Okay then, I think we need to spice things up a bit.
Hardy has to write about sex in such a way that it is not obvious (at least to the pure of heart). 19th century novels, especially those published in serial form, were often read aloud, so between the cultural inhibitions and the multi-age audience, everything had to be placed between the lines. Shmoop, one of the more amusing high school lit sites, says re Far From the Madding Crowd, “You have to board the literary analysis train before the smut starts becoming obvious.”
Per an article from The Guardian:
As for the sheep shearing scene, the gender essay I posted earlier states that when Gabriel slips with the knife, “sexuality and jealousy have mastered him momentarily.” One way of looking at it is that ewe represents Bathsheba and the nick that Gabriel gives the animal is his subconscious desire to curtail her sexual appeal to other men (in this scene, Boldwood specifically). Other articles suggest that it is Gabriel trying to quell his own sexual feelings. Either way, it’s not simply an accident with a sheep – it’s “literary smut.”
I thought the swordplay scene was pretty sexy - I don’t think it has to be real sex though. (Hardy is certainly willing - at least in later novels - for his unwed characters to have real sex.) I was pretty shocked that Bathsheba went off alone to chase after Troy in the resort town instead of visiting Lydia and it seemed likely to me she may have had real sex then off stage. (Going blank on the name of the town.)
Joining the pure of heart club, must have been skimming. I remember the sword scene in the most recent movie version - I thought it was boring, typical guy showing off. Maybe I’m just too old and tired…
Arriving late, but this was the point I wanted to make, too. I don’t think I’ve ever read much Hardy, though I’ve probably seen a lot of video, and I didn’t remember any humor. I listened to a lot the book on audio (a wonderful reading by the British actor Jamie Parker), and I found myself laughing a lot. Read out loud, the subtle humor is more obvious. When I look for the quotes now they aren’t obvious to me, except as examples of beautiful language. But I’m glad to know that someone else found the book funny, too.
About the sexism: yes, it’s there, but there are also these observations, among others:
Bathsheba talking to Boldwood: “It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs.”
And the passage PlantMom quotes above, where Hardy describes a relationship based on similarity of pursuits as
which is a strong sentiment in favor of egalitarian love and marriage.
I think Hardy had a lot of sympathy for Bathsheba, as did I. I’ve got all the movie versions now, but haven’t watched them yet. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen the Julie Christie version, because the story was familiar to me.
I thought a lot of the sex was mentioned by the “Greek chorus.”
Actually I think that’s not entirely true. The suffragette movement officially starts in 1872in England, but it grows out of the writings and ideas of John Stewart Mill who we know Hardy was very familiar with and who was elected in 1865 with women’s rights as part of his platform. (I think it’s Jude the Obscure who reads him.) And of course as far classism is concerned don’t forget that Europe had several Marxist revolutions in 1848.
That doesn’t mean he won’t still have plenty of old-fashioned ideas (by our standards), but I think Hardy was pretty forward thinking for his time.
From the Shmoop site as quoted above: “If a sword can be considered really freaking phallic (and it can be) what, gentle reader, do you suppose a “hollow amid the ferns” is supposed to symbolize?”
Haha, reminds me of a character in Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, a nubile young woman named “Dewey Dell.”
The sword scene is by far the sexiest in the Masterpiece Theatre film. In the Julie Christie movie, Troy runs wildly up and down hills between sword thrusts!
Okay, I can concede the phallic-ness of the sword.
True story: September of freshman year of college - English class. The professor mentions phallic symbol. Somehow the nuns at my Catholic high school had neglected that particular literary term. So … I asked the cute guy next to me what a phallic symbol was. He politely explained - to my mortification. :"> All turned out okay … he asked me out after class (go figure ). We went on a few dates - no swordplay involved.
Oh ignatius, I laughed out loud at your story. If it were today, you would have stealthily pulled out your phone and looked up the word—but then, you wouldn’t have had a date!
Fanny’s fate made me think, “There but for the grace of God goes Bathsheba.” Neither woman had close family to dissuade her from making poor choices. Bathsheba was saved by the luck of inherited money, which I think persuaded Troy to marry her instead of love her and leave her.
What did you think of Fanny? We don’t get to know her very well. She is foolish (like Bathsheba) for falling for Troy. However, she shows amazing perseverance in her long walk to Union House. In retrospect, I think she was trying to save her baby rather than herself. She was at the point where it would have been easier to curl up and die by the side of the road.
What about that dog? Was there any significance there, or was it just a Deus Ex Machina Dog sent to deliver her safely to her destination? I felt bad when it was stoned away from the doorway after completing the rescue.
The story of Fanny and Troy let us know Troy better, rather than Fanny. She was another victim of Troy’s arrogance and self-centered ego. Troy seemed to genuinely love Fanny (he kept her lock of hair), yet he still couldn’t commit to her. I can see similarities between Fanny and Bathsheba. They were both strong and weak and both independent and dependent.
I’m not sure about the the dog. I would have wondered if he was really there, if they hadn’t mentioned they stoned him away.
Troy is certainly a mixed bag. He really was prepared to marry Fanny, despite the fact that she’s beneath him socially. Then it’s too much trouble to do the right thing, so instead he goes after Bathsheba. I think he was briefly dazzled by her. Hardy tries very hard not to make any of these characters all bad, all good, all weak or all strong.
I like the idea that the dog is in contrast to the bad dog, though of course he had two dogs at the time. I don’t remember what the other dog was up to while the young one was herding the poor sheep over the cliff.
One of the reviewers of the book mentioned that in this respect, Troy was like another Austen character: Willoughby from Sense and Sensibility.
By the way, am I assuming correctly that Troy did not know Fanny was pregnant until he met her in the road?
That would have been an interesting interpretation – and believable, considering Fanny had probably reached a state of delirium by the end. Maybe it was Gabriel’s bad dog as a revenant seeking redemption.
That was George. He was safely closed up in the outhouse next to the hut where Gabriel was sleeping. Speaking of which, there is an observation about Gabriel and sleeping in the essay, “The Dialectics of Love in Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd” (link in post #69):
I like @Caraid’s Troy comments. To my mind, Troy is his own worst enemy. I think he truly loved Fanny. Her mistake in waiting at the wrong church was simply that, but Troy can’t believe it wasn’t an attempt to humiliate him. I don’t think he had fully decided to abandon Fanny, the first thought was simply to punish her for his “humiliation”. I think if he’d had time to recover himself, he ultimately would have taken Fanny back. But, in the meantime, his ego got in the way and he allowed things to get out of control with Bathsheba whose interest he must have found flattering.
As far as the dog goes, I want to read the traditional symbol for faithfulness into the encounter somehow. The faithful dog assisting Fanny is sent violently away by some random man just as the couple’s faithful commitment is destroyed by the random event of the mix-up at the church. I suspect I’m over reaching - studied too much art history.
Troy did remind me of Willoughby in some ways. Willoughby acted toward Colonel Brandon’s ward much as Troy acted toward Fanny, but I think his feelings for Marianne were much deeper and more more sincere than Troy’s for Bathsheba.
). We went on a few dates - no swordplay involved.