The Theme Of True Love In Thomas Hardy's Far From The Madding Crowd

In his Far From the Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy depicts the theme of true love. Whether one believes that love is blind, love has no boundaries, or that love is patient and kind, one fact remains consistent: love is like falling asleep—it happens slowly, then all at once. In Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd, Bathsheba Everdene experiences what true love means through the quest of courting three suitors during the course of the novel. She depicts what it is like to want to live on her own terms in a society where a woman’s freedom is limited by custom and expectation. As she tries to figure out what she wants to do and who she wants to be, the world keeps pushing her to answer a different question: Which man will she marry? Initially, …show more content…
Mr. Boldwood, Bathsheba’s second suitor, is a middle-aged farmer who is well known by the women in town as the bachelor that no one could get. The initial attraction for Bathsheba is the fact that he ignores her—passing by her without so much as a greeting—which piques her interest. Liddy, Bathsheba’s maidservant, describes Farmer Boldwood as being “…such a hopeless man for a woman! He 's been courted by sixes and sevens -- all the girls, gentle and simple, for miles round, have tried him” (82). A beautiful young woman, Bathsheba Everdene is used to getting a lot of attention and is disconcerted when she is overlooked. Bathsheba and her maid, Liddy, develop the idea to send an anonymous valentine to Farmer Boldwood, inscribed with the words “marry me.” However, Bathsheba only means it as a joke. He is clueless about who the sender is, but after enquiring about the sender with Gabriel Oak, begins to notice Bathsheba’s outer beauty. He asks a neighbor his opinion of her looks, and is then overcome by jealousy when he sees her speaking to another farmer. Bathsheba and Farmer Boldwood develop two opposite perspectives from the valentine card. He doesn’t realize the thoughtlessness with which the valentine was written and she fails to see the potentially tragic results her thoughtless act could bring. At a village-wide sheep-washing, Boldwood approaches Bathsheba, who tries to avoid him. He follows her off toward the river, and when they are alone, he declares his feelings for her, professing, “…nobody knows – God only knows – how much you are to me”, but she declines to admit any real interest in him and thus deeply regrets her reckless act (112). Feeling sympathy for him, she agrees to give him an answer about marriage, but only if he gives her time to consider. Bathsheba agrees to give him her decision whether or not to marry him