The Madding Crowd Essay Example for Free

The Madding Crowd EssayObsession is prevalent as a theme in farther from the Madding Crowd. Obsession carries the plot and creates action between the contributions. In this essay, I will examine how the characters advance the plot through their obsessive behaviour towards each other. furthermost from the Madding Crowd is by Thomas Hardy and was first published in a series in the Cornhill Magazine in 1873. This can be seen by the large amount of short chapters, often with titles that make the reader wonder what the chapter contains, such as The Following March Bathsheba Boldwood. It can also be seen in the cliff-hangers they often end with, encouraging the reader to buy the next magazine to read it. The title comes from Elegy Written in a Country churchyard a poem by Thomas Gray, a favourite of Hardys poets. The complete line seventy-three reads Far from the madding crowds meanspirited strife, describing how life in towns is full of petty conflicts, whereas life in the coun tryside is more simple and therefore, better.Although the novel does often describe the beauty of the countryside, a crack of England Hardy believed to be disappearing because of the industrial revolution, it may also be ironic, because the emotional turmoil, often caused by obsession, that the main characters go through is certainly non calm. The novel starts with oak tree as he sees an ornamental spring waggon with Bathsheba inside. She unwraps a small swing looking-glass and gazes at herself, without showing any necessity whatsoever for looking. oak tree comments that the greatest of her faults is she is obsessed with her own beauty.This vanity is continued for the majority of the book. An example of this is when Bathsheba has learnt sheep have broken fence and eaten young c honorr. Hardy mentions that she was wearing a quite dashing velvet dress, which was cargonfully put on before a glass. It is this negative characteristic of Bathsheba which will cause her such misfortune later in the novel. Bathshebas obsession with herself drives her to direct a missive to Boldwood. This is because she feels piqued aft(prenominal) Liddy tells he didnt turn his head in church that day, patronage his pew creation exactly opposite Bathshebas.Boldwoods nervous excitability about the fact that someone may want to marry him makes him first obsessed with purpose the writer of the note, and then Bathsheba herself. This is reflected in the sunrise described the day after Boldwood receives the valentine. It symbolizes a strong new feeling in Boldwood of love, which Hardy likens to a rosy-cheeked and flameless fire. The more she tells him she has not fallen in love with him, the more he wants her. His true mental derangement is revealed towards the end of the novel, when an extraordinary collection of packages is found, tagged Bathsheba Boldwood.Boldwoods character shows obsession, in his case with Bathsheba, to be unhealthy and a trait of a crazed person. Bathshebas inf atuation with troy is another of the essence(p) obsession in Far from the Madding Crowd. Her name also hints at her potentiality to be tempted, the Bathsheba in the Bible being tempted to commit adultery by David. She confesses her feelings to Liddy, copulation her she loves troy weight to genuinely distractions and misery and agony. However, Hardy describes Troy as moderately truthful towards men but to women lied like a Cretan. therefore the reader knows the relationship is doomed from the start, being built on untruthfulness and obsession. This is hinted at through the song that Bathsheba sings before Troy comes to Weatherbury On the banks of Allan Water. It tells of a soldiers love of a millers daughter, which is found to be untrue. Like the soldier in the song, Troys love is false too. After marrying Bathsheba, Troy develops an obsession with gambling. Although the one obsession that does not move the plot along, it instead shows the mistake that Bathsheba made by giving in to her obsession to marry him.She calls their unification a mistake and laments that her once independent and spirited self has come to this. The start of the chapter takes place on Yalbury Hill, a steep long mounting. This may denote the uphill struggle the couple were going through at that point. Troys shallow nature is also shown through is pretermit of care for Fanny, the girl who Troy breaks promise with to marry despite impregnating her. He does not want her when she is alive, but is obsessed with her when she is dead.His lack of care is shown when Fanny asks him when shall they be married, and after she is gone, Troy and his fellow soldiers mock her with a low peal of laughter, demonstrating his disregard for Fannys wants. This is shown by Fanny being described as a little spot a mild annoyance to Troy. Troy is shown to be insensitive, Hardy often referring to him as the wall alternatively than Troy when he speaks. The wall is described as being blacker than the sky. Har dy compares him to the wall to show the reader he is a bad, black-hearted man, which Troy admits to, much later in the novel.In comparison, when Troy sees Fannys corpse for the first time, he feels an indefinable union of remorse and reverence and declares she is his very, very wife. His full obsession is shown the next day, when he is told to be almost oblivious of Bathsheba and to not think there was any element of absurdity in spending the whole day tending to Fannys grave. Like Boldwood, his obsession has caused him to become temporally mentally deranged. The consequences of the characters obsessions come to a climax in Chapter 53.Boldwoods and Troys behaviours result in tragic fates, Boldwood having cocked and discharged a gun at Troy, while Boldwood being sentenced to life imprisonment after being shown to not be morally responsible for his actions. Their fortunes are because of their dangerous obsessions with women they cannot have Boldwood with Bathsheba who does not love hi m and Troy with Fanny after she has died. The results of giving into obsessions are reflected in the natural events which occur throughout the novel. An example of this is when Bathshebas flock get into a field of young clover.Here, they are giving into their impulses, before paying the consequences by getting blasted being so bloated their stomachs expand which causes death. This is a mirroring of Bathshebas decision to give in to her obsession and marry Troy, despite Gabriel oaks heeding. Later in the novel, we see the disastrous consequences. Throughout the novel, the only character that remains above these obsessions is Gabriel Oak. Hardy illustrates this through his name Gabriel, an angel, often verbalize to be the spirit of truth, and Oak, a strong and sturdy tree, not often affected by weather around it.After Bathsheba tells Oak she does not love him, he resolves to give his days and nights to Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes states that everything is meaningless, and this belie f that Gabriel takes on is shown in his ability to move on quickly from distressing events. For example, when Bathsheba demands him to leave her farm. In this situation, Oak does not protest but says calmly Very well. It may be argued that Oak is obsessed with Bathsheba because he loves her strongly. Hardy describes Oaks desire of Bathsheba as a beautiful thread that he did not want to break, rather than a chain which was impossible to.However, his ability to control his desires separates him from Boldwoods obsessive behaviour. This is shown when Bathsheba finally gives in to Boldwoods harassing and agrees to marry Boldwood in six years, despite bursting out crying. Here, Boldwood lets his obsessive love of Bathsheba stop her from being happy, whereas Oak would rather Bathsheba was happy without him rather than her being unhappy and with him. Because of this, he is rewarded by having a private, secret, plainest wedding with Bathsheba. Bathshebas character also changes.This is epitom ized at the end of the book, when Bathsheba smiles rather than laughed readily at one of the villagers jokes. This shows she has learnt from her experiences that it is not a good idea to get carried away with your emotions, fuelled by obsession. So to conclude, obsession can be found throughout Far from the Madding Crowd, in the characters, the plot and even the landscape. It is a main cause of the drama in the story by impelling the characters conflicts. Obsession is an essential theme in Far from the Madding Crowd.