Respond to either of these quotes from Richard Carpenter's criticism:
"Bathsheba's problems do not arise alone from ambivalent desire; for, as with other protagonists, she is subjected to the influences of Chance and Time, which destroy the stable patterns of rural life and make breaches for character to expoit. Far From the Madding Crowd is not so donimated by these forces as is, say, Tess of the d'Urbervilles; nevertheless with them it could not take the course it does."
"Far From the Madding Crowd is, then, Hardy's first undeniably assured venture into the realm where he was to have his greatest success. In it he developed some of his most characteristic and effective modes, from the centrally tragic figure to the symbolic landscape to the rustic chorus. In it, especially, we see in clear form for the first time the mythic and psychological patters which he was to employ so effectively as he went on."
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In response to the first quote: In Tess there was much more focus on Chance and Time than in Far. Tess's life was based on a domino effect that started with the first event of the book, when her father, a drunk, finds out he is kin to the prestigious d'Urbervilles. This event causes her father to be too drunk to do his duty of delivering, so his daughter, Tess, must do it for him. Tess falls asleep and their horse, Prince, crashes, thence leading to Tess going to the poultry farm, her rape (or seduction), and so on. Hardy used the idea of fate a lot is this novel. He used the same idea in Far, lesser so, but it is still evident. The fact that Bathsheba went through two of the wrong men to get to the right one, the one she could have had from the beginning, shows her fate. She had to go through those experiences in order to learn and prepare herself for the real relationship in which she belonged.
ReplyDeleteAs Norma stated, both fate plays a part in both novels, though more so in Tess, and dictates the future for the protaganists. In Tess her fate led her to be raped and then to find the man of her dreams. In Far a similar fated cirumstance happened as Bathsheba almost go married to Boldwood, got married to Troy who was completely wrong for her, and then was able to become married to the right man, Gabriel Oak. Even though there were less references to fate in Far there was still enough to come to the same conclusion as in Tess.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Carpenter's first statement:
ReplyDeleteAlthough Hardy wields the force of Time and Chance to bring disaster upon his characters, most of Bathsheba's hardships are brought about by her own decisions. It was by Chance and Time that caused Gabriel to lose his flock and find work at Bathsheba's farm. The force of Time was the crucial element that kept Fanny Robin from marrying Sergeant Troy, resulting in her later abandonment and death. Yet most of the misfortune and drama that surrounds Bathsheba is of her own accord. She is portrayed in the novel as a powerful women; she is a mistress of a farm, independent, frank, and free to make her own decisions. Her mistake of sending Boldwood a valentine is one choice that has haunted Bathsheba throughout most of novel. What was intended to be a joke, led respectable Mr. Boldwood to insanity. At the end of the novel, Boldwood shoots Troy and then turns himself in. Another mistake on Bathsheba's part was her marrying Sergeant Troy. This choice led the once happy and independent Bathsheba into a marriage of sorrow, her freedoms being stripped away from her.
In response to the second quote: Far From the Madding Crowd is Hardy’s first step into the literary modes present in his later books. Far has a pessimistic tone, Bathsheba’s love triangle consistently produces pain and conflict throughout the novel. Bathsheba’s marriage to Troy damages both Gabriel and Boldwood until Boldwood reaches insanity and shoots Troy. Tess also has a pessimistic tone, though to a greater extent. In Far there is suffering, but in Tess the suffering barely ever ends. Tess suffers when Alec rapes her. Tess suffers when her baby dies. Tess suffers when Angel leaves her. Tess suffers in Angel’s absence. The suffering goes on and on. At least in Far there are spots of happiness to diffuse out the pessimism. Far gives readers a glimpse of Hardy’s later works. Far shows readers Hardy’s love triangles and pessimism, but in Tess readers finally get to see the real Hardy. As Hardy wrote more novels his pessimism and suffering became infinitely more intense. In “Thomas Hardy Revisited” I learned that Hardy had one face for the public, and one for at home. As Hardy wrote more novels he let readers see more and more of his home face, and all the dim views of life that came with it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what abruley said about the forces of chance and time versus a person's own decisions, for througout Far, it appears that only one event brought about by fate is directly connected to Bathsheba. This would be the meeting of Troy, as it was the forces of Time and Fate that resulted in him walking the same path as Bathsheba late one night. It is Bathsheba's own decisions that result in any sadness or misfortune she happens upon as abruley stated. Every other force of Chance and/or Time centered around other characters within the novel: Gabriel and the loss of his sheep leading him to Bathsheba; the fire of the ricks that got Gabriel hired as Bathsheba's shepard; the mistakening of church by Fanny Robin resulting in Troy's abandonment of her; the presence of Fanny on the same road traveled by Troy and his new bride, Bathsheba; the tide carrying Troy out to sea, leaving the impression of him being dead...
ReplyDeleteMost forces of Chance and/or Time upon characters in Far more directly related to people around Bathsheba and not Bathsheba herself. It seemed Hardy wanted to stress, if only of his main character, that decisions we make are what ultimately decide our fate.
I partially agree with the first quote. While Far is not as focused on the idea of fate as Tess was, there are certain events which do seem quite coincidental. For example, Oak first sees Bathsheba when he pays her way through the gate. He then sees her again in a barn near his hut. After he loses his sheep, he goes to the market to look for another job, and who should hire him, but Bathsheba. Another part of the irony/coincidences of the novel, is the fact that Oak is the first to be introduced to Bathsheba. He loves her longer than the other men, and yet he is the last that Bathsheba chooses. From this perspective it appears that it is not Bathsheba's life that is ruled by fate, but actually Gabriel Oak's.
ReplyDelete