Bathsheba's Choice in ‘Far from the Maddening Crowd’

Bathsheba's Choice in ‘Far from the Maddening Crowd.’

Set in the 1840’s, the novel tells the story of Bathsheba Everdene and

the three men who feature in her life.

Gabriel Oak is the one of the most central figures in the novel. He is

an expert shepherd and a farmer and is a man of simple values, who

earns an honest living, and is in harmony with nature. His love for

Bathsheba is honest, unromantic, and above all, steadfast and patient.

Gabriel is unselfish, resourceful, and is able to withstand misfortune

in all areas of his life. He is also the counterweight to all the

other major characters in the story. Mr Boldwood is a well-respected,

local gentleman farmer. He has dignity and is depicted as a good

neighbour: he is kind to Fanny and Gabriel. However, Mr Boldwood is

noticeably chivalrous in his attempt to save Bathsheba from finding

out the truth about her husbands past, and eventually pursues her with

a single-minded passion to make her his wife. In contrast to Gabriel

and Mr Boldwood, Troy is a fascinating blend of the attractive and the

repulsive. His appearance is devastatingly attractive to women and his

dashing manner, fluent flattery and skill in swordmanship enable him

to ‘assault’ and win his chosen prey. He gives the impression that he

is a person of strong character but this is quickly shown to be

limited. A close analysis of his character and actions reveals him to

be an unprincipled cheat and liar and he neither changes nor develops

during the novel.

Bathsheba is a complex character and her gradual development is

central to the progress of the novel. The early chapters stress her

high-spirited and independent...

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...ctiveness, wildness, and dashing nature, dominance, and

his ability to flatter and woo the opposite sex. Many of these

characteristics are opposite to those of Gabriel and Mr Boldwood, such

as Troy being able to dominate women and control them. Also, Bathsheba

is infatuated with Troy whereas she is not in love with Mr Boldwood or

Gabriel. Bathsheba is also desperate not to lose Troy to another

woman. She must marry Troy, to secure him. However, as the play

progresses Bathsheba develops in maturity and sense, and eventually

realizes that she has made the wrong decision in marrying Troy, and at

the end of the novel marries Gabriel. Bathsheba's actions at the end

of the novel depict how much she has changed for the better and how

she has developed in sensibility and maturity, due to events that

occur in her life.