Far From the Madding Crowd

 SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

In Far from the Madding Crowd (1967), based on the Thomas Hardy novel, we have one of the themes that Hardy explored in other works, and that is the role of fate. While some see this concept as romantic, Hardy shows how destructive it can be as well as how it upends the notion of free will. “Madding” can mean maddening or frenzied. Since this story takes place in a pastoral area, the word in the title may indicate irony, because the idealistic connotation of the rural area conflicts with the tumultuous happenings in the tale.

The opening shots are of the countryside, and they depict the seaside and unspoiled land. Some of the names in the story reflect the rural area and the personality of the characters. Alan Bates plays Gabriel Oak, which points to a sturdy fellow who has an angelic first name, the one which refers to a heavenly heralder. He raises sheep and we first see him call one of his sheep herding dogs, Boxey, “mad,” which is a foreshadowing. (Sheep may also be a religious reference to the “Lamb of God,” a sacrificial symbol).

Bathsheba Everdene (Julie Christie) lives close to Gabriel. Her name is also a reference to a Biblical person. Bathsheba in the holy text was involved in an adulterous relationship with King David, later married him, gave birth to Solomon and was a powerful person herself. The implication is that she is passionate and strong. Her last name could signify a person who is rooted in nature and is an earth mother character capable of resilience.

Gabriel brings a lamb to Bathsheba’s home as a gift, but his true purpose is to ask to marry her. Bathsheba was staying with her aunt, Mrs. Hurst (Alison Legatt). He pleads his case in the pragmatic way of a working man. She says she does not belong to any man, which indicates her independence. Later she shows her pride by saying he wasn’t good enough for her. She tells him she can’t marry him because she doesn’t love him despite his declaration of love for her.

We get a shot of Gabriel and his sheep from high above which suggests how small his life is compared to the viewpoint of the cosmos. At night, Boxey goes wild and drives all of Gabriel’s sheep out of their pen and over a cliff to their deaths. There is no explanation for the dog’s irrational behavior. The act ties in with Hardy’s view of unfathomable fate where anything can happen, and people are powerless to stop what is beyond their control. Garbriel shoots his dog who represents the whims of predetermination. However, Gabriel finds solace when he thanks God that he’s “not married.” He promised Bathsheba that he would be a man of means, and now he can’t deliver on that claim.

Gabriel walks past a group of soldiers and this image hints at how the universe throws people together even though they don’t realize the connection at the time. Sergeant Frank Troy (Terence Stamp) encounters Fanny (Prunella Ransome), his lover, on the road with his fellow soldiers. He promised to marry her and says she’ll come when he calls for her. His military position and attitude present him as a man who wants to be in control, which is difficult to do from Hardy’s perspective.

Gabriel goes to the town to look for employment as a bailiff, a person who manages large farms. He meets William Boldwood (Peter Finch), another character with a meaningful name implying strength and a connection to the land. He owns a large property and says he’s looking for a shepherd instead. When Gabriel meets another man Gabriel says he is a shepherd. The man says he wants a bailiff. Poor Gabriel can’t seem to win so far. Others view him as a failure because he owned his own farm and now must work for someone else.

Gabriel gets a ride in a wagon with a couple of men, one of whom is named Poorgrass (John Barrett). We have another name of significance, here suggesting that in the farmland, he is low on the social ladder. The conversation reveals that Bathsheba inherited a property from her uncle. The men comment on Bathsheba’s vanity and the foolishness of leaving a farm to a female. Is she self-absorbed, or are men not capable of accepting a willful woman in charge?

Gabriel jumps off the wagon when he hears people in distress. There is a fire (another force that warps human plans) and Gabriel helps them fight the blaze. He saves the hay ricks, showing he defies life’s obstacles. It turns out to be Bathsheba’s farm, and she hires him. Has fate driven him off his own land so that he can reunite with Bathsheba?

Bathsheba shows how to take command when she fires the bailiff for stealing barley. Like Gabriel, she tries to meet the challenges life throws at her. She decides to take on the job of bailiff to ensure honesty in handling the farm’s affairs. Men try to take advantage of her because of her gender and complain that she isn’t assuming the traditional role of the submissive female.

She has just taken over control of the farm and reviews those men who worked the land for her uncle. One is named Cain, who they call Cainy (Freddie Jones), because his mother was confused as to whether the brother killer in the Bible was Cain or Abel. It’s another small example of the whims of the universe as he is a person judged on his name just because of a misunderstanding. To add to the cruelty attributed to existence is Andrew Randle (Andrew Robertson) who stutters and is thought to be cursed. Other names are Temperance (Harriet Harper) and Soberness (Denise Coffey), assumed by Bathsheba to be women since the film implies these are attributes that men do not adhere to. One of the workers says those two females are “yielding” women, implying they are promiscuous. Bathsheba has feminist attributes and dismisses that slander and the man who uttered it. She concludes her staff interviews by saying, “Don’t anyone suppose because I’m a woman, I don’t know the difference between bad goings-on and good. I’ll be up before you’re awake, I shall be afield before you’re up, and I shall have breakfasted before you’re afield. In short, I shall astonish you.” Quite a boast, bordering on hubris, which the Greeks condemned for being presumptuous as a mere mortal.

Boldwood visits Bathsheba’s farm. He is rather abrupt, lacking social attributes, banging on her door without even getting off his horse, and is curt in his speech. He tells a servant he is there to offer aid to the new owner of the farm. Is he being courteous or assuming a woman needs help? Bathsheba is intrigues by the man. Liddy (Fiona Walker) says he “is married to his farm.” Temperance says, “There’s no woman can touch him, miss. ‘Tis said he has no passionate parts.” Liddy says Boldwood was courted by “sixes and sevens,” which means in a confusing way. (So much for the youth acting like saying 6 - 7 is a modern notion. I remember people using it when I was young). They say many women have tried to win his affections but failed. Perhaps Bathsheba sees the man as a challenge. She finds a Valentine’s Day card at the farm and sends it to Boldwood.

It turns out that Fanny works at the Everdene farm, which shows how the universe intertwines destinies. Troy and Fanny are to be married but when the day arrives, Fanny mistakenly shows up at the wrong church. Fanny learns of her mistake but is too late. Troy is enraged for being made a “fool” of, which shows he is prideful, too. The whims of fate again torture individuals.

Bathsheba comments to Gabriel that the sheep herd is doing well. He says they have been lucky, an ironic statement given the theme of the story. She corrects him by saying, “I’ve been lucky.” Her words show her ego and remind Gabriel that she is in charge. It is a selfish statement which does not allow for Gabriel’s hard work and points to how she does not wish to share her luck.

After Bathsheba impresses Boldwood at the marketplace by avoiding a swindle by opportunistic businessmen, we later get a glimpse of Boldwood’s sterile existence. He eats in his home alone, except for his dogs. He stares at the clocks over his fireplace as they tick away his emotionally empty life. He throws the valentine into the fireplace fire. But passion has gripped him now. He visits Bathsheba and proposes marriage. However, his idea of marriage is old-fashioned as he says he will take care of everything when they merge the farms. She is sorry for her carelessness in sending the card and tells him she doesn’t love him. He is obsessed with her now. Here a simple whimsical act wreaks havoc on another person.

Bathsheba confronts a jealous Gabriel about her going off with Boldwood. The two verbally spar as she reminds him of his place below hers. He criticizes her for playing with Boldwood’s affections to satisfy her own “vanity.” She fires him, the penalty for his accurate honesty.

Then the sheep become ill. Bathsheba summons Gabriel who says he will not be ordered to do a favor. Bathsheba reluctantly sends a message asking him not to abandon her. He arrives and releases toxic gas from each sheep, showing his worth. She is grateful now and asks if he will stay. After being treated decently now, Gabreil remains on the farm.

At an outside feast for the farm workers Poorgrass sings the song “Seeds of Love.” Its lyrics talk of being unlucky in love and being beaten down, but then experiencing rebirth, like seeds growing into flowers. The song shows the need for resilience in a challenging world. The words could apply to the lives of Bathsheba and Gabriel. Boldwood shows up at the gathering. Bathsheba asks Gabriel to relinquish his seat at the table so that Boldwood can sit down. The action could suggest that Boldwood is displacing Gabriel for Bathsheba’s attention. In private she tells Boldwood that she will give him an answer by harvest time about his marriage proposal. Gabriel warned her about toying with the man’s feelings, but she is still keeping him hanging on.

Bathsheba encounters Troy at night in the fields. Her skirt gets caught on his boot spur, a suggestion of an animal getting caught in a trap. It is another accident involuntarily drawing people into each other’s lives. He is flirtatious and praises her beauty. Afterwards she stares into a mirror and smiles, enjoying seeing her image and the compliments she received. It is a narcissistic image.

We switch to an interesting scene that contains a beehive. It produces sweet honey, but the sting of the bees must be avoided. It could be a metaphor for the joys and torments of life. Bathsheba is tending to the hive when Troy appears. He says that beneath Bathsheba’s beauty there can be pain, which is true in this story. He, like Gabriel and Boldwood, declares his love for her immediately. She dismisses the notion of love at first sight in a sort of defiance of how emotion can best reason.

Living up to her last name, Everdene, Bathsheba runs in the countryside as if she belongs to nature. Troy shows up and demonstrates how a sword is used. Interestingly, he labels the moves after farming harvesting methods, meshing his background to hers. The sword is a longstanding phallic symbol. He wants to use her as a model for the enemy. She seems frightened and he says if she is afraid, he can’t “perform,” which has a sexual connotation. She is aroused by his swordsmanship which is exciting in its technique and its danger. He concludes his exhibition by kissing her and she submits willingly.

The tables are turned now as it is Bathsheba who yearns for the man. At first, she’s at 6’s and 7’s about Troy, saying to the female servants she hates him but doesn’t want to hear anything negative about him. She tells Liddy that she has fallen for Troy and doesn’t want to believe the negative stories about him. His reputation with the ladies precedes him. He’s the attractive bad boy who creates excitement.

He is absent for a few days which makes her want him more. She finds him on the beach where a man is selling provocative paintings of exotic nudes and violent rituals. The veneer of respectability starts to fall away when passion stirs. As they talk, we only hear the roar of the ocean which implies crashing primal urges in her. We don’t need words since she shows animated pleading with him along with crying. He is in charge and he exhibits distant amusement at the conquering effect the soldier, in his uniform, has on her. Before them appear older men and a woman in formal attire, their restrained appearance contrasting with the younger passionate couple.

Boldwood feels tortured as Bathsheba rides her wagon back and forth before his farm as she was supposed to inform him of her decision about his marriage proposal. Boldwood confronts Troy with a deal. He wants the soldier to marry Fanny and Boldwood will enrich him. Troy is sadistic as he tells Boldwood to watch how he kisses Bathsheba so he can learn about women. Boldwood’s only unselfish concern is that Bathsheba is happy and is willing to make the same deal if Troy will marry her. Troy adds a final blow by announcing he and she are already married.

Not only Boldwood suffers from watching these two being married. Gabriel must also endure her joined to a disreputable person. Troy parties irresponsibly as he spreads his carelessness by getting the other male workers drunk. It falls to the sturdy Gabriel Oak with the help of the strong Bathsheba to save the farm’s haystacks from a destructive storm. Nature is always a contrary force that can wreck the plans of people.

Boldwood says to Gabriel after the storm that damage to his own farm was due to being distracted by his preoccupation with Bathsheba. He says he will “not give up” his will to continue working despite how much Bathsheba has hurt him. He seems to be trying to convince himself of his endurance and to recapture his pride.

The same flamboyance that made Troy seem attractive carries with it a self-indulgence that is disreputable as he gambles away Bathsheba’s money. Troy finds a pregnant Fanny hiding in the farm stable. He still has feelings for her and promises to help her. When he goes inside the house there is a shot from Troy’s point of view, and he sees the elaborate clock device he bought for Bathsheba. There is also another clock chiming. The references to clocks in the film are a reminder of life passing by inexorably. There is no turning the back the clock to change the past and there is no slowing it down to avoid future events that may be unfortunate.

Troy wants money from Bathsheba to help Fanny, but he says it’s for gambling. Bathsheba is hurting from the disappointment in their marriage. He says romance ends when marriage occurs. Her idealism leads to disenchantment, but she still yearns for the excitement she felt initially.

Fanny dies in childbirth, but there is no mention of the death of her baby. As a former worker on the farm, Bathsheba has the coffin stay temporarily at the house. She begins to suspect the relationship between Fanny and Troy. She opens the coffin and sees the dead infant. She knows now that Troy was intimately involved with Fanny. Troy shows up and, despite everything. Bathsheba believes that through her own will she can get Troy to forsake feelings for Fanny. But the film shows that personal wishes are often stunted by the universe’s plans. Troy is devastated by the loss of Fanny and his child. He is harsh when he tells Bathsheba that Fanny means more to him dead than Bathsheba ever did or does now.

Those crushing words send Bathsheba into retreat to the woods for sanctuary, where her last name implies is her true home. She hears a child reciting a prayer that implores God to save all from works of “darkness.” It is the plight of humans to look for salvation when all seems lost. Troy prepares a lovely gravesite for Fanny only to have it washed away by a storm. The water pours out of the mouth of a demon gargoyle, which implies that the young boy’s prayer may be in vain.

Troy strips off his clothes near the beach and dives into the sea. It appears he has committed suicide by drowning, but it is a deception so that he can escape the confines of his marriage. When Bathsheba hears of the drowning she faints at the marketplace. Boldwood carries her and the image is like the Pieta, as if Boldwood is a parental person, not a possible mate.

Throughout Bathsheba’s grief, Gabriel continues to be the sturdy support his last name of Oak implies. A year passes and Boldwood’s infatuation with Bathsheba continues, pressing her for a promise that in six years when Troy is presumed dead, she will marry him. He continues to try to forge his own destiny despite the odds against him. She says for him to wait until Christmas before she can make the promise. It is what she did before, keeping him hanging on, and he doesn’t wish to learn from his past disappointments.

There is a faire with an image of a young woman balancing herself on a wire. It’s another image of trying to navigate the precariousness of existence. Troy is there in disguise as a comic performer, pretending to be a thief, which in reality he was, stealing Bathsheba’s money and her heart. Boldwood is there with Bathsheba, who seems to recognize Troy’s swordsmanship for a moment. Troy sees his wife and seems to be interested in her again.

At a fancy Christmas party that Boldwood throws for Bathsheba, Gabriel and Bathsheba talk about the promise made earlier to Boldwood. Gabriel tells Bathsheba that marrying someone she doesn’t love is wrong. She now sees marriage as old-fashioned, something her experience has tarnished.

On this night when Bathsheba agrees to marry Boldwood in six years, when he should be at his happiest, when he believes he has control over his destiny, Troy appears demanding the return of his wife. As he drags her away Boldwood shoots and kills Troy in defiance of his fate. Bathsheba also has her hopes dashed as she still loves the man who, despite his faults, still rouses her passion.

Boldwood is in prison and waits for the gallows to end his life. After eight months have passed, Gabriel tells Bathsheba he is leaving for America. He feels that now, when Bathsheba is most “helpless,” he must leave or he will never have freedom from her unrequited hold on him. She later goes to him and urges him to stay. He says he will stay only if when each looks up, they will see the other for the rest of their lives. They get married and seem happy. Perhaps by standing by patiently Gabriel has been able to have the destiny he wanted. However, the ending is not promising. The camera focuses on the elaborate clock that Troy gave to Bathsheba, and there is the figure of a soldier that is part of the instrument. The device suggests that Troy’s memory could spell trouble for the couple as time goes by.