Far From The Madding Crowd centers around the beautiful Bathsheba Everdene, and the three who love her and try to win her over. Gabriel Oak, Mr. Boldwood, and Sergeant Francis Troy find themselves intertwined in their quest to win Bathsheba. Bathsheba is headstrong, feminine, and beautiful.
She inherits her uncle’s farm and tries to run it herself. As all of them were farmers, they didn’t think that she could do it. Although she had a few things go wrong like fires she overall handles her farm very well and became a good farmer. But, her love life was something else. She had three men after her at the same time. The first suitor she met was Gabriel Oak.
Farmer Oak was dependable and caring and wise. Without him, Bathsheba couldn’t have taken care of the farm. Oak did have his own sheep, but they were killed in a freak accident when they ran off a cliff. Oak is “one with nature.” He knew just by looking at his she’s tails that it was going to rain.
He would do anything for Bathsheba (and he did), even though she denied his first attempt at marriage. In the end, though, Bathsheba did marry Oak. Troy first met Bathsheba as they were walking through the woods. Bathsheba became tangled in the brambles with Troy. He made a few comments to her about how lovely she was and how he would love to stay tangled up with her.
Instantly, Bathsheba was in love. Little did she know that Troy was deeply in love with a girl named Fanny Robbins, who was a maid of Bathsheba’s. Troy ended up marrying Bathsheba, but it was a bad marriage and didn’t last for long. Bathsheba was in love with Troy’s image and he loved her for her money and appearance. The final straw for their marriage was when Fanny died.
Troy lost his true love, an unborn child, and in the end, his own life. Ironically, his death was at the hands of Bathsheba’s suitor Boldwood.
Boldwood was introduced to Bathsheba when she sent him a valentine. Soon, his pleasure turned to obsession for Bathsheba. She constantly denied his advances, but he wouldn’t give up. Boldwood eventually found himself on the brink of insanity. When Troy returned, after allowing everyone to believe that he had drowned, Boldwood became enraged when he tried to take Bathsheba away.
After all, it was his Christmas party and Bathsheba promised him an answer on his hundredth marriage proposal. Seeing Troy pulling on Bathsheba’s arm caused Boldwood to shoot Troy. He turned himself into the authorities where a pardon allowed him to live the rest of his life in prison.
In the end, Bathsheba happily married Oak, although I think that it was more of friendship than love. Troy was united with his love in death and Boldwood went from a successful farmer to an old murderer.
