Thomas Hardy born 1840 and died 1928 and he lived through the industrial revolution; he lived a poor child hood, as his father was a stonemason his whole life was centred around the countryside, as were his novels. Hardy started his carrier not doing novels but doing poems. The novel Far from the madding crowds main theme is the way that Bathsheba Everdene copes with her 3 suitors. Gabriel Oak – The novel’s hero, Gabriel Oak is a farmer, shepherd, and bailiff, marked by his humble and honest ways, his exceptional skill with animals and farming, and an unparalleled loyalty.

He is Bathsheba’s first suitor, later the bailiff on her farm, and finally her husband at the very end of the novel. Gabriel is characterised by an incredible ability to read the natural world and control it without fighting against it. He occupies the position of quiet observer throughout most of the book, yet he knows just when to step in to save Bathsheba and others from catastrophe. William Boldwood – Bathsheba’s second suitor and the owner of a nearby farm, Boldwood, as his name suggests, is a somewhat wooden, reserved man.

He seems unable to fall in love until Bathsheba sends him a valentine on a whim, and suddenly he develops feelings for her. Once he is convinced he loves her, he refuses to give up his pursuit of her, and he is no longer rational. Ultimately, he becomes crazy with obsession, shoots Troy at his Christmas party, and is condemned to death. His sentence is changed to life imprisonment at the last minute. Sergeant Francis (Frank) Troy – The novel’s antagonist, Troy is a less responsible male equivalent of Bathsheba.

He is handsome, vain, young, and irresponsible, though he is capable of love. Early in the novel he is involved with Fanny robin and gets her pregnant. At first, he plans to marry her, but when they miscommunicate about which church to meet at, he angrily refuses to marry her, and she is ruined. He forgets her and marries the rich, beautiful Bathsheba. Yet when Fanny dies of poverty and exhaustion later in the novel with his child in her arms, he cannot forgive himself.

This novel was based around the rural area of Dorset and has a running theme of nature and its power and how man corrupts that by machines and big cities. Oaks proposal to Bathsheba chapter 4, As Gabriel Oak proposes marriage to miss Everdene he offers her such items as a piano, and a cucumber Garden, this was a sine of wealth and entering the middle class, and even a nice little farm somewhere, and even a lamb ‘for fun’ but more importantly trust reliability he even says “that when ever she looks up there he will be and when ever he looks up there she will be” that shows a suffocating love.

At that time Bathsheba is particularly interested in being tied down and controlled (this is ironic as later on in the novel Troy does just that) as she has a rebellious nature. Bathsheba refuses him for just that point, she’s childish and wants every thing her way she runs out to him just so he does not think badly of her! Oak wants constantly and a calm nature to settle down with. Hardy shows these to differences by putting obstacles in the way of them like the holly bush that’s in the middle.

In the begging of the novel Bathsheba is portrayed as a bird trapped in a cage and there is a old saying that a robin gets its heart punched on the holly bush and that is why it has a red body well as the dissuasion heats the red spots gets bigger as Bathsheba “she said, almost angrily, if not quite, an enlarging red spot rising in each cheek. ” maybe there is a connection that if Bathsheba goes to Oak she will get her heart punctured.

THE STORM chapter 37, However, during the storm in chapter 37, we see Gabriel and Bathsheba working together to hold together the hay bails so the wind would not blow it away their relationship strengthens by this because they are trying to compete the same goal it’s the first time they have the same objective also Bathsheba releases that Troy is inside getting men drunk while she is out in the danger. In fact there is so much danger that she falls almost to her untimely death and it was Gabriel who saves her not Troy in fact Troy it unknowingly hurts her this is a recurring thing for Troy.