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Hi, everyone!

My name is Rose, I am 29 year-old, brazilian.
I am really happy to help with this discussion. It's my first time reading Hardy but I'm loving it so far. :)

In this topic we can post everything we find to help us understand more about the book.

I'll start by posting a little from Penguin notes, avoiding spoilers.

"Background and themes
Country life: As the title suggests, Far from the Madding Crowd (‘Madding� means ‘acting madly� Chamber’s Dictionary) is set in the countryside in a county called Wessex, which was Hardy’s fictional name for Dorset, the county in which he had been born and raised. Nearly all of his novels are set against a rural background, as he had a profound love of country life, which is demonstrated in his magnificent descriptions of nature and his convincing descriptions of country people.

Resisting industrialism: During the author’s lifetime, England was transformed from an agricultural society into an industrial one. Many of Hardy’s novels are concerned with describing a way of life in the countryside that was quickly vanishing. By writing about the country life, he was able to express the love he felt towards it, while preserving it for future generations.

Men and women: Hardy’s novels often deal with men and women � their relationships and the barriers that come between them. In a number of his novels, these barriers are a result of class and money. For example, in Far from the Madding Crowd, (view spoiler)[Bathsheba is rather rich and therefore uninterested in Gabriel Oak, who is a mere shepherd. However, Gabriel wins Bathsheba’s affections in the end because he manages to demonstrate the solid worth of his character. It is interesting to note that he has also risen in status to become a farm manager. (hide spoiler)]

Realistic characters: Hardy’s characters are psychologically convincing. Basic character types recur in his novels, such as the capricious woman(view spoiler)[, represented by Bathsheba in Far from the Madding Crowd. Bathsheba is beautiful and rather superficial. Becoming slightly upset by Farmer Boldwood’s lack of interest in her, she sends him a teasing valentine card, and this flirtatious act eventually results in tragedy. Bathsheba then falls in love with the handsome and dashing Sergeant Troy, who is far more irresponsible than even she is. By the end of the story, Bathsheba has learnt that love can blind a person to defects of character, and that what really counts is honesty, steadiness and integrity (hide spoiler)].

Exploring women’s defects and strengths: Hardy was accused of being a woman-hater because he often showed his female characters in a negative light, but the fact of the matter is that he was simply interested in exploring the defects and strengths of a woman’s character. (view spoiler)[This is true in the case of Bathsheba, who is portrayed negatively as arrogant and superficial, and positively as strong-willed and independent. (hide spoiler)]"

So, feel free to post anything you find interesting about the book or the author.

Hi Rose

Thanks for the information. Far From the Madding Crowd sounds like a great novel and certainly one that will counterbalance the setting and world of the industrial north that we are presently reading about in North and South.

I will be on holiday for the first couple of weeks but I have my copy of the book and I look forward to joining the discussion when I get back home.

I can't remember if I've read this one or not, but looking forward to it anyways. I devoured Hardy in my 20s, and it will be interesting to see how he's like when revisited.

When you are ready for it, the recent movie for this one is nice, too.

I find Hardy always tough and insightful when exploring women and male/female relationships. Am not always certain he is accurate, but he is observant and astute. Also, he always forces this reader to think about how she 'feels' regarding what he has said. As a male writer, I suspect he is also asking one to consider what one 'thinks.'

I'll be rereading with you all. I remember really liking the characters in this and finding their choices, both for good and ill, to be very human.

Renee wrote: "I'll be rereading with you all. I remember really liking the characters in this and finding their choices, both for good and ill, to be very human."

Well put. Thank you, Renee.

I won't be able to join in for this one which saddens me. This was the first Hardy I ever read. It has a soft spot in my heart.

Rose wrote: "feel free to post anything you find interesting about the book or the author."

the title comes from one of my favorite poems -- Grey's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. The poem celebrates rural folk who live far from the seats of power, and live simple and honest lives. I think Hardy chose the title not just for that single phrase, but because the whole poem reflects the same values and people he is writing about. Indeed, it may not be too fanciful to suggest that the novel is a fictional development of the poem's central philosophy.

The stanza from which the title comes is:

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.

But to get the sense of what Gray was saying, and I think what Hardy is reflecting, read the whole poem at

One of my all-time favourite poems.

I read it for a course and it wasn't my favourite, although I did enjoy my paper analysing text with original illustrations. Hmmm on the other hand, the discussions here might change that... Ok, let's say I'll try :0)

If anybody is tempted to watch the film with Carey Mulligan and Matthias Schoenaerts, be aware that it deviates very significantly from the book. Major scenes, including the very important (I believe) opening event are totally missing. The movie Oak has neither the smile nor the watch which are prominent in Hardy's opening description of him.

Well, I finished the film, though I'm not sure why I stuck with it -- it was more like watching a slow motion motor vehicle crash -- it's so awful you can't tear your eyes away.

Anyhow, it has as much resemblance to the book as red velvet cake does to wedding cake. They're both cakes, both start with flour and sugar, but they're very different things. Perhaps a third of the film was somewhat true to the book, but the rest of it bore at best a distant passing resemblance to what Hardy wrote. And the final, quite long, climactic scene of the film is total invention. It doesn't even have a passing resemblance to anything in the book other than the main characters and some nice countryside. Other than that, it could have been a scene from Pride and Prejudice or North and South. Hardy never wrote a scene even remotely similar to it in any of his books that I've read, and I've read almost all of them.

The movie wasn't even well acted.

So, you ask, why did I keep watching it? Good question. Best answer I have is temporary insanity.

But now I get to clean it out of my mind by re-reading the book, not my favorite Hardy, but not far down the list, either.

Deborah wrote: "I won't be able to join in for this one which saddens me. This was the first Hardy I ever read. It has a soft spot in my heart."

If you have any time at all and specific memories or recollections that have stayed with you about the book, I hope you can honor us with them, Deborah. I think what we remember long after reading a book can be interesting to consider.

Lily wrote: "If you have any time at all and specific memories or recollections that have stayed with you about the book, I hope you can honor us with them, Deborah. I think what we remember long after reading a book can be interesting to consider. ."

I second that. Your thoughts, Deborah, even from a previous reading, will be of interest and value.

What about the British TV production of 2012 with Paloma Baeza, is it any good?

Lily and Everyman I'm flattered that you think I can remember something from 30 years ago which is when I read it. :)

Deborah wrote: "Lily and Everyman I'm flattered that you think I can remember something from 30 years ago which is when I read it. :)"

If you can remember having read it, I'll bet you can. ;o

mad·ding adjective \ˈma-diŋ\

1 : acting as if mad : frenzied, raving � usually used in the phrase madding crowd to denote especially the crowded world of human activity and strife
[Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife, / their sober wishes never learned to stray; / Along the cool sequestered vale of life / They kept the noiseless tenor of their way. � Thomas Gray, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,� 1750]
2 : inciting to madness : maddening [her courage and loyalty balanced madding defects � Anne Green]

Origin of MADDING

From present participle of 2 mad
First Known Use: 1579 (sense 1)

“Madding.� Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. 2016.. Web. 10 May. 2016.

Don't know that there is any new information in the above from what has already been discussed here, but I was curious as to what a dictionary would say.

Lily wrote: "mad·ding adjective \ˈma-diŋ\

1 : acting as if mad : frenzied, raving � usually used in the phrase madding crowd to denote especially the crowded world of human activity and strife
[Far from the ma..."

I take it that the madding crowd is that of London, Birmingham, or other big cities, which indeed Hardy country is far from, geographically, socially, and psychologically.

Everyman wrote: "I take it that the madding crowd is that of London, Birmingham, or other big cities, which indeed Hardy country is far from, geographically, socially, and psychologically...."

That's the sense I got from Thomas Gray's poem. The definition look-up was sort of a self-check.