Far From the Madding Crowd

Abstract

Far From the Madding Crowd is a serious work, though not exactly a tragedy. The movement of life-affirmation through philosophical resignation is represented here in Gabriel Oak, the hero. He is a picture of rusticity and rugged candour who appears, at first, comical like the characters of the first group. But his greatness blossoms under the impact of adversity as he strides from the state of inertia prior to his awakening into the human predicament, to the serenity surpassing the strain of revolt. He is described as ‘an athletic young fellow of somewhat superior appearance to the rest’.¹ But pride, even awareness of his superiority, is foreign to his nature. He has no specific expectations from life, and he does not regard himself as the centre and concern of his existence. ‘And from a quiet modesty that would have become a vestal, which seemed continually to impress upon him that he had no great claim on the world’s room, Oak walked unassumingly, and with a faintly perceptible bend, yet distinct from a bowing of the shoulders.’²