Far From the Madding Crowd is an excellent example of Victorian literature by Thomas Hardy that centers around the life of a wealthy, pretty, and intelligent woman named Bathsheba, who has many suitors that vye for her hand. Her first offer comes from a kind farmer named Gabriel Oak, who was wealthy at the time, but Bathsheba wanted to become self-sufficient. Later, a man named Boldwood received a valentine from Bathsheba made in jest, but this served to unwittingly awaken Boldwood’s ardor. However, Bathsheba rejected his offer of marriage because she didn’t love him. Boldwood continued pursuing her, but Bathsheba’s attention fell to Sergeant Troy, a man with a reputation of loving money and beauty but not intelligence. Sergeant Troy impressed Bathsheba with a swordsmanship display, and Bathsheba became seemingly obsessed with him. Bathsheba secretly married him, causing Boldwood to despair. However, Fanny, a woman Troy had once wronged, dies in childbirth ending the marriage. Troy seems to be dead, but Bathsheba knows he is alive, and one day at a Christmas party hosted by the near-insane Boldwood to attempt to extract a promise of marriage from Bathsheba, Troy comes, and Boldwood shoots him dead in rage. Boldwood was sentenced to death, but because of his insanity he was commuted to internment indefinitely, and Gabriel, the loyal and honest shepherd, marries Bathsheba. This book shows how marriage and social status can be incredibly impactful on lives.
Social classes can affect our prospects later in life by limiting our chances of rising and making a name for ourselves. A social class is a division of a society based on social and economic status, and it is most often determined by your parent’s wealth and how much you may inherit or how well you use your money, however, your character and traits are yours to choose. In Far From the Madding Crowd, Gabriel, a loyal, honest, and helpful shepherd, was not the wealthiest man, however, he always had honor and showed integrity. He was middle class, but fell into poverty after the loss of his herd. However, his traits appealed to Bathsheba in the end and propelled him into the upper class. Troy, a middle class man who attempted to flatter and charm his way into the upper class by marrying Bathsheba, lost his life because of his lack of honor and his deceitful notions, and it shows how our character traits such as determination and persistence helps us succeed in life. Social classes are a barrier to many, but the important thing isn’t material wealth, but mental mindsets that allow you to improve and learn more to help become more knowledgeable. Social classes can have an impact on our life, but it’s important to try to rise and improve rather than lament any bad fortune.
Marriage can cement an already existing, extremely powerful bond, but it can also symbolize the joining of wealth and status, which is why normally, people only marry inside their own social class. Our social class can affect our marriage prospects quite a bit, even if the people involved truly love each other, but it’s important that we follow our heart and make sure to acknowledge our love, instead of being taken in by material things. In Far From the Madding Crowd, Bathsheba and Troy married, but Troy had married for her money, and Bathsheba had been too overcome by his charm and how handsome he was to notice his characters, which was deceitful. However, Fanny Robin’s death allowed Bathsheba to understand that Troy was not what he seemed, that the rumors about him actually had base in truth and reality. Bathsheba had liked Gabriel, but chose not to accept his proposal because she wanted to become self-sufficient, despite how Gabriel was both loyal and steadfast, standing by her side throughout the entire story. We need to follow our heart more than our desire for material wealth so that we may become more happy, and we have to prevent ourselves from being restrained only by our social class. Marriage is meant to be a way to seal and show love between people towards the world, a promise for something better, unable to be stopped by imaginary boundaries.
The roles of women inside the Victorian Era are evident in that their personalities change immensely as they marry and become more reliant on men despite their attempts to avoid this. It’s important to help keep people equal and prevent them from becoming too vested in keeping the interest of the man they love, instead, they should try to sustain themselves and make sure that they are valued. In Far From the Madding Crowd, Bathsheba became malleable as she loved Troy more, and Troy did not even help her, instead wasting her money and even causing dozens of people to become incredibly drunk and pass out on her lawn. Fanny Robins was also trapped by Troy, but they never married because Troy had no need for Fanny’s lack of money, yet when Fanny makes a small mistake after she begs Troy for marriage, Troy walks off. Rather than relying on unreliable people, we need to remember to love people who actually act kindly and have traits that befit someone of their stature. The roles of women during the Victorian Era are minimized, but it’s important that they continue trying to stop being reliant and sustain themselves to gain respect.
Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy is a fantastic book that teaches about the Victorian Era and how marriage and social status affect each other. Our social status is simply a measure of how wealthy we are, not of our character or our honor, and marriage should be based on love rather than a desire for material wealth and to rise in social class. Life repays the honorable people with more than deceitful people gain, which is why we must remember to be kind and helpful to others. In the Victorian Era, the role of women was incredibly minimized by people who simply took their love and married them for wealth and to increase their social status, but there were honorable people who actually loved and chose to marry because of love rather than money. Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy is a fictionalized depiction of life in the Victorian Era that is incredibly interesting and riveting.
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