In two of the loved classics Pride and Prejudice and Far from the Madding Crowd, two female protagonists make similar choices in love, marriage, and who they depend upon. They both seem intelligent at first glance, but some of their decisions might be more sensible than others. Of these two main characters, Elizabeth of Pride and Prejudice and Bathsheba Everdene of Far from the Madding Crowd, the latter’s choices seem to be more intelligent and resulting in better results for the protagonist. Bathsheba’s sensibility comes from thinking until accepting, listening to others’ comments and learning from unsuccessful experiences.
To begin with, Bathsheba thinks before she accepts any proposal. Even though Elizabeth’s marriage was quite successful and was one that many would call based by true love and not a desire for a fortune, she still quite dived into the experience without knowing its consequences or benefits. Bathsheba, as a woman of high esteem, investigates many men before finally making her decision. First, she rejected Gabriel’s proposal since she thought that marrying a man that she had not even known for a month was too rash and stupid. In addition, even though Boldwood had truly loved her, it took her a long time to think and in the end deny Boldwood too, an action that many would have passed away as betrayal, but to this end there was no proof that Bathsheba had ever loved Boldwood, even though she had expressed interest in him. Finally, Bathsheba’s unsuccessful marriage with Troy was not primarily Bathsheba’s fault. Troy had literally forced Bathsheba to marry him, and even though Bathsheba had already madly loved Troy from their first encounter, it still took her a long time to consider this marriage instead of thoroughly accepting Troy’s first proposal. This was also a key contributing factor to why Bathsheba could break off with Troy. Bathsheba’s through thinking before accepting anything is a key trait that Bathsheba is indeed more intelligent than the former.
In addition, Bathsheba listens to others’ comments more. Though she didn’t accept Gabriel’s first critique of her, she still quite listened to Boldwood telling her about Troy being an imperfect man for her, since she had seriously doubted marriage with Troy until almost forcing herself to marry him in a superb delirium in a dark night in Bath. She also listened to Gabriel in the very end of the book, as she had considered greatly Gabriel’s comments about her and why he made them. She knew that Gabriel, who cared for her to look into her deepest actions and help her spiritually, would serve as a sensible husband for her, a man who truly loved her more than Troy deeply inside. Bathsheba listens to others comments more than Elizabeth, proving her more intelligent.
Finally, Bathsheba learns from her past experiences. Elizabeth has remained quite static throughout the whole of the book, while Bathsheba is so dynamic that it would have seemed a different person, comparing her from the beginning to the end. Her vanity and giddiness in the beginning is unmatched to her seriousness and experience at the very end. Her actions in the exposition are quite rash- flipping a mere book to decide who to write a casual “Marry me” to, even if she didn’t love them- running with a mad lover without even considering the consequences, and many others. She gained much experience in the end of Far From the Madding Crowd, listening to Boldwood and Gabriel’s comments about her much more, and trusting everyone to know that she had loved Troy instead of being furious at Liddy for merely mentioning her love with Troy. She had quite evolved from a stubborn young woman to a sage, experienced mistress, one who knew how to handle everything that was coming to her, praises and complaints alike. Bathsheba’s dynamics is also a key trait of why she is the more intelligent character.
In conclusion, Bathsheba has proved to be the more intelligent character than Elizabeth throughout the classics. This is due to a plethora of different reasons, some including her sensibility and willingness to listen to others’ comments, thinking before she does anything important, and changing to accept her experience. Though everyone might have their different comments about these characters, I urge many of you to try and achieve Bathsheba’s later self, even if her earlier self was more rash and unlearning. Her later self is one of sheer intelligence, and one that has learned much from her earlier experiences.
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