seem inconsequential, given its distance from the towns and cities. Thomas Hardy means us to see Gabriel as a tragic figure.
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We just have the one day though …
I’ve often felt when reading Hardy that he has a particular kindness and sympathy for his readers. I just get that feeling. And case in point here, he didn’t give George’s son a name. I found that helpful!But yes, this sets up Farmer Oak as a very tragic figure, with his huge smile becoming an ironic symbol.
And all of the meaning behind his phrases really adds to the poetic feel. I never would have made the Theocritus or Napoleon connections on my own--thank you so much Jean!
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What a great observation! I hadn't thought of that, thank you Kathleen.
I'm in, albeit belatedly. This will be 3rd or 4th read for me.
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That's great Keith! I was hoping to see you (and a couple of others from our last Big Read) and I look forward to your comments. Yes, you'll definitely soon catch up, knowing this novel well 😊
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I too like this observation, Kathleen. While this death was sad, it wasn't nearly as gut-wrenching to read as the one Jean alludes to in Tess of the D’Urbervilles. (I love the connections Jean makes between the two scenes, that hadn't occurred to me, great insight there!)
Here, for me, the anguish was also lessened because Farmer Oak is not mentioned in the fatal sentence. We know its Farmer Oak, but it feels as if some anonymous person is committing this fatal act. That made it quick and as a reader I was grateful for that.
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Thank you, Jean, for quoting some of the beautiful, poetic writing in this sad chapter. There really is so much going on here beyond the tragic end.
If I may jump back to the beginning of the chapter, did this line make anyone else laugh, or chuckle:
"there is no regular path for getting out of love as there is for getting in. Some people look upon marriage as a short cut that way, but it has been known to fail"
Is the narrator saying that the quickest way to fall out of love with someone is to marry them? Although sometimes it fails, meaning the people stay in love with each other. Am I reading that right? Because if that's right, then that's hilarious and I love it!
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“It may have been observed that there is no regular path for getting out of love as there is for getting in. Some people look upon marriage as a short cut that way, but it has been known to fail” writes our man in chapter 5. Given that Far From The Madding Crowd was published in 1874, just after his marriage to Emma Gifford, it’s difficult to imagine that the implied gentle cynicism in this statement was heartfelt. However, recalling Hardy’s mother’s plea to her children never to marry, might this be a sign of a sub-conscious doubt that the author harbours, and a sign that his first marriage was doomed to fail?
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Yes, that's a slightly more cynical interpretation of the sentence than either Bridget's or mine (in the previous post to yours) but "recalling Hardy’s mother’s plea to her children never to marry" is an excellent thought, thank you.
(This part of the serial was published in January 1874 by the way, and they were to marry 8 months later, on 17th September. You are possibly thinking of the first 2 volume book edition on 23rd November 1874, as that was the first to bear his name.)
Bionic Jean wrote: "Welcome David! Yay - I hoped you were goin to join us too! 😊Yes, that's a slightly more cynical interpretation than mine (in the previous post to yours) but "recalling Hardy’s mother’s plea to he..."
Yes, of course. I lazily just looked at the original publication date at the front of my mid-70s Macmillan edition.
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Jean, I like your observation that Hardy tends to let us get comfortable with his characters before a tragedy.Hardy describes the situation with the overenthusiastic dog as "another instance of the untoward fate which so often attends dogs and other philosophers who follow out a train of reasoning to its logical conclusion." I can certainly think of other real-life and literary situations that support that idea.
The concept of fate is important in Hardy, and we can see it operating in this incident. Gabriel was able to become a farmer, but rather than hiring a shepherd, he did the herding himself. He was advanced the season's sheep, but he did not insure them. He allowed the dogs to eat a dead lamb, something we are told is not done unless food is short. He allowed a young and inexperienced dog to remain outside during the night. All of these factors made the disaster fated to happen.
Erich wrote: "The concept of fate is important in Hardy, and we can see it operating in this incident. Gabriel was able to become a farmer, but rather than hiring a shepherd, he did the herding himself. He was advanced the season's sheep, but he did not insure them. He allowed the dogs to eat a dead lamb, something we are told is not done unless food is short. He allowed a young and inexperienced dog to remain outside during the night. All of these factors made the disaster fated to happen."The 2009 sci-fi film Terminator Salvation might seem like a strangely low-brow source to quote from in a discussion of a literary classic like this one, but the above comment reminded me of a statement the scriptwriters put in the mouth of their main character: "There is no fate but what we make." Gabriel made, as Erich noted, three unwise choices here that led to the disaster; and they definitely were choices, that could each have been made differently.
Having taken British Literature in high school, taught it as a home-schooling parent, and picked up whatever other random knowledge of Hardy criticism that the average educated American is exposed to, I've always been told that Hardy is a great exponent of the idea that human beings are mere puppets of "Fate." But I've also read all of his major novels (albeit none very recently) and some of his stories, and I have to say I don't pick that theme up there myself. Hardy seems to me to depict characters who have a good deal of agency (though their choices aren't always wise, and the consequences may not be what they expected), and not to be any more fatalistic in his outlook than other Victorian novelists.
Now having said that, I'll step down from the soapbox, dust it off, zip my lip, and resume listening and learning from other's thoughts. (As another low-brow sci-fi source, Master Yoda from the Star Wars movies, would tell me, "Stated, your opinion is!" :-) )
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Werner - I think whole books have been written about "Fate" in Thomas Hardy's work 🙄, but we do not all mean the same thing. Nor can I hope to provide more than a taster here.
One's personal beliefs are bound to influence one's interpretation. As a Christian Werner, you believe in Free Will, but there were aspects of Christianity which Thomas Hardy struggled with all his life. He quoted various philosophical and Biblical texts throughout his works, but Fate and the idea that things are predestined is a recurring theme. It reaches its zenith in the final sentence of Tess of the D’Urbervilles, which I know you read (or reread) with us:
"“Justice” was done, and the President of the Immortals, in Æschylean phrase, had ended his sport (view spoiler)".
So who is “the President of the Immortals"? This is where one's world view comes in. Thomas Hardy seems to be echoing a Greek tragedy and suggests that the highest power in the universe uses human beings for "sport." Is the "President of the Immortals" God, or Death, or a personification of, or metaphor for Fate?
Thank you Erich and Werner for highlighting (or denying the existence of) this important theme. These are very knotty problems and I suggest that we all look out for the many instances of Thomas Hardy suggesting outright or covertly, the power of determinism and fate (and when you begin this novel again, I hope you will look for possible examples too, Werner.)
I look forward to some specific examples to come. So far, I see the hand of Fate most strongly in today's chapter 5. Gabriel had no power whatsoever to prevent his dog from destroying his livelihood. Erich has detailed the factors which led to the tragic conclusion, but Gabriel had no "agency" in the final event, even though he tried desperately hard to stop it. As Erich said, in common parlance it was "fated" to happen. It followed logically from several unconnected minor events, each of which seemed reasonable to Gabriel at the time.
We might believe in a benevolent God, or conversely that the justice of the world is harsh and unfair, but to me personally, a lot things people call "fate" are simply bad luck: a deadly combination of certain random factors. (But that's my personal attitude, not Thomas Hardy's. His was more despairing.)
And it seems to me that Gabriel is both a Christian and has that pragmatic outlook too. Perhaps we should start a Gabriel Oak fan club ...
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Do you think Bathsheba seated among the pots and pans and furniture might be significant, and indicate anything to come? It has been called a sort of emblem.
In fact Michael Millgate says of the whole of the first installment - the 1st 5 chapters (the Norcombe section) that they:
"stand in relation to the body of the novel almost as a kind of dumb show, offering a brief survey of what has gone beforeand a "type" of prefiguration of much that will follow."
I think the first installment concentrated on Gabriel and Bathsheba so much that given that we are reading a novel, their paths must be bound to cross again. But how could this be? They live in different places, and Gabriel Oak is now penniless. I cannot yet see anything resulting in an inevitable conclusion. How about you?
Bionic Jan wrote: "One's personal beliefs are bound to influence one's interpretation. As a Christian Werner, you believe in Free Will, but there were aspects of Christianity which Thomas Hardy struggled with all his life. He quoted various philosophical and Biblical texts throughout his works, but Fate and the idea that things are predestined is a recurring theme. It reaches its zenith in the final sentence of Tess of the D’Urbervilles.... I suggest that we all look out for the many instances of Thomas Hardy suggesting outright or covertly, the power of determinism and fate (and when you begin this novel again, I hope you will look for possible examples too, Werner.)I look forward to some specific examples to come. So far, I see the hand of Fate most strongly in today's chapter 5. Gabriel had no power whatsoever to prevent his dog from destroying his livelihood. Erich has detailed the factors which led to the tragic conclusion, but Gabriel had no "agency" here. As Erich said, in common parlance it was "fated" to happen. It followed logically from several unconnected minor events, each of which seemed reasonable to Gabriel at the time. We might believe in a benevolent God, or conversely that the justice of the world is harsh and unfair, but to me personally, a lot things people call "fate" are simply bad luck: a deadly combination of certain random factors. (But that's my personal attitude, not Thomas Hardy's. His was more despairing.)"
Although I said I'd zip my lip, when a comment causes me to shift my perspective, that's reason enough to unzip. :-) Jean, as usual, you make valid points.
From my perspective, even though Gabriel had no agency to stop something from happening while he was asleep, there are steps he could have taken to prevent or mitigate it beforehand. Any time you don't insure something, you're taking a risk; and that dog, in proximity to sheep, was trouble waiting to happen. Those facts would have been more prominent in hindsight, but they were facts before. That said, though, the key words there were, "From my perspective" --and you're absolutely right that just because I see events a certain way doesn't prove that Hardy saw them the same way.
When I read Tess (I didn't reread it with the group, but did follow the discussion), I actually did pick up on the same sentence you did, and even commented on it in my review. As you noted, it is a very fatalistic statement. At the time, I saw it as an anomaly in Hardy's writing, but it may well not be.
It's also true that the strand of Christianity that I'm part of emphasizes free will; but that's not necessarily true of all branches of Christianity, and not necessarily true of the Christianity Hardy was raised in. Calvinism was strong in British Protestantism, even in the Low-Church Anglicanism of that day; and although the type of Calvinism held by those of its proponents who seriously study it is more nuanced, it's generally perceived by the less theologically educated as strongly emphasizing predestination, and more or less denying free will. If Hardy perceived the Christianity of his upbringing that way (and I thought there were indications in Tess that he might have), that may have disposed him towards a fatalistic outlook even after he lost his faith as a young man.
It's always good to be open to rereading things with a fresh eye (especially a great novel, which can have many nuances that one may not catch on a single reading!) and I'll definitely be reading this one with a more open eye towards any hints of how Hardy himself interprets the events he recounts. (I'm hoping to start my reread early next week.)
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I'm nowhere near expert enough to comment on this, but for whoever's area this is, please do comment when you see the relevance to any character in Far From the Madding Crowd - or to the narrator's views.
I've put "omniscient" narrator in inverted commas already, as I have noticed a definite shift in technique as we proceed through this book. Another thing to watch out for perhaps!
This was indeed a difficult chapter to read and it did remind me of that chapter in Tess of the D'Urbervilles. I saw it as a moment of reflection for Gabriel and his realization that crisis could be right along the corner. I'm so impressed at what others saw and that I did not. This is a wonderful discussion!
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I like this!
And actually Gabriel not hiring a shepherd, I think was a responsible thing to do, given that he was a new farmer. He didn't want to lose all his sheep because a less committed person might not be not willing to stay in the cot all night, and would shelter under a hayrick too far away ... or even go home!
If you want a job doing properly, do it yourself, as they say.
Insurance was different. He probably could not afford it, so knew it was a gamble, but also knew that he was good at his job. I think Gabriel Oak's decisions were largely good ones.
Great discussion!I see fate in Hardy not as removing free will and responsibility but as working with free will to produce (often negative) consequences. So, not deterministic but rather amplifying the (often negative) results of choices.
As you point out, Jean, Gabriel has made responsible and pragmatic choices, and Hardy has made sure that we know that he is regarded as a steady, honest, and moderate man. Even so, bad things happen to good people in that (and our) world. The parallel with Tess is even stronger here, as she takes responsibility for her wastrel father and suffers as a result.
Interestingly, and I think significantly, both Gabriel's near death in the hut and the death of the sheep happen when he is asleep. Tess's collision with the mail cart happens also when she has fallen asleep and is dreaming of a better life. Gabriel, similarly, is advancing himself (from shepherd to farmer) and dreams of financial independence and marriage to Bathsheeba. Are dreams a form of pride, and are characters punished because of it?
Exciting discussion! I have friends coming in from out of town so no comments till later today from me. 😎
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Generally, I think fate plays an oversized role in Hardy novels (though this in only my second, so my sampling is small). By oversized, I mean that in real life, fate wouldn't be such a determination of outcome. That said, his use of fate adds wonderful drama and tension to the stories. It also allows him to explore his thoughts about God, religion and the spirit.
On the other hand, I think Hardy does give his characters agency over their lives by having them make choices, the thing is usually their options are bad. They are having to choose one bad choice over another. For example, with Tess she could take the horse to market in the middle of the night, or her family could starve. Two bad choices, which lead to more of the same for her.
Farmer Oak thought of the young dog when he got home and should have retrieved him. He knew the dog to be unreliable and "wrong-headed". But he was so tired and needed sleep. Which brings me to Erich's keen observation about sleep and pride. I very much like Erich's thoughts. It led me down this path . . . I think Hardy is also using sleep to illustrate how hard rural life can be. To show how these people have before them only a series of bad choices and they make the best of what they have. I think it also shows the fallibility of humans. At some point we have to sleep. In contrast to the "President of the Immortals" who never needs to rest.
Anyway, those are just some of my musings. This is a wonderful discussion, making my thoughts go down so many different roads.
Bionic Jean wrote: "And actually Gabriel not hiring a shepherd, I think was a responsible thing to do, given that he was a new farmer. He didn't want to lose all his sheep because a less committed person might not be not willing to stay in the cot all night, and would shelter under a hayrick too far away ... or even go home!If you want a job doing properly, do it yourself, as they say."
On that particular point, I definitely agree! Gabriel did make a smart choice there. And Erich, I agree that in the main, Gabriel really is a "steady, honest, moderate man" (I heartily like him!).
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And we're right there with you Bridget! You are incredibly intuitive about Thomas Hardy 😊
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Original vignette to installment 2 for Feb. 1874 by Helen Paterson
(as before, this header vignette image is from a later episode in the installment.)
Chapter 6: The Fair - The Journey - The Fire
Two months later, there was the annual hiring fair in the town of Casterbridge, with several hundred farm and other labourers waiting. Anyone wanting to hire the men could tell at a glance what they were, as carters and waggoners had a piece of whip-cord twisted round their hats; thatchers wore a fragment of woven straw; and shepherds held their sheep-crooks in their hands. Gabriel was among them, wearing the long coat of a bailiff. He looked so distinguished that some assumed he was a farmer, wanting to hire. But he was paler and poorer now, despite his dignified air of calm, and had an indifference to fate.
At the end of the day, Gabriel had still not been hired; all the farmers seemed to want shepherds. So he had a shepherd’s crook made in a smith shop, then exchanged his overcoat for a smockfrock. A few farmers did consider him, but the news that he last worked on his own farm, made them dubious.
“Gabriel, like his dog, was too good to be trustworthy, and he never made advance beyond this point.”
That evening Gabriel drew out his flute, playing the familiar tunes so sweetly that it cheered his own heart as well as others. He earned a little cash that way. By asking about, he learned of another fair the next day at Shottsford, near Weatherbury. Recognising the name, Gabriel decided to set off the six miles for Shottsford although he knew that Bathsheba might have already left the area. He followed the main path he was directed to, through the landscape, and after a few miles Gabriel descended a hill and passed by a deserted wagon. He decided to sleep in the hay rather than paying for a lodging, ate his last slices of bread and ham, drank some cider and decided to sleep there.
After a while, Gabriel woke to find that the wagon was moving. Peering cautiously out from the hay, Gabriel heard the waggoner and another man talking about a handsome woman, though they also said that she was vain. Laughing, they agree that she was even said to look in the mirror just to put on her night-cap properly before she went to bed every night. And she’s not married, they exclaimed. It suddenly occurred to Gabriel that “Master Poorgrass and Billy Smallbury” might be talking about Bathsheba, although he dismissed the thought straightaway, and slipped out of the wagon unseen, as they were nearing Weatherbury.
Trying to decide what to do, he noticed an unusual light about half a mile away, and gradually realised something was on fire. He followed the direction of the blaze, and could see it was the rick yard, where the hay was kept. A rick (haystack) was glowing, flames darting in and out. As the smoke was blown aside, Gabriel could see that the rick was part of a large group, making the danger even greater. Then he came across another man, running about and crying for Mark Clark, Billy Smallbury, Maryann Money, Joseph Poorgrass, and Matthew Moon. Other figures appeared and confusedly got to work.
Gabriel took control, and began to shout orders to the disorganised group. He clambered up to the top of the barn, and Mark Clark, a farmhand climbed the ladder Billy had fetched, to hold onto him. Gabriel beat the stack and tried to dislodge any fiery pieces of hay. The villagers below did all they could to keep the blaze under control. At a distance, two women wondered who the young shepherd beating the fire with his crook might be working for. No one seemed to know, they said. One asked Jan Coggan, nearby, if he thought the fire was safe now. He said he thought so, thanks to the unknown shepherd.
One of the women, on horseback, asked if anyone knew the shepherd’s name, and told the other woman, Maryann, to tell him that the farmer wanted to thank him for getting the fire under control. Gabriel asked where her master the farmer was, thinking he might be able to get a job there. Maryann said it was a mistress: and a bystander put in that she had recently arrived to take over her uncle’s farm, since he had died suddenly. She was very wealthy, they added. Maryann pointed her out to Gabriel; he went over and lifted his hat in respect, then asked if she happened to need a shepherd.
She lifted the veil from her face and he saw it was “his cold-hearted darling”, Bathsheba.
Bathsheba did not speak, and he mechanically repeated in an abashed and sad voice,—
“Do you want a shepherd, ma’am?”
"Do You Happen To Want a Shepherd, Ma'am?" - Helen Paterson - Feb 1874
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In fact as he got toward the end of Far From the Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy told his editor Leslie Stephen that he had decided to finish the novel at home, because it was:
“within a walk of the district within which the incidents are supposed to occur. [i.e. “Weatherbury” (Puddletown), continuing) I find it a great advantage to be actually among the people described at the time of describing them.”
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I like the way we follow Gabriel’s journey, rather than just coming across him in “Weatherbury” (Puddletown). We see him surveying the landscape around him to try to decide how best to navigate in an uncertain environment. Although he is exhausted, he immediately recognises the danger of the fire. This is another touch of irony I think. Perhaps fire is something he has now learned to be extra alert to and respect, having nearly been killed by it himself.
Gabriel is an interloper in this scene—he doesn’t yet know any of the people mentioned at this farm—but he feels immediately implicated in the crisis. Nobody knows who Gabriel is either, but he showed himself to be a natural leader, because he keeps his cool under pressure and organise the confused villagers to get the fire under control. We have seen that Gabriel did not appeal to Bathsheba, but now we see a different side of him. Here it is his actions which begin to establish how others think about him, including these villagers.
Little by little, the identity of this woman on horseback begins to grow clear to Gabriel—first, given her position of authority on horseback, then because of what he learns about her role on her uncle’s farm (the reason why Bathsheba was supposed to have left Weatherbury). As the chapter ends, an air of awkwardness lingers, because these two have shared some quite personal moments, but meet again here on a very different footing.
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“Banks of smoke went off horizontally at the back like passing clouds, and behind these burned hidden pyres, illuminating the semi-transparent sheet of smoke to a lustrous yellow uniformity…
and how it becomes personified as a sort of devil:
“Individual straws in the foreground were consumed in a creeping movement of ruddy heat, as if they were knots of red worms, and above shone imaginary fiery faces, tongues hanging from lips, glaring eyes, and other impish forms, from which at intervals sparks flew in clusters like birds from a nest.”
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The hiring fair was an annual event in many Victorian market towns, on a day set aside by statute. Workers seeking employment stood along the streets waiting to be hired for the coming year.
“the slime pits of Siddim” comes from Genesis 14: 3-10. The Vale of Siddim, on the shores of the Dead Sea, is described as “full of slime pits”.
“smock-frock” - a long loose-fitting garment formerly worn by rural workers, so-called because it was traditionally decorated with needlework smocking.
Gabriel plays “Jockey to the Fair” on his flute. This was an 18th century song popular in the 19th century when simplified. The story is about Jockey and Jenny who run away together to a fair. This and other songs mentioned in Far From the Madding Crowd are in manuscript music books which had belonged to the Hardy family. Their copies are now in the Dorset County Museum in Dorchester.
“Arcadian sweetness” - Arcadia was a region of Greece which was the legendary habitat of the god Pan, whose piping entranced his listeners with its beauty.
“Shottsford” is in real life BLANDFORFD FORUM.
“Yalbury Wood” is in real life YELLOWHAM WOOD.
“Charles’s Wain” - yet another name for the constellation Ursa Major (The Plough, the Great Bear etc.)
“dandy cattle” - fine-looking people.
the corn stood on stone “staddles” - pillars supporting the platforms on which the hay ricks stand.
“reed-drawing” - This was mentioned briefly in Tess of the D’Urbervilles. It is a process of preparing straw (i.e. not the wheat ears) to be used in thatching by combing it through a specially designed frame.
“Pitch-and-toss” - a game in which players throw coins in a line, the winner being the player whose coin falls nearest the line. They would usually used halfpennies, so playing with gold sovereigns would be 480 times more valuable!
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As Jean noted, this is the second time that Hardy has written about fire as a destructive element since Gabriel almost died in an unventilated cabin as a fire burned in a previous chapter. I'll be looking out for other mentions of fire as the book progresses. Fire can also be warm and life-giving in a hearth and home motif. Fire is also used to describe passion, or a hot temper.I liked your quotations from Hardy's writing about fire. It's gorgeous, almost like free verse poetry.
I was also impressed with Gabriel taking charge in an emergency situation, and organizing the fire-fighting. It's also an unwitting payback to Bathsheba that he saved her farm after she saved his life. They are both natural leaders.
Erich C wrote: "I see fate in Hardy not as removing free will and responsibility but as working with free will to produce (often negative) consequences. So, not deterministic but rather amplifyi..."from message 126. I see a problem here if we do not distinguish the Greek Stoic and the medieval Persian notions of "Fate" with theological concepts in Christianity regarding free will, personal responsibility and ultimately predestination.
I have never studied the concept of fate in Hardy, so I don't know what I am dealing with this early in the novel. But I wanted to clarify that "fate" is an impersonal power that supposedly controls all destinies. "The fates" are in opposition to Christian theology as they de-personify powers or destinies and declare them beyond human reach or influence.
I think of these lines by the Persian philosopher Omar Khayyam:
"The Moving Finger writes, and having Writ
Moves on;
Nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a line;
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it."
I enjoyed chapter 6 very much because we see both Bathsheba and Gabriel in different lights. I believe they both have gained more maturity from their current positions. They just might be able to appreciate the other more.
I also enjoyed the writing in this chapter, especially the description of the countryside as Gabriel walks on the high road: The road stretched through water-meadows traversed by little brooks, whose quivering surfaces were braided along their centres, and folded into creases at the sides; or, where the flow was more rapid, the stream was pied with spots of white froth, which rode on in undisturbed serenity. On the higher levels the dead and dry carcases of leaves tapped the ground as they bowled along helter-skelter upon the shoulders of the wind, and little birds in the hedges were rustling their feathers and tucking themselves in comfortably for the night, retaining their places if Oak kept moving, but flying away if he stopped to look at them.
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Bridget wrote: "I loved the image of Gabriel atop the straw-rick, wielding his sheep hook like a super hero putting out the fire."Me too! What quick thinking!
Erich, I’m glad you picked out the “birds in the hedges” and their behavior. I’m a birder in the US, and Hardy is mentioning bird behavior that we see and hear every day, but hardly notice.Remember the kingfisher in chapter 1 or 2 that Hardy was reminded of when Bathsheba smoothly folded backwards onto the horse to miss the branches? I love kingfishers, and so have often seen them sailing along low over a riverbank—-and then in a split second fold their wings and dive straight down in the water.
What a perfect image for Bathsheba’s movements!
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That passage you picked out for us is so beautiful, thank you Erich. We can tell how when he wrote this serial he was still hoping to be primarily a poet.
Lee, I too enjoyed the image of a Bathsheba's movement being as lithe as a kingfisher - and also the stolid pony who did not respond at all, as he was so used to have acrobatics performed on his back 😊
Bridget and Pamela LOL Gabriel Oak the superhero! Yes😁
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This is a very nice distinction, and thank you for your objectivity Lee. For any such themes, the discussions will be ongoing, and perhaps highlighted by elements in the novel itself, so please forgive me when I have to stick to our timetable and move on. It is not "closing" any specific topic, at all!
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Bathsheba felt somewhere between being amused and concerned; she felt pity and even a little exultant. She was not embarrassed; indeed she had almost forgotten Gabriel’s proposal of marriage. When she said she did need a shepherd, the bystanders all said that he was the one to hire. She asked them to tell him to speak to the bailiff, then asked the men if they would like to come to the house for refreshment, but they said they would prefer to have it at the local inn. She agreed to arrange this, and rode off.
Gabriel asked Bailiff Pennyways to get him a lodging, but the bailiff said he couldn’t, (and seemed not to want to), but told him that he might have luck if he asked at Warren’s Malthouse.
Gabriel, still astonished by the encounter, walked to the village. He mused on how quickly Bathsheba had changed from a naïve girl to a cool, calm supervisor. As he passed through the churchyard, he saw a pale, slim girl.
He wished her goodnight, then asked her if she was on the way to Warren’s Malthouse. She said yes, then, seemingly cheered by his friendliness, asked if he knew how late the Buck’s Head Inn was open. Gabriel replied that he was not from Weatherbury; he was just a shepherd (though she remarked that he seemed more like a farmer). The young woman shivered, and Gabriel said she should have a coat, but she said she was alright. Then she asked him not to mention in the parish that he had seen her, at least for a day or two, because she was poor and wanted to stay anonymous. Gabriel agreed, then, hesitating, offered her a shilling. Gratefully, she accepted, and as he gave it to her, he touched her wrist accidentally in the dark, and felt a throb of “tragic intensity” that he has often felt in his over-driven lambs.
Concerned, he asked her what was the matter, but she assured him that nothing was wrong, and seemed more bothered that she should keep her existence secret, which Gabriel promised to do.
Mod
Bathsheba recognises the awkwardness of the situation, but unlike the first time Gabriel saw her, she is more confident—he had already seen her at her moment of vanity. I was interested to hear the “chorus” of villagers, and wonder if Thomas Hardy will continue to show us the general public opinion, and how it might determine circumstances, this way.
Gabriel also marvels at how much Bathsheba has changed, now that she is a wealthy landowner—a position which launches her into an entirely different social realm to Gabriel, now that he is penniless. But who is this new young woman that Gabriel has met by the churchyard, who seems so frail and poor? And why is she so secretive?
Mod
Is there an attraction between these two?
Of Gabriel: “The voice was unexpectedly attractive; it was the low and dulcet note suggestive of romance; common in descriptions, rare in experience.”
Of the young woman: “She seemed to be won by Gabriel’s heartiness, as Gabriel had been won by her modulations.” But at the end Gabriel decides to dismiss any such thoughts from his mind. The narrator says:
“wisdom lies in moderating mere impressions, and Gabriel endeavoured to think little of this.”
Works of Thomas Hardy
Books mentioned in this topic
The Shepherd's Life: A People's History of the Lake District (other topics)The Shepherd's Life: A People's History of the Lake District (other topics)
Far From the Madding Crowd (other topics)
Under the Greenwood Tree (other topics)
The Fiddler of the Reels (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
George Eliot (other topics)Thomas Hardy (other topics)
James Rebanks (other topics)
James Rebanks (other topics)
Helen Paterson Allingham (other topics)
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For those who were here for our group read of Tess of the D’Urbervilles, did it remind you strongly of (view spoiler)[when Tess fell asleep at the reins, and the family horse Prince drifted across the road to be fatally pierced by the post-cart coming the other way (hide spoiler)]?
So even in his penultimate novel, Thomas Hardy still chose to employ this literary device which he had perfected, and perhaps first used here in Far From the Madding Crowd: the novel which initially made his name. I personally think the writing was more direct, graphic, and even more powerful in Tess of the D’Urbervilles than it is in this chapter. But our imaginations well supply the horror of this event, and we can picture it easily.
Plus in both novels timing is key. It is near the beginning but far enough in for us to be lulled into a false sense of security, thinking we know what this particular novel will be about. Then this tragedy comes from nowhere, and hits us in the solar plexus. It leaves us shocked with the realisation that a character we have grown to like will, through no fault of their own, inevitably find that all their plans have been devastated, and their life has completely changed as a result.
And what does stout Gabriel do? Does he rant and rage, and ask “Why me?” No, his first feeling is compassion for fellow creatures - and his next is to be thankful that he is not sharing the burden with a wife. I am growing to like this character more and more, but fear for his future.