Works of Thomas Hardy discussion
Far from the Madding Crowd
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Far From the Madding Crowd 4th Thread Chapter 30 - 38
At other critical times on the farm (washing, shearing, haymaking), Bathsheba has supervised the work. Now, at the oat harvest, she is conspicuously missing. She has abandoned her role on the farm just as she seems to have abandoned her moral scruples. She is no longer part of the natural world and its rhythms.
Erich: “No longer a part of the natural world or its rhythms”. I really like your observation!
Greg wrote: "The chapter was very entertaining! One thing I haven't noticed in the comments yet: I liked how the prejudices and social distinctions play out in Cainy's story, such as the preacher with the fancy..."Greg, I agree with you that this chapter was very entertaining indeed. But it was also worrisome, because where Cainy wanted to comment without by swearing to his veracity about the sighting of his mistress, he has made it look like Bathsheba is either already married or a kept woman.
At this point I don't know how Gabriel still carries a torch for Bathsheba.
And I do have a bone to pick on Hardy's descriptions on his woman. I've also been reading his A Group of Noble Dames and in many of the short stories the woman are not portrayed very charitably.
Finally (sorry to come on so late), thank you Bridget to your insights and explanations of some of the phrases in this chapter. But I was still confused by what was meant by Joseph Poorgrass's comment "Cain Ball, you'll come to a bit of bread!"?
Bionic Jean wrote: "The information is straight from the author himself though, so I think we should believe it!"Agreed, definitely! I just used the word "if" rhetorically; the information was new to me (and quite interesting!), but I never had any doubt that it was accurate. :-)
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I'm glad you liked the explanations, Pamela. I worried that I included too many. I wish I had an explanation for the "bit of bread" that you're asking about, but I'm not completely sure. Because Poorgrass has been trying to get Cainy to swear like a man, not a "babe and suckling", my guess is he's intimating that Cainy won't grow up. He'll stay small like a bit of bread. But I'm not certain that's correct.
My other guess is Poorgrass is making a tongue in cheek references to all the choking Cainy was doing at the start of the conversation, when he was literally choking on a bit of bread.
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I like your guesses, Connie! I've been thinking along the same lines about Troy.
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"His heroine Bathsheba Everdene was patterned after a deceased aunt who had lived at Puddletown; Hardy remembered going to see 'my aunt Sharpe' when he was a boy."."
It's interesting to think Hardy based Bathsheba on his Aunt Sharpe, but it leaves me wanting more. I'd like to know more about Aunt Sharpe. Then again, what I'd really like is to know more about Thomas Hardy. One of these days, I'm going to get around to reading a biography of him!! The more I read of his poetry, short stories and novels the more curious I am about him.
Look at how much we are finding to discuss about a book he wrote 150 years ago. Bathsheba has errors, for sure, but she and her suitors are also compelling. I want to keep reading, to find out a) how she's going to get out of all this trouble, and b) what new trouble she's going to create.
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I chuckled at this, Greg. I had the same thoughts reading this chapter. thanks for pointing it out!
And thanks Erich for bringing up Bathsheba not being part of nature's rhythms. I agree with Lee, this is a great observation. I missed it because I got distracted by the humor of the men and forgot that Bathsheba should be there running her farm.
Pamela wrote: "But I was still confused by what was meant by Joseph Poorgrass's comment "Cain Ball, you'll come to a bit of bread!"?Gabriel had asked Cain to solemnly swear that the woman he saw was definitely Bathsheba. Joseph had officiously piped up with his two cents worth, trying to impress on Cain the solemnity and adult responsibility of such an oath. When poor Cain, frightened and confused, said a swear word ("...I don't like to say 'tis damn true, if that's what you mane"), Joseph roundly chewed him out for it. The upshot of it all was that the weeping Cain gave an ambiguous answer that left Gabriel saying, "There's no getting at the rights of it."
In that context, the way I took Joseph's parting comment was to the effect that "[Because of your poor performance as a witness in this matter, and your improper swearing as a cuss word rather than an oath], in the future you'll be reduced (through Divine disfavor) to having no more to eat than a bit of bread." Of course, that doesn't necessarily prove this was the way that Hardy intended it. But it made sense of the sentence for me when I read it. :-)
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I just used the word "if" rhetorically; the information was new to me (and quite interesting!), but I never had any doubt that it was accurate. :-)"
Ah, I see why I might have misunderstood this; it could be a difference between AmEng and EngEng. You've used "if" as a conjunction, where English people would say "since" or "because" (i.e. then this follows as a consequence). But when English people say "if" it is a preposition, and therefore conditional (i.e. what follow would only apply if the former part were true).
So I would say "Since Hardy modelled Bathsheba on his maternal aunt ..." because "If Hardy really did model Bathsheba on his maternal aunt ..." calls it into question, as indeed a rhetorical question would do.
Interesting! All clear now. 😊
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intrigued me too, There are quite a few Dorset sayings and dialect words in this chapter 33 (e.g. "stun-poll" for blockhead - isn't that hilarious?) but I had never heard this expression. I am also aware that "bit" is more in quantity than it is for Americans - we use it almost modestly, e.g. "Would you like a bit of tea?" when there is lots on offer. This didn't get me very far though.
The meanings suggested by Pam, Bridget and Werner sounded like possibilities, but I felt that Joseph Poorgrass, with all his homespun philosophies probably meant something more specific.
There are quite a few Biblical allusions in this chapter too, so I did a bit of digging, and now think it refers to Proverbs 6:26, which translates from the Hebrew variously as: "For by means of a harlot a man is reduced to a crust of bread; and an adulteress will prey upon his precious life." or "For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread, and an adulteress hunts for the precious life."
So it seems to mean something like sinning with prostitutes is costly, and can reduce a man to having only a loaf of bread. If Joseph Poorgrass is saying this to poor confused Cainy Ball, no wonder he got upset! Or if it is a metaphor for that sort of love being shallow, it could be transferred to Cain's description of Bathsheba in her finery sounding as if she looked like a fast woman ... at any rate it is a judgemental sort of comment.
Bionic Jean wrote: "The part in question when Joseph Poorgrass comments "Cain Ball, you'll come to a bit of bread!"intrigued me too, There are quite a few Dorset sayings and dialect words in this chapter 33 (e.g. "s..."
Very interesting, Jean! Thanks to you, Bridget and Werner, for giving great explanations.
Erich C wrote: "At other critical times on the farm (washing, shearing, haymaking), Bathsheba has supervised the work. Now, at the oat harvest, she is conspicuously missing. She has abandoned her role on the farm just as she seems to have abandoned her moral scruples. She is no longer part of the natural world and its rhythms. ..."This is what stood out to me too. These natural rhythms are a grounding force, and Bathsheba at her best so far in the story has been taking part in these essential chores. Does it follow then she might be at her worst right now?
I'm sure grateful for all of the posts and explanations here. I'm still finding it challenging to follow Hardy's prose, and when I finished reading this chapter, I thought of you, Bridget, and said to myself, "Boy, I'm glad I don't have to summarize that!" :-) Thanks, everyone!
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I'm happy the explanations are helping Kathleen. I find the prose in FFMC challenging at times too. I hope you keep reading along with us, a lot is going to happen in this next installment. Here we go . . . . .
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Chapters 34-38
Chapter 34: Home again – a Trickster
That evening, Gabriel is leaning over Coggan’s garden gate when he hears Bathsheba and Liddy’s voices from a carriage. Gabriel feels “exquisite relief” that Bathsheba is okay. He lingers there until seeing Boldwood pass by, and then goes to bed. Meanwhile, Boldwood continues on to Bathsheba’s farm. He’s been in deep meditation recently, characterizing Bathsheba’s actions as emblematic of all women. But now he feels better and wants to ask her forgiveness for his temper.
He asks to see Miss Everdene, but Liddy, in an odd mood, she says the lady cannot. Boldwood decides he must still not be forgiven. He’s still wandering through Weatherbury, when he catches sight of Troy leaving a carriage and entering the carrier’s house. Suddenly determined, Boldwood heads home and ten minutes later returns as if to call upon Troy. But as he approaches, he sees Troy leave the house, saying good night to those inside, holding a carpet bag.
Boldwood follows and addresses Troy, saying he wants to speak to him about a woman Troy has wronged. Troy tries to brush him off, but Boldwood insists, saying he and one other person know about Troy’s relationship to Fanny Robbin and that Troy should marry her. Troy says he probably should, but in a trickster’s voice (which Boldwood in his despondence doesn’t notice) says he’s too poor.
Boldwood says that if Troy hadn’t shown up, he’d almost certainly be engaged to Miss Everdene by this time. Boldwood proposes a business arrangement: he will give Troy fifty pounds now, fifty for Fanny to prepare for the wedding, and 500 on the wedding day, as long as the couple leaves Weatherbury. Boldwood recognizes he is the weaker party in this proposal. The narrator interrupts to add this view of love and how it is affecting a normally dignified man like Boldwood:
”Where there is much bias there must be some narrowness, and love, though added emotion, is subtracted capacity.”
Troy agrees to the proposal saying he does prefer Fanny. Boldwood asks if he preferred her, why he ruined things in Weatherbury. Bathsheba ensnared him for a time, Troy says and now that’s over. Boldwood hands him fifty sovereigns: when Troy reminds him that he has only his word, Boldwood hopes that Troy’s shrewd enough to count on the 500 pounds.
They hear a pit-pat, and Troy says he must leave to meet Bathsheba, who’s expecting him, and wish her good-bye according to Boldwood’s proposal. He tells Boldwood to hide and listen to them. Troy steps forward towards Bathsheba. She says playfully that she is alone in her house, so no one will know he’s there. Troy says he’s left his bag, she should run home, and he’ll meet her in her parlor.
"There's not a soul in my house", original illustration August 1874, Helen Paterson Allingham, via Victorian Web
When Bathsheba runs off, Troy mockingly asks Boldwood, whose face is nervous and clammy, if he should tell her he’s given her up. Perhaps he’s impulsive, but he can’t marry them both, Troy says, and he now has two reasons for choosing Fanny. Boldwood springs upon Troy and bursts out that he’s hurting Bathsheba. Troy says she can only be saved now if he marries her. Boldwood wants to kill him, but finally says he should marry Bathsheba, in order to save her honor. Now Troy begins to mention Bathsheba’s weaknesses, and Boldwood begs him to marry her anyway, as soon as possible. He’ll give Troy the five hundred on the wedding day with Bathsheba. He only has eleven pounds now, which he gives to him.
Together, they climb to Bathsheba’s house. Troy opens the door, and then slides a newspaper through the slot back to Boldwood, telling him to read. It is an announcement of Troy’s marriage to Bathsheba. Gleefully, Troy lists all Boldwood has paid him, first for one woman then the other. Fanny’s left him, he says, and Boldwood immediately believed in Bathsheba’s dishonor. He tells Boldwood to take his money back. Boldwood hisses that he won’t, but Troy throws the gold into the road. As Boldwood rages, Troy laughs and locks himself in.
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Boldwood initially still has hope that he might repair his relationship with Bathsheba, but when turned away from her home he moves to encounter Troy, just the thing that Bathsheba had feared and wanted to prevent by going to see Troy in Bath.
Rather than speaking of Bathsheba directly, Boldwood chooses another tack, thinking that, given his knowledge of Troy and Fanny, he holds the advantage here. But dignified Boldwood is no match for Troy who is practiced at cunning.
Boldwood proposes a kind of business agreement with Troy, just as he had attempted to convince Bathsheba to marry him as more of a contract than a sign of her love or passion for him. Boldwood knows that Fanny’s whereabouts are unknown, and Troy is not exactly known to keep his word, but his desire to have Bathsheba for himself is enough for him to make the gamble despite the precariousness of the offer—which Troy reminds Boldwood of himself.
Troy cruelly plays with Boldwood’s emotions in allowing him to see Bathsheba’s infatuation with him. Boldwood recognizes now that he’s just paid Troy to do something that would devastate the woman he loves, and therefore changes his mind. Troy also insinuates that Bathsheba’s virtue is in question. But Troy knows he is already married to Bathsheba, and he is just manipulating Boldwood, laying low Boldwood’s pride—seemingly for no other reason than his own capricious temperament and the satisfaction of doing away with a rival. Boldwood’s temper returns with a vengeance when he realizes what’s happened, but it’s too late—Troy has won.
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Five Hundred Pounds – this was the equivalent to an average, middle-class annual income at the time.
The marriage announcement refers to Bathsheba as the daughter of “John Everdene”, but according to Joseph Poorgrass in Chapter VII, Bathsheba’s father’s name was “Levi Everdene”
”I knowed the man and woman both well – Levi Everdene – that was the man’s name sure enough”
Fort meeting Feeble – the stronger part of the sword blade, near the hilt, is the “fort”. The weaker part of the blade, the tip, is the “feeble”. Troy is making fun of Boldwood, likely because of his age.
Shade in the Mournful Fields of Acheron – In Greek mythology, when the dead (Shades) arrived in Hades, they had to pay the boatman (Charon) to ferry them across Acheron – the “River of Sorrows”. If unable to pay the fee, the unhappy souls were condemned to wander the fields of Acheron forever.
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When Thomas Hardy says: "He [Boldwood] inquired for Miss Everdene. Liddy’s manner was odd, but he did not notice it." I wondered if this was simply because of his manner of address; she knew her mistress was no longer "Miss Everdene" and now "Mrs Troy", but did not think it her place to tell Mr. Boldwood?
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We feel for Boldwood, a man of principle, so innocent of the world's manipulators. This part stood out to me: it's when Thomas Hardy is saying how out of character he is behaving, (as Bridget pointed out) as a result of being besotted by love:
"... there is a breadth of vision in the free man which in the lover we vainly seek. Where there is much bias there must be some narrowness, and love, though added emotion, is subtracted capacity. Boldwood exemplified this to an abnormal degree: he knew nothing of Fanny Robin’s circumstances or whereabouts, he knew nothing of Troy’s possibilities, yet that was what he said."
He is trying so hard to be noble: both to do the right thing, and attempting to use subterfuge for the benefit of all concerned (including himself of course). But he is the last person who can be manipulative: Troy can run rings round him, and exult in it too 😟. By the end Boldwood's love shines through and he is increasingly desperate to save Bathsheba's good name; her happiness is all to him and he sacrifices his own - the mark of a true lover.
We see Troy's shallowness; it is all a game to him, and he is amazed when he realises the extent of Boldwood's feeling. Yet even this does not make him hold back. Troy's final words, twisting all Boldwood's simple but misdirected motives, and throwing his money in the dirt is incredibly cruel. Boldwood is now totally humiliated. We know that he has not gone beyond his own garden since his talk with Bathsheba. We know he is not thinking straight, and these actions seem to me to be increasingly unhinged.
This part keeps coming back to me too ...
“’Twould be a mistake to kill you,” repeated Boldwood, mechanically, with a bowed head.
“Better kill yourself.”
“Far better.”
“I’m glad you see it.”
I fear for farmer Boldwood. Whatever can become of this proud man, whose hope now lies in tatters? And as Bridget says, what has become of Fanny? Has Troy really "looked all over" for her, as he says?
One interesting snippet, Thomas Hardy toyed with the idea of making these two fight at this point. I wonder who would have won!
Well I had no trouble understanding this chapter! :-)I do worry for Boldwood. It shows me what can happen to someone who lives many years with limited experience. I liked this line early in the chapter:
"Silent and alone, he had remained in moody meditation on woman's ways, deeming as essentials of the whole sex the accidents of the single one of their number he had never closely beheld.
I did find it telling that Boldwood thought money could resolve the issue for him. I suppose it has sheltered him from trouble in the past. He was proud, but his pride came from his supports I guess. Whereas Troy, the scoundrel, has spent his time developing and relying on his wily ways.
I love the way Hardy spins our troubled personalities into tragedies, and this is shaping up to be a doozy!
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This is the first time I have noticed such a thought in this novel, but it bodes well for better developed female characters.
Pam I think I must avoid A Group of Noble Dames for now ...
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I know the illustration is a little dark, but if you look carefully you can see Boldwoos crouching in the dark as the lovers meet. I think it captures really well how Boldwood has been lowered.
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Bionic Jean wrote: "Pam I think I must avoid A Group of Noble Dames for now ..."It is indeed surprising that one of these short stories, 'Barbara of the House of Grebe', was adapted for the BBC. Kristin Brody, in The Short Stories of Thomas Hardy reported that T. S. Eliot said the story "would seem to have been written solely to provide a satisfaction for some morbid emotion" and The Spectator called it "as unnatural as it is disgusting."
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(There are 6 episodes, but I haven't watched that one yet as I usually read the story first.)
(Sorry for the diversion Bridget and everyone!)
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Jean, I loved this tidbit of trivia you gave us:
One interesting snippet, Thomas Hardy toyed with the idea of making these two fight at this point. I wonder who would have won
I wonder that too. Maybe Hardy couldn't decide who should win, and that's why he never wrote it. We can only speculate. And keep reading to see what Hardy had in mind for these two men . . .
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Early the next morning, Gabriel and Coggan are reaching the fields when Gabriel thinks he sees something at an upper window of the farm. Sergeant Troy is looking leisurely out the window. Coggan exclaims that Bathsheba has married him. Gabriel turns his back to the farm and looks at the ground, amazed it’s been done so secretly. ”Could she have been entrapped?” he wonders.
Troy sees them and cheerily calls to them. At first Gabriel doesn’t reply, but after Coggan’s prodding he wishes him good morning. Troy says he “feels like new wine in an old bottle” and he wants to spruce up the place. Gabriel thinks that would be a pity. Troy says he’ll join them at the fields soon, but for now he throws them a half-crown to drink to his own health. Gabriel turns away angrily, but Coggan takes it.
Coggan tells Gabriel that it’s better for him to be outwardly friendly to their new master. They nod at Boldwood, who is passing by on his horse, his face colorless. Gabriel notices Boldwood's despair, which matches his own.
"The horse bore him [Boldwood] away, and the very step of the animal seemed significant of dogged despair. Gabriel, for a minute, rose above his own grief in noticing Boldwood’s. He saw the square figure sitting erect upon the horse, the head turned to neither side, the elbows steady by the hips, the brim of the hat level and undisturbed in its onward glide, until the keen edges of Boldwood’s shape sank by degrees over the hill."
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Like Boldwood, Gabriel is resentful and angry at Troy’s cavalier, triumphant attitude at having married Bathsheba and ensured a comfortable existence for himself. Also, like Boldwood, Gabriel’s love for Bathsheba is what motivates him to modulate his anger:
”Gabriel soon decided too that, since the deed was done, to put the best face upon the matter would be the greatest kindness to her he loved.”
Gabriel manages to control his own temper better than Boldwood was able to. Coggan reminds Gabriel of the need to be strategic and to compromise, something Gabriel understands but risks forgetting in his anger. Here Gabriel is benefiting from friendships that Boldwood doesn’t have.
Meanwhile, Troy’s insistence on modernizing the home is portrayed as an unwelcome intrusion of town into country life, where little has changed for hundreds of years. It also shows that Troy feels restless in his new domesticity.
And again, just like the last chapter, we see how petty and ugly Troy can be. When he throws the money to Coggan and Oak, he intends it to be a demeaning gesture. We know this because in the previous chapter, he refused to take Boldwood’s money.
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The edition that I’m reading (Penguin Classics) is based on Thomas Hardy’s original manuscript which he handed over to Leslie Stephens at Cornhill Magazine. My edition does not include the edits that Stephens made, other than by referring to them in the “Notes” section.
Interestingly, this whole section is NOT part of Hardy’s original manuscript:
“Oh, Coggan,” said Troy, as if inspired by a recollection “do you know if insanity has ever appeared in Mr. Boldwood’s family?”
Jan reflected for a moment.
“I once heard that an uncle of his was queer in his head, but I don’t know the rights o’t,” he said.
“It is of no importance,” said Troy, lightly.
There seems to be some foreshadowing regarding Boldwood, that Hardy did not conceive in his original writing.
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LOL 😄I know exactly what you mean about the short chapter being a relief, and of course it serves as dramatic relief too, for his readers.
I'm beginning to notice what a good friend Jan Coggan is to Gabriel Oak. He evidently knows how Gabriel feels about Bathsheba, and always gives him good advice. At the end of ch. 33 he said: “Don’t take on about her, Gabriel. What difference does it make whose sweetheart she is, since she can’t be yours?” and now he comments on Gabriel's white face, and tries to make sure Gabriel does not do something hasty, urging him to be polite, as he is sure Troy will soon be in a position over them. Coggan is a true friend 😊
This also makes us see Gabriel as a fully rounded character, and not just an abstract hero. He too has his passions and resentments, and other human imperfections.
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Oh yes Troy is such a new broom, isn't he Bridget - not understanding how country people value their traditions and centuries-old houses. And the ghastly blunder with the half crown ... 😧 To be honest, I don't think he meant this as an insult. Troy has got what he wanted ... Connie pointed out that he might be in it partly for the money - and is thoughtlessly full of joie de vivre, surveying and looking down on all he now possesses. And in a sense, that includes the farm hands. He is aware of this by saying to them that he is not proud and they would all be just as friendly as usual. But somehow he has now made it all worse.
I love that phrase "new broom," Jean. Tucking that away for future use. :-)I thought Gabriel's first thoughts on hearing the news were telling. He's not thinking of himself, but of Bathsheba. "His mind sped into the future, and saw there enacted in years of leisure the scenes of repentance that would ensue from this work of haste."
He is rounding out as a character, and also continues to rise to the top. His first thought is for her, and, he is strong in his own convictions, when he tells Coggan that he'll be civil, but he'll leave before he caters to Troy.
I found this chapter, even though I expected it, very poignant. Bathsheba has really created quite a situation. It feels like Troy believes he is working toward widespread acceptance by Bathsheba's neighbors and workers — boy is he mistaken. And I could feel the pain of both Gabriel and Boldwood! Hardy's description of the man riding past couldn't have been written better!
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That's what I thought too, Pamela. The writing creates a powerful image (for me) of Boldwood, a sad, solitary figure, with only his horse. It reminded me a little of Don Quixote, riding on Rocinante. I wonder if Hardy had Don Quixote in mind as he wrote this, and if Boldwood is losing his grip on reality and will start storming windmills soon.
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This is one of the reasons I just love Gabriel. He's always thinking of Bathsheba, the woman he loves. How can Bathsheba chose Troy over Gabriel? It baffles me. (it makes for a good story though :-)
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I'm sure you are right about this, Jean. There's just something about the image of Troy, leaning out the second-floor window, looking down on Coggan and Oak, that already feels like Troy is acting superior.
Thank you for catching more clock references! There is definitely a pattern where timepieces alert us to something happening.
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One night at the end of August, Gabriel stands in the farm stackyard, looking at the ominous sky, with its metallic moon and thick clouds. Thunder is close by: it’ll most likely be followed by heavy rain, marking the end of dry season. Gabriel looks at the unprotected ricks holding six month’s produce, worrying they will be destroyed and all the profit with them.
Tonight is the harvest supper and dance and as Gabriel approaches the barn, he sees extravagant decorations and fiddlers playing. One suggests they play next ‘The Soldier’s Joy,’ and all roar in approval, especially Troy.
Gabriel sends a message to Troy asking him to speak with him. Troy refuses, so Gabriel asks the messenger to tell him a heavy rain will fall soon, and they should cover the ricks. The messenger returns to say that Troy says it won’t rain and he shouldn’t be bothered any more.
Ill at ease, Gabriel leaves. He pauses at the door to hear Troy announce that it’s also their wedding feast, so he’s brought brandy for all the men. Bathsheba asks him not to give them more alcohol, as it’s not good for them. One farmhand agrees that they’ve had enough. Troy scoffs, then says he’ll send the women home: if the men aren’t strong enough to drink, they’ll have to work elsewhere.
Bathsheba leaves indignantly, followed by the women and children. Gabriel stays long enough to be polite, then slips out too. He sees a large toad in the path—a message from Mother Nature. A garden slug comes inside his house, followed by black spiders, he interprets these as more messages from nature that a storm is coming. He goes out to check on the sheep, because he knows their ways so well. He sees over the hedge, the sheep crowded close together in a corner. He is even more certain now that he’s right: the thunderstorm, then cold, heavy rain, is a dangerous mixture.
Gabriel vows to save the produce, though behind this act is another motivation, wanting to help the woman he loves. He returns to the barn to get help, but the laborers are all in a drunken stupor, the glasses and cups littering the table. Troy had insisted that they continue to drink through the night. Depressed, Gabriel slips back out and goes to Susan Tall’s house to get the granary key; then he returns and drags four large water-proof coverings across the yard. He continues to the wheat stacks and barley.
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Unlike Gabriel, Troy has little respect for natural forces. His solution to potential conflicts, natural and otherwise, is to pretend they don’t exist.
Troy pays little attention to the way things are usually done on the farm. He just wants a party. He fails to respect Bathsheba’s authority, and he replaces it with his own iron hand, though in the service not of productivity or hard work but of his own sense of pleasure.
Bathsheba doesn’t directly challenge Troy’s authority as her husband and now, master of the farm, though she clearly isn’t happy about it.
As he’s done earlier, Gabriel decides to commit himself to the farm, explicitly in the interest of the economic investments involved, but also always because of his loyalty to Bathsheba, even if his pride prevents him from sharing with her the fact that he continues to love her. This loyalty is juxtaposed with Troy’s thoughtlessness.
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The Soldier’s Joy - is a lively dance tune. It is no. 24 in the second of three Hardy manuscript music books now in the Thomas Hardy Collection, Dorset County Museum.
palimpsest - material upon which the original writing has been effaced to make room for a second writing. In the original manuscript, instead of palimpsest, Hardy used “cryptographic page” - meaning written in cipher, or secret writing. Thus, consciously, Oak sees himself motivated by the “instability of a woman” while unconsciously he is motivated by love.
thatching beetle . . . rick-stick . . . spars - in thatching, first the straw or grain is combed with a toothed device called a rick-stick, then fastened down with U-shaped spars with pointed ends which are driven into the thatch with a wooden mallet called a beetle.
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“The fields were sallow with the impure light, and all were tinged in monochrome . . . the sheep had trailed homeward head to tail, the behavior of the rooks had been confused, and the horses had moved with timidity and caution.
I couldn’t help thinking this is a reflection of the marriage between Bathsheba and Troy. As many of you have pointed out, Bathsheba is at her best when she is in rhythm with the natural world – or when running her farm. But now she’s let Troy take over management, and he simply doesn’t fit in this environment.
When Gabriel goes back into the barn to find help, the scene in there echoes the chaos outside, not with a storm coming, but with all the men unconscious, and the evidence of their debauchery spilling over. Gabriel rightly finds it “offensive”. Right after Gabriel realizes he will have to save the farm alone, Coggan’s watch strikes the hour, and alerts the readers that something is going to happen.
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What was running through my mind all the time I was reading was "Red sky at night, shepherd's delight, Red sky at morning, sailors take warning." Not because Thomas Hardy quotes this (he doesn't), but because it is one of those rare pieces of folk wisdom which we still take note of. The Met Office says it is often true: "A red sky appears when dust and small particles are trapped in the atmosphere by high pressure", thus followed by fair weather.
So many small signs in nature we take as superstitions, and call them "old wives' tales". But Gabriel took careful note of them all, as Bridget reminded us: the rooks, horses and sheep all behaving oddly, skittish as they sensed a heightened change in the weather, and then him spying a toad, spiders, and the huge brown garden-slug. (I loved this detail and laughed at the thought of it "com[ing] indoors to-night for reasons of its own.")
But these are not harbingers of doom in any superstitious way, but signs which an experienced shepherd like Gabriel Oak can read and trust, just as much as we can trust our 21st century weather forecasts!
We had another bit of welcome comedy amid the tension, with Mrs. Moon ready to castigate her husband ... what a contrast with Bathsheba's docility (albeit she silently showed she was indignant) when sent back to the house by her new husband, despite her being the boss of the place. As Bridget remarked we have a notable contrast between the attitudes of Troy and Gabriel, and here is another one.
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"The night had a sinister aspect ... The moon, as seen through these films, had a lurid metallic look. The fields were sallow with the impure light, and all were tinged in monochrome, as if beheld through stained glass."
and at the close:
"The night had a haggard look, like a sick thing; and there came finally an utter expiration of air from the whole heaven in the form of a slow breeze, which might have been likened to a death."
Wow - the tension here is palpable!
I agree with what you both enjoyed about this chapter, Bridget and Jean. I thought the sheep were particularly interesting, arranging themselves so their tails all faced the direction the storm was coming from. And also, when they didn't react to Oak showing up, "They had now a terror of something greater than their terror of man." I also liked the use of the word "wealth" for what really has value. A beautifully written chapter, without being flowery at all.
Bionic Jean wrote: "My favourite bits of writing were at the beginning and end:"The night had a sinister aspect ... The moon, as seen through these films, had a lurid metallic look. The fields were sallow with the i..."
Yes, indeed, Jean! I agree wholeheartedly with this feeling throughout the chapter. I had a feeling that Gabriel would come to the rescue on Bathsheba's behalf, but I have a feeling that it will be little appreciated.
This is really a side thought, but I've been noticing the occasional mathematical and scientific imagery that Hardy uses, and I'm finding it interesting. I don't remember this from when I read him before, though perhaps I just didn't notice?In this chapter, he mentions a cloud moving at "right angles" to another "stratum" of cloud. In the prior chapter, there is the imagery of water drops as "minute lenses of high magnifying power." And most notably, way back in Chapter 15, there was the humorous comparison to a "hyperbolic curve":
"Indeed, he seemed to approach the grave as a hyperbolic curve approaches a straight line - less directly as he got nearer, till it was doubtful if he would ever reach it at all."
I love that!
Forgive me if this is off topic, but in Preface to the Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth talks of the function of artists to incorporate scientific discovery into the popular and artistic imagination. It's a curious statement, since I've never thought of Wordsworth's work as doing that, but Hardy seems to be approaching this in some way with his unobtrusive references.
On another subject, it's been mentioned multiple times before, but I find Gabriel Oak quite easy to like - it's an act of such integrity, to try to do his best for Bathsheba in his role despite often being treated with hostility (or at least disregard) by her or her new husband.
Wealth in Jeopardy – The Revel This is my favorite chapter so far, as the impending storm is perfectly described. To me, a Texan, the signs all pointed to an impending night tornado, the most destructive of all storms. The past two days in the US saw over 88 tornadoes across the Midwestern US, including Texas, with five recorded deaths.So when I sat down this afternoon to read this chapter, it gave me chills. Hardy doesn’t go so far as to call his storm a tornado, but all the signs were there, and I was familiar with the feeling of dread that Gabriel feels. There are so many clues: the strange behavior of the animals and crawling things; the silence and a "misshapen body of cloud"; . . . in terror of the large cloud . . . gazed in upon by some monster."
Hardy impresses me with the multitude of signs of an impending tornado, and the terror I feel when warnings are given. I am a bit puzzled by the way he avoids mentioning the impending storm as an act of God. In fact, he doesn't mention God at all, not the Christian God, but instead reaches back in mythology to the Roman goddess Cybele, who is connected, per my Norton's notes, with the "fecundity of nature." He does personify nature in a way that reminds me of the pantheistic poets of his day, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
Thomas Hardy was influenced by William Wordsworth, whose poetry was a paean to nature. But Wordsworth, as a pantheist, saw God as within nature, and inseparable from the natural world. To me I find it strange the way Hardy insists we remove God from the equation, yet he looks to mythology and pagan beliefs to account for the impending ferocity of the storm.
Even Thomas Hardy cannot evoke enough force from weather itself without invoking some kind of deity; he speaks of ”. . . Nature’s . . . way of hinting to him that he was to prepare for foul weather”. Note that nature is capitalized, implying personification of a deity. It must be a ”direct message from the Great Mother.”
The moon vanishes, a “farewell . . . previous to war. The night had a haggard look, like a sick thing. . . the utter expiration of air from the whole heaven in the form of a slow breeze, which might have been likened to a death.
As a reader, I am forewarned!
Mod
Greg, I've noticed the scientific imagery too. Your quote about the "hyperbolic curve" is one of my favorites from this book so far. Hardy must have studied at least mathematics, perhaps science as well, to be an architect, so all those facts were inside him, waiting to come out in his prose (and poetry).
This thought ties into what Lee mentions in her post:
"I am a bit puzzled by the way he avoids mentioning the impending storm as an act of God. In fact, he doesn't mention God at all, not the Christian God, but instead reaches back in mythology to the Roman goddess Cybele"
Thats an astute observation Lee. I'm far from a Hardy expert, but it seems to me that Hardy has issues with the Christian God, and I wonder if some of that comes from him melding Nature and Science together (with a dash of folklore too).
We see that in his poetry, but we see it subtly in FFMC as well. Even though Hardy (or the narrator) can quote the bible chapter and verse, often the quotes come with irony. Like Levi Everdene's unorthodox interpretation of the seventh commandment that lets him fantasize about committing adultery with his wife.
You both thought of Wordsworth, and his philosophy. I agree with both of you. When I think of Wordsworth, I think of nature not science. And I agree there is more of a feeling of God as part of nature for Wordsworth than there is, here in FFMC for Hardy.
I'm very curious what others my think of this as well. Please feel free to keep discussing. But for now I've got to post the summaries for the next chapter . . . . .
Mod
Lee, I also wanted to say I've lived through tornados in my childhood, and I remember how scary they can be. I hope that the danger of tornados has now passed where you live, and that you are enjoying the calm after the storm.
Works of Thomas Hardy
Books mentioned in this topic
Far From the Madding Crowd (other topics)Hardy of Wessex: His Life and Literary Career (other topics)
The Trumpet-Major (other topics)
History of the wars occasioned by the French Revolution: from the commencement of hostilities in 1792, to the end of the year 1816: embracing a ... of most of the public... Volume 2 of 2 (other topics)
The Trumpet-Major (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Thomas Hardy (other topics)Carl J. Weber (other topics)
Thomas Hardy (other topics)
William Harrison Ainsworth (other topics)
Thomas Hardy (other topics)
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“And, thinks I, I’ll play fair; so I went to High Church in the morning, and High Chapel in the afternoon.”
That really tickled me!