‘Every writer has a strong point about them; some are good at dialogues, some at setting, some at descriptive writing, and so on’, told our coordinator Ms. Noor at an ongoing online workshop on Creative Writing. While her intent of emphasizing on this point was to push us to look for our ‘strong’ point as writers, having not written anything nor having a will to write something serious anytime soon, I rather directed my observation towards the classical novel I was reading.
Now the contemporary novels do appeal strongly to our desire for novel and trending things, but the classics, as their names suggest, have something far valuable and guaranteed to offer us mainly because these books have stood ‘the test of time’. Thanks to English Literature syllabus of the competitive exams that I am preparing for, which introduced me to many writers I hadn’t heard of or had heard of but wasn’t being able to get to, that I came across Hardy’s 19th century novel – a novel with a rural setting, one which the readers rarely come across these days.
‘Far from the Madding Crowd’ is about two things: the tragicomedy of love and a rural world. It starts with Gabriel Oak, a well-skilled farmer who also owns sheep, and a beautiful lady, Bathsheba, who comes in his village to stay with her aunt and uncle. Oak, then, becomes the first of three men to fall badly in love with Bathsheba’s irresistible and captivating beauty. After a set of unfortunate events which robs Oak from his farm and sends him to look for work, Bathsheba on the other hands comes out a wealthy owner of a farm herself, where then Oak finds himself working. In this new village, we come across the other two obsessed lovers of Bathsheba, both of whom defenseless and lost in her looks: Mr. Boldwood, a farm-owning, wealthy man in his early forties; and Mr. Troy, a retired army-man with a cunning ability to flirt and bluff, thereby already having a girl-lover of his own.
Although not your conventional ‘love-triangle’, Hardy’s novel plays on a widely appealing plot where the fates of multiple men rest at the hands of one beautiful lady – a cooking recipe for a dish of tragedy. The drama in this novel is intense despite being spread out thin across the 453 pages. With each new lover, our lady Bathsheba falls deeper in the dilemma of choice: to love where the heart sways, which is usually towards the outwardly charming, or accept a more sober and genuine love, good enough for a lifetime.
Hardy’s slow-paced progress of the story really builds an anticipation which helps create a more involved relationship, both on the page between the characters, and off the page with the reader. As mentioned before, not only does this novel take place in rural setting, it also comes alive on the pages through Hardy’s patient, detailed, and capturing descriptions of the country-side. It is almost a conscious effort on Hardy’s part to save the dwindling the life of the country amidst the ‘brave new world’ of industrial revolution, rapidly spreading across the world.
To lay out my earlier observations, Hardy’s strength lies in describing
the setting to the point bringing them to life, but also in intensely moving and
at times shaking dialogues – dialogues full of burning passion; now in
heartbreak, now in love. An enjoyable read with the promise of a memorable
experience.
Ratings: 4/5 **** November 9, 2021_