thomas hardy novel far from the madding crowd

By Todd McCarthy Ap1:00am A light varnish of feminism is the only revisionist note struck in. This novel makes us want to buy a one-way ticket to the English countryside and spend the rest of our days drinking cider in a hay bale. Carey Mulligan headlines Thomas Vinterbergs adaptation of the classic Hardy novel. The novel was listed at number 48 on the BBCs survey The Big Read in 2003. Ruggedly handsome shepherds? Check, check, check. Far from the Madding Crowd is Thomas Hardys fourth novel. It's hard to read about Boldwood's insanity or Fanny Robin's super-tragic end and imagine that Thomas Hardy was ever a writer of comedies, but hey, he was a multi-talented fool.įar from the Madding Crowd is also hecka pastoral. At the end, though, we have a nice marriage between Gabriel Oak and Bathsheba Everdene.įar from the Madding Crowd gives us a great example of the transition that Thomas Hardy was making from comedy to tragedy at this point in his career. Far from the Madding Crowd contains a whole lot of serious stuff like death and insanity and falling from grace, and more than a couple of lives get ruined along the way. Hardy took the title of this novel from Thomas Grays poem Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (1751): Far From the madding crowds ignoble strife Their sober wishes never learnd to stray Along the cool sequesterd vale of life They kept the noiseless tenor of their way. Now, a tragicomedy usually refers to a play, but it can also be used to describe any work of literature that combines tragic elements and comedic elements. If someone asks you what kind of book Far from the Madding Crowd is, it's best to tell them that it's a tragicomedy.

Thomas hardy novel far from the madding crowd