Works of Thomas Hardy discussion
This topic is about
Far From The Madding Crowd
Far from the Madding Crowd
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Far From the Madding Crowd 1st Thread: Chapter 1 - 8
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Far From the Madding Crowd was the novel which made Thomas Hardy’s name. Although it was his 4th novel, it is the first of what are thought of as his 6 greatest pastoral novels.
How it came about is extraordinary! Leslie Stephen, the editor of a monthly periodical called the “Cornhill Magazine” was looking for fresh new writers. He had read an earlier novel of Thomas Hardy’s called Under the Greenwood Tree, and was so impressed by the beautiful pastoral descriptions in it that he wrote a letter to Thomas Hardy asking if he would like to write a serial novel for his magazine. But Thomas Hardy almost didn’t get the letter!
Thomas Hardy was still living in his parent’s tiny stonemason's cottage at Higher Bockhampton, the one I described LINK HERE:
It is on 2 floors, although just like Thomas Hardy's grandmother did every day, you still have to climb to the upper storey by ladder. In 1873 the Penny Post did not reach such tiny hamlets, so they had an arrangement with a friend in a neighbouring village, who took in any post for the Hardy family as a favour. However on this occasion the letter was given to some children to deliver, and they dropped it in the road! It was only due to a passing labourer, who picked it up and personally delivered it to their cottage at Higher Bockhampton, that Thomas Hardy received the offer at all!
In fact Thomas Hardy did not think he could write a serial at first, as he was in the middle of a different project, and wanted to concentrate on his poetry anyway. But Leslie Stephen persuaded him, and what resulted was a much better and more enduring novel, dealing with much greater and broader themes.
Far From the Madding Crowd was originally published anonymously, as a monthly serial in the “Cornhill Magazine” between January and December 1874, and became very popular as the year went on. Each monthly installment was illustrated by Helen Paterson, who was to become Thomas Hardy’s favourite illustrator. During the original run, both Thomas Hardy and Helen Paterson got married - but not to each other! Helen Paterson married a poet and became Helen Paterson Allingham. (Much later, when Thomas Hardy was no longer happy with his wife Emma, he said to Edmund Gosse that perhaps it would have been better if they had married each other.)
However, in common with most Victorian stories, Far From the Madding Crowd was not illustrated when it was printed in novel form, because it would have been too expensive. These cheap editions only had a colour frontispiece. The illustrations will all be included in our read though, courtesy of the “Victorian Web”.
Far From the Madding Crowd was first published as a novel a month before the serial ended in the magazine, on 23rd November 1874. Thomas Hardy kept editing the text for future editions, particularly for the 1895 edition, and then again for the 1901 edition. This is because when he had started it, Thomas Hardy had viewed serial fiction as having different requirements from a novel. So as time went on and he wrote more and more novels, he wanted to streamline this one.
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If you have not joined in a read of a novel with us before, please read this!
Our read is different from that of real life groups, because we discuss as we go. The experience is more like the original readers had.
There are 57 chapters. The first 29 will be led by Jean and the final 28 will be led by Bridget. We will read and comment on one chapter a day, with a break after each installment, but if the pace does not seem right we can alter it. The story is not complex or many-stranded, so hopefully those who wish to should be able to fit in other reads too 😊
Although Thomas Hardy’s original readers took a whole year over it, we will take 2-3 months, including a week’s extra time for discussion and catch-up for those who need it. If you prefer a faster pace, please bear in mind exactly where we are in the novel, which you can see at a glance at the first post in the latest thread. This will have links to each day’s chapters added as we go. Please do NOT include spoilers; your post will be deleted if you do. There is a chance to discuss the novel as a whole during the third month.
Splitting a group read into more than 4 or 5 threads can cause problems of access for later readers, so we will try to stick to this, unless the threads become too long and unwieldy. We will remind everyone when the next day will be a break day, or if it will begin a new thread.
All Thomas Hardy's Prefaces are safe to read, but most online resources contain spoilers. Please avoid wiki, schmoop, sparknotes etc., for this reason (unless you know the story).
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Because I could not find anywhere which recorded the original breaks between the monthly installments, I looked through all the relevant archived issues of the “Cornhill magazine”, and wrote down which chapters were in each issue. Far From the Madding Crowd was only one of several features in each issue, so the number of chapters varies. Here they are:
Original publication in Cornhill Magazine (January - December 1874)
Jan - issue 169 - chapters 1 - 5
Feb - issue 170 - chapters 6 - 8
Mar - issue 171 - chapters 9 - 14
Apr - issue 172 - chapters 15 - 20
May - issue 173 - chapters 21 - 24
June - issue 174 - chapters 25 - 29
July - issue 175 - chapters 30 - 33
Aug - issue 176 - chapters 34 - 38
Sep - issue 177 - chapters 39 - 42
Oct - issue 178 - chapters 43 - 47
Nov - issue 179 - chapters 48 - 51
Dec - issue 180 - chapters 52 - 57
From here you can work out our “free days” if you choose, although we will also put a reminder every time, after the previous day’s post. The last day of actual reading will be May 24th, allowing for any blips!
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For those who know the story, or those who like to watch a dramatisation first, there are two excellent films of Far From the Madding Crowd.
The first is from 1967, and directed by John Schlesinger. It stars Julie Christie as Bathsheba Everdene, Terence Stamp as Sergeant Troy, Peter Finch as Mr Boldwood, and Alan Bates as Farmer Oak. This one was nominated for an Oscar, and captures the spirit of the book.
The most recent film is from 2015 and is also very good. It was directed by Thomas Vinterberg with a screenplay by David Nicholls. It stars Carey Mulligan as Bathsheba Everdene, Matthias Schoenaerts as Farmer Oak, Michael Sheen as Mr Boldwood, Tom Sturridge as Sergeant Troy and Juno Temple as Fanny Robin. (I had the chance of being an extra in a market scene in this film actually, when they were filming in Bridport, (Thomas Hardy's "Port Bredy") but the colour of my hair was “too modern”!)
Another good adaptation is from 1998. ITV UK television made this one, directed by Nicholas Renton. It stars Paloma Baeza, Nathaniel Parker, Jonathan Firth and Nigel Terry.
All of these are worth watching!
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If you are wondering about the title, it is from the famous poem by Thomas Gray, An Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard (1751):
“Far from the madding crowd’s ignoble strife
Their sober wishes never learn’d to stray;
Along the cool sequester’d vale of life
They kept the noiseless tenor of their way.“
So here, “madding” means “frenzied”. One critic has said that Thomas Hardy: “disrupts the idyll, and not just by introducing the sound and fury of an extreme plot … he is out to subvert his readers’ complacency”. Wow - that should tempt anyone!
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Far From the Madding Crowd is the first novel where Thomas Hardy used the word “Wessex”. At first he located it in quite a small area of South West England. It does signify his geographical territory, but to him, “Wessex” was partly a real, and partly a dream country. Within it he explored his preferred subject matter: country people in a rural landscape living:
“between custom and education, between work and ideas, between love of place and experience of change”.
If you are an historian, please do not confuse Thomas Hardy’s “Wessex” with real life; he just pinched the name! He had discovered the word in early English history books and liked it. In real life it designated an extinct, pre-Norman conquest kingdom: the “Wessex” from which Alfred the Great established England.
As he wrote more novels and stories, Thomas Hardy was to widen the area to include parts of other actual counties. A map of his final plan of Wessex is here:
"Locations in Wessex, from The Wessex of Thomas Hardy by Bertram Windle, 1902, based on correspondence with Hardy"
but for Far From the Madding Crowd it is a much smaller area, restricted to Dorset:
"from the Norton Edition"
Thomas Hardy himself wrote in the Preface:
“I am reminded that it was in the chapters of ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’ … that I first ventured to adopt the word ‘Wessex’ from the pages of early English history … – a modern Wessex of railways, the penny post, mowing and reaping machines, union workhouses, lucifer matches, labourers who could read and write, and National school children.”
Thomas Hardy was rather sad that the general public had taken up his “Wessex” so freely, and asked that readers try to think of Wessex just in relation to the characters and situations in his novels. How shocked he would be to know that over a hundred years later, “Wessex” is often used routinely in real life, by Dorset shops and companies e.g. “Wessex Water”, “Wessex fruiterers”, “Wessex launderette” and so on. This, ironically, is well-meant, as a tribute to the county’s most famous author.
However, an actual county of Wessex still does not exist.
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We will begin reading exactly a month today, on Sunday 17th March. The official Goodreads notification will be sent out a week before, as usual, but this announcement hopefully gives everyone time to plan their reading.
If you want to capture Thomas Hardy's latest intentions, the Norton Critical Edition attempts to do just that, detailing which editions are used at which points of the text. It does not really matter which edition you choose however, as we will include brief summaries of each chapter, based on those by “Litcharts”. (For instance I am personally using an accessible Large Print one, which I have entered on our group shelves.) The brief Preface in most editions is from 1895-1902, and is most interesting.
We hope everyone enjoys this read 😊 Bridget and I are really excited about this one! Please enjoy these introductory posts and the Preface over the next month before we begin; there are no spoilers whatsoever!
Who’s planning to join in?
I´ve been waiting for another Hardy novel read for some time, so will join in. :) This is one of my favourite Hardys, and I also like the film from 2015 (haven´t seen the other adaptations). Thanks Jean and Bridget for leading the discussion and Jean for the introductions!
Jean and Bridget, I'm looking forward to reading the novel with you. Thanks for the enticing introduction to the book.
I’m hoping to join in as well. I am very excited about reading this one. When does it start, Jean?
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I'm in too. This is my favorite Hardy novel, read more times than I can count.
The 1998 filmed version is my favorite. The others are good too, but the 1998 one is longer and covers more from the book. (But not everything.)
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Thank you Jean for a wonderful introduction to the novel. I didn't know that "Thomas Hardy almost didn’t get the letter!" inviting him to contribute to "Cornhill Magazine. That sounds like a plot twist straight out of a Thomas Hardy novel.
One of the things that most intrigued me about reading Far From the Madding Crowd is the fact you gave us, that this is the start of "Wessex" as a fictional place. Thomas Hardy made Wessex feel so real, that many people (who did not grow up in the England) still actually think it's a real place. (I count myself amoung the people late to the news that Wessex is fictional LOL) I find that remarkable, and a testament to Thomas Hardy skill as a writer.
Even though I've never reviewed it, I've read Far from the Madding Crowd, albeit it decades ago, and still remember it well; it's my favorite of Hardy's novels (at least, of the ones I've read, which are his five major ones). Although I don't plan to reread the book, I'll definitely follow the discussion, and contribute to it if I can; and I'll hope to finally write my review (retrospectively) before May 24, and link to it once other folks are ready to share theirs.
I'd love to join in too. I believe I picked this book up a couple of months ago, just in case we began reading.
How exciting! I have read it decades ago, and of course seen several movie versions. But this also means I only know “the story”, and not the depth. I will be joining and thanks to Jean for leading us once again!
And many thanks to Bridget also! I was so excited I have to go back and re-read all the posts!
I have also been waiting for another Hardy novel to be on the docket. Looking forward to this read. I will have to go through my piles and find my copy of the book!
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I'm in for this one as well.
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Hi everyone, and I'm looking forward to another Hardy read with you.Thank you Jean and Bridget for leading!
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Though I joined the group a while back, this will be my first participation, and I'm so exited. I've not read this one, but have seen the 1967 film. It will be my fourth Hardy. I love the background info, Jean, and particularly interested to see Leslie Stephen was impressed by Under the Greenwood Tree, which I'll be reading concurrently with this in another group in May.
Thanks so much, Jean and Bridget!
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I love the backgro..."
I'm so glad you are joining us, Kathleen! This should be a wonderful read.
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Wow you are really going to have a strong fix of Hardy in May!
Thank you both, Bridget and Jean. What a lovely gift! Yes, May will be a little intense, but you can't get too much Hardy. :-)
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Please read the short preface today (and the early posts in this thread) if you like. Unusually for classics nowadays, this one (from 1895-1902) is free from spoilers.
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Original vignette to installment 1 for Jan. 1874 by Helen Paterson
(All the monthly illustrations will be by this artist, and all sourced via the Victorian Web, scanned by Philip V. Allingham. The header vignette image may be from a later episode in the installment.)
Chapter 1: Description of Farmer Oak—An Incident
We begin with a description of a farmer, Gabriel Oak, who is generally of good judgment and character, though lags a bit on Sundays—he yawns and thinks of dinner during Mass, for instance. When his friends are in a bad mood he is considered a bad man, and when they are happy they think the opposite: most of the time he’s rather morally mixed. He wears a low felt hat and large, solid boots.
Gabriel carries a large silver fob watch which was once his grandfather’s. It doesn’t always work very well, especially the hour hand. So Gabriel has to shake it and sometimes simply works out the hour by the stars, or looks at the clocks in his neighbours’ windows.
Gabriel’s face maintains some aspects of a boy, though he has just left youth behind, only now really reaching manhood. He is no longer an impulsive young man, but he is not yet settled down with wife and family: he is a twenty-eight year old bachelor.
He is in a field by Norcombe Hill one December morning, when he sees a yellow wagon winding down it. The wagon reaches the other side of the hedge where he is resting, and then stops. The driver tells the girl sitting on top of it, next to a number of plants, that the tailboard has fallen off. The girl asks him to go back and fetch it. As she waits, she looks down at a package tied in paper. She looks to see if the driver is returning, then reaches and unties it to reveal a looking-glass, which she peers into and smiles, then blushes to see herself.
“She did not adjust her hat, or pat her hair, or press a dimple into shape, or do any one thing to signify that any such intention had been her motive in taking up the glass. She simply observed herself as a fair product of Nature in a feminine direction—her expression seeming to glide into far-off though likely dramas in which men would play a part—vistas of probable triumphs—the smiles being of a phase suggesting that hearts were imagined as lost and won.”
Gabriel cynically says to himself that the young lady has no real reason for looking: she just looks at herself, almost triumphantly. But it is against his nature to think this way, so perhaps he is just imagining this, he thinks. The wagonner returns and she slips the mirror back.
Gabriel withdraws and turns down the road until he reaches the bottom of the hill, where there is a dispute concerning the toll payment. The driver says that according to the young lady, he has been paid enough. However the turnpike keeper says he that they cannot pass unless he pays two pence. It is not a big enough amount to make a lot of difference to Gabriel, so he steps forward and gives two pence to the gatekeeper, then looks up at her.
The woman looks carelessly back, then tells her driver to go on. The gatekeeper remarks to Gabriel that she is handsome, but Gabriel says she has faults. Yhe gatekeeper suggests it is wanting to beat the price down, to get a cheap bargain, but Gabriel, a little piqued, says it is “vanity”.
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“in gaining her a passage he had lost her her point, and we know how women take a favour of that kind.”
Interestingly the second half of that sentence reveals the narrator (who for the sake of simplicity we assume to be Thomas Hardy)’s own view of women - or at least at the time of writing. I suspect he was also displaying this prejudice with the earlier words “Woman’s prescriptive infirmity …”, as if it is an essential characteristic of females’ nature to be preoccupied with their appearance.
Gabriel’s initial view of her is not positive, as he recognises that vanity and pride alone are the reason for her actions. Still, it seems that he doesn’t entirely despise the young lady; she has enough allure and mystery for him to want to help her, despite what he has observed about her apparent superficiality. And did you pick up on the wagonner calling her "missuses niece"? It make us wonder about her station in life, just as it does Gabriel.
At the end it is Gabriel’s own pride which is hurt by the young woman’s lack of concern for him, underlining his earlier conviction about her pride and vanity.
This initial character sketch emphasises the everyday nature of the world which Thomas Hardy is creating. As we have seen before, it is one that will deal in grand questions of fate, judgment, and morality, but which is always revelealed through ordinary country people. The setting of this novel, the country landscape of his Wessex, includes vistas and gentle slopes which allow the characters to survey what is going on around them and learn about the goings-on of others. This unknown girl is a natural part of such a landscape, but she also conforms to stereotypes about women’s vanity, though she knows she should hide it.
Although Far from the Madding Crowd was the leading story in all 12 issues of the Cornhill Magazine, Thomas Hardy’s name was never mentioned. This was quite common in serial fiction of the time, but could explain some of the views the narrator presents. Perhaps after all then, Thomas Hardy's voice in this novel is conforming to what he perceived to be the contemporary standard attitude of society at that time i.e. what he assumed readers would wish to read. Far from the Madding Crowd is the novel which established his name, and he would not want to be too outrageous.
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Gabriel’s watch - This is ordinary like he is, but it also underlines his sense of pragmatism and capacity for problem-solving—both admirable traits. I very much enjoyed the mischievous sense of humour in this description. And it made me wonder if his watch will parallel or indicate Gabriel’s own nature; if that too will also be flawed, or restricted, as his watch is.
The young woman’s caged canary - We’ve often remarked on how significant birds are in Thomas Hardy, and other Victorian and Edwardian writers. Here we have a caged songbird and a watching cat. Surely this must be symbolic?
We could talk about these, or any others you might have noticed 😊
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The title is from the famous poem by Thomas Gray “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” (1751) - see introductory post comment 6.
The second paragraph about Gabriel Oak refers to Revelations 3: 14-16. St. John rebukes the Laodiceans for being “neither cold nor hot”.
The Nicene creed is a statement of Christian beliefs adopted by the council of Nicea in CE 325 and recited as part of the Anglican communion service (during which Gabriel yawns in private!)
Dr. Johnson - In Boswell’s “Journey of a Tour to the Hebrides” Dr. Johnson is described as “wearing a very wide brown cloth great-coat with pockets which might have almost held the two volumes of his folio dictionary.”
“Oak’s fob” is a special little pocket below the waistband of his trousers, designed to put his watch in, hence “fob-watch”.
Emminster in real life is BEAMINSTER (pronounced by locals as “bemm-stir” 😀)
Chalk-Newton in real life is MAIDEN NEWTON.
The turnpike - In 19th century England the main highways called turnpikes were paid for by tolls collected at toll gates. A bar would be stretch across the road, and the tollkeeper would move it aside when each toll was paid. In England now we still sometimes have to pay tolls before moving through a gate, but only at a few places such as tunnels, or ferries, and not in the main road system. These are sometimes manned, but automation is creeping in.
An “ornamental spring wagon” is a wagon mounted on springs to cushion the ride. This type of wagon, and with only one passenger too, seems to indicate that the young lady is not short of money to spend on her own comfort, although that choice of cart could be due to her being surrounded by her own things. Why should that be?
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The first chapter has us wondering who the young woman is, and why she is moving house. Is she moving because of a sad situation such as a death, or a happy occasion such as a wedding? Was the tollgate keeper overcharging her or does she have a stubborn personality? Hardy has already grabbed my attention. This is my first time reading the story.
Peeking in at the enchanting photos in Message 2 (scroll above) in the section "Background: How this Novel Came About". I do hope everyone has seen those images and posts also!
I liked his opening sentence, describing Gabriel’s smile. To me a big smile indicates a warm hearted person, who appreciates life. Immediately I am drawn to him.
I am interested in the character description of Gabriel, whom Thomas Hardy is setting up as a main character, perhaps the hero, as the book opens with the entire first paragraph being a description of his face. A smile " . . . like the rudimentary sketch of the rising sun." is quite impressive.On the reference to "Laodicean neutrality", this gives additional clues. First, the author is either a Christian or certainly well-acquainted with the Bible. This New Testament reference is from The Revelation to John, in which the Apostle John is issuing a prophesy to all the 12 churches. To the church in Laodicea, he issues a warning from Christ:
"I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. For you say, 'I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.' You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked" Rev 3: 15-17 (NRSV).
What does this say about Hardy's attitude to Gabriel, and I wonder if this is how Hardy might have regarded his own attitude to Christianity? It is certainly a veiled warning, as I read this from a Christian viewpoint. The Apostle continues, "I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent." Rev 3:19. Gabriel's moral stance of "Laodicean neutrality" is perhaps a foreshadowing?
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I found myself chuckling a few times in the opening paragraphs, like when he is thinking more about his dinner than the sermon, and the funny way he manages his watch with "thumps and shakes" when it doesn't work, pulling it out of his waistcoat "like a bucket from a well" to check the time.
What does everyone make of his name? Both Gabriel and Oak seem intentional on Hardy's part.
Jean rightly pointed out the motif of Gabriels' watch. It's interesting that the watch comes from his grandfather. Made me think Gabriel is a young man with one foot in the past, and one on the verge of stepping into his future. The brokenness of the watch made me think Gabriel is out of step with his own time.
In addition to the bird in a cage, that Jean brought to our attention, the girl on the wagon is surrounded by flowers and plants. We've seen Thomas Hardy associate female characters with nature before, like Tess in Tess of the D’Urbervilles. Some of the plants are pleasant, like geraniums, but there was also a cactus, which really surprised me. Does that indicate something about this girl as well?
The last comment I'll make is about Gabriel Oak judging the girl for her vanity. Wasn't he basically spying on her before he harshly judges her? That's not such great behavior either. And we read earlier that he peeks into his neighbors' windows to check the time when his watch isn't working "pressing his face close to the glass". Is he a bit of a peeping tom? Or maybe that's normal, neighborly behavior in 1870's and my modern brain is creating unintended judgement of Farmer Oak.
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"They are associated with love, peace, joy, health, fertility, and spirituality. However, during the Victorian era, geraniums were assigned negative connotations such as envy and deceit!"
Well what can we deduce from that? Interesting ...
I love this beginning. In just a few pages, I get a feel for the landscape and people's attitudes. We're clearly meant to feel very comfortable with Gabriel, and suspicious of the outsider. How can I not have warm feelings for him with that description of his smile? And I think Bridget makes a great point about him spying on the woman, but Hardy still has me cautious of her.What I especially loved was the description of Gabriel's watch--a great motif as you explained, Jean. It tells us he's a bit unusual, maybe he holds onto things because they're meaningful and still have use, even if he has to physically struggle to use them!
Just finished reading the first chapter and I noticed a lot of the same things in the reading as all of you. Because of our earlier reading of Tess of the D'Urbervilles, I paid attention to the descriptions of Oak at church, his watch and the waggon and its contents. I do remember how much Hardy's emphasis on red in the earlier book, so caught the "scarlet glow" of the girl's crimson jacket, as well as the blush that followed her checking out of herself in the mirror,I do like Gabriel Oak and I found it very interesting how both the girl reacts to his paying the toll and Oak's comments about vanity, even though it is true. Depending on just how old she is supposed to be, I could see many young women doing the same.
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Earlier, I'd stated that I wasn't going to join in this read. However, reading your wonderful introductory material, Jean, as well as all the insightful comments above, convinced me to change my mind. (My earlier read was in the late 60s or early 70s, so there's much I've forgotten, including this opening.) I believe a reread will be rewarding, and will let me bring a fresher eye to my review.Since I'm already reading another book, I probably won't start on this one until around the end of this month or the beginning of April. But since once I start a book, I normally read it at my own pace, with no predetermined pausing points (that works best for me in my particular situation), I'm confident that I can catch up with you all before the end of the read! :-)
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Works of Thomas Hardy
Books mentioned in this topic
The Shepherd's Life: A People's History of the Lake District (other topics)The Shepherd's Life: A People's History of the Lake District (other topics)
Far From the Madding Crowd (other topics)
Under the Greenwood Tree (other topics)
The Fiddler of the Reels (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
George Eliot (other topics)Thomas Hardy (other topics)
James Rebanks (other topics)
James Rebanks (other topics)
Helen Paterson Allingham (other topics)
More...
1st Thread: Chapter 1 - 8
film (Julie Christie) 1967
Here are LINKS TO EACH CHAPTER SUMMARY, for ease of location:
Installment 1:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Installment 2:
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8