Far from the Madding Crowd (SparkNotes Literature Guide)
By SparkNotes
()
About this ebook
Making the reading experience fun!
Created by Harvard students for students everywhere, SparkNotes is a new breed of study guide: smarter, better, faster. Geared to what today's students need to know, SparkNotes provides: chapter-by-chapter analysis
explanations of key themes, motifs, and symbols
a review quiz and essay topics
Lively and accessible, these guides are perfect for late-night studying and writing papers.
Read more from Spark Notes
King Lear: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As You Like It (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5No Fear Shakespeare Audiobook: Julius Caesar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Much Ado About Nothing (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Tempest (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Macbeth: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Edition Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Bird by Bird (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Romeo and Juliet: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5No Fear Shakespeare Audiobook: Romeo & Juliet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Richard III (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Merchant of Venice: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5100 Years of Solitude (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Autobiography of Malcom X (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Measure for Measure (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Outsiders (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Winter's Tale (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Atlas Shrugged SparkNotes Literature Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTempest: No Fear Shakespeare Deluxe Student Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Merchant of Venice (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Two Gentlemen of Verona (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHenry V (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Romeo and Juliet SparkNotes Literature Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsComedy of Errors (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Raisin in the Sun (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOthello (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5King Lear (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Romeo and Juliet (No Fear Shakespeare Graphic Novels) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDune (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings1984 SparkNotes Literature Guide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Richard II (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Far from the Madding Crowd (SparkNotes Literature Guide)
Related ebooks
A Study Guide for Thomas Hardy's "Far from the Madding Crowd" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMayor of Casterbridge (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Study Guide for Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Far From the Madding Crowd Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Study Guide for Henry James's "The Portrait of a Lady" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTess of the d'Urbervilles (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSailing To Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Delphi Collected Works of Sabine Baring-Gould (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChapter & Verse - Thomas Hardy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSuburbia: A Far from Ordinary Place Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummary and Analysis of “the Mayor of Casterbridge” Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Study Guide for Thomas Hardy's "Mayor of Casterbridge" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Head of the House of Coombe (Annotated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Portrait of a Lady (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ordeal of Richard Feverel — Complete Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ingoldsby Legends; or, Mirth and Marvels Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Study Guide (New Edition) for "Far from the Madding Crowd" (lit-to-film)" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Return of the Native (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStudy Guide to Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Woods in Winter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Watcher & Other Weird Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Study Guide for William Makepeace Thackeray's "Vanity Fair" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJourney To Happiness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Watcher Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJude The Obscure(Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFollow Your Heart Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seasons of Bliss (Saskatchewan Saga Book #4) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWolfshead and Other Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKidnapped by the Highland Rogue: A Thrilling Adventure of Highland Passion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Book Notes For You
Summary of The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Untamed by Glennon Doyle: Conversation Starters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary of 12 Rules For Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know by Adam Grant: Conversation Starters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5David D. Burns’ Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy | Summary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love by John Gottman: Conversation Starters Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Workbook for Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O'Neill: Conversation Starters Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab: Conversation Starters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (A Hunger Games Novel) by Suzanne Collins: Conversation Starters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Midnight Library: A Novel by Matt Haig: Conversation Starters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary: “Greenlights" by Matthew McConaughey - Discussion Prompts Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5American Dirt (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel by Jeanine Cummins: Conversation Starters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Summary of Ichiro Kishimi's and Fumitake Koga's book: The Courage to Be Disliked: Summary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5No Fear Shakespeare Audiobook: Romeo & Juliet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success by Darren Hardy: Conversation Starters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow A Novel by Gabrielle Zevin Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5SUMMARY Of The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in Healthy Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson: Conversation Starters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Far from the Madding Crowd (SparkNotes Literature Guide)
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Far from the Madding Crowd (SparkNotes Literature Guide) - SparkNotes
Far from the Madding Crowd
Thomas Hardy
© 2003, 2007 by Spark Publishing
This Spark Publishing edition 2014 by SparkNotes LLC, an Affiliate of Barnes & Noble
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (including electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.
Sparknotes is a registered trademark of SparkNotes LLC
Spark Publishing
A Division of Barnes & Noble
120 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
www.sparknotes.com /
ISBN-13: 978-1-4114-7508-3
Please submit changes or report errors to www.sparknotes.com/.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Context
Summary
Characters
Chapters 1 to 4
Chapters 5 to 8
Chapters 9 to 15
Chapters 16 to 23
Chapters 24 to 30
Chapters 31 to 34
Chapters 35 to 38
Chapters 39 to 42
Chapters 43 to 48
Chapters 49 to 51
Chapters 52 to 57
Overall Analysis
Study Questions
Review & Resources
Context
Thomas Hardy lived from June 2, 1840, to January 11, 1928. He grew up in Higherbockhampton, Dorset, the eldest son of a stonemason. He had one brother and two sisters. Sickly from an early age, he was educated at home until he was sixteen. He then began an apprenticeship, and then a career, as an architect. He started writing poetry in the 1860s but did not publish his first novel until 1871. He married Emma Lavinia Gifford in 1874.
It was not until the publication of Far from the Madding Crowd, Hardy's fourth novel, that Hardy won widespread popularity as a writer, and he was able to give up architecture. The book was published serially in 1874, in Corn Hill Magazine, a journal edited by Leslie Stephens, the father of Virginia Woolf. The novel was published in short sections, and as you read it, you can see that they intentionally leave the reader in suspense; this was a device to motivate readers to buy the next issue of the magazine. Early reviewers compared Hardy's writing to that of George Eliot and recognized him as an important new voice in English fiction.
Hardy went on to write novels at an extraordinary rate for more than 20 years, writing one every one or two years. His most famous novels written during these years include The Return of the Native,Tess of the D'Urbervilles, and The Mayor of Casterbridge. After the publication of Jude the Obscure caused a major scandal in 1895, Hardy stopped writing novels and devoted the rest of his life (more than 30 years) to poetry. His last great project was an epic poem titled The Dynasts,
a versed chronicle of the Napoleonic Wars. After some time in London he built himself a house in his native Dorsetshire and lived there for the rest of his life. He was widowed in 1912 and married Florence Dugdale in 1914.
Hardy was a devoted reader of philosophy, scientific texts, the Bible, and Greek literature, and he incorporated much of his knowledge into his own works. One of the most profound influences on his thinking was Charles Darwin, particularly Darwin's emphasis on chance and luck in evolution. Though brought up to believe in God, Hardy struggled with a loss of faith suffered by many of his contemporaries; he increasingly turned to science for answers about man's place in the universe.
One of Hardy's central concerns in all of his writing was the problem of modernity in a society that was rapidly becoming more and more industrial. One of his projects as a writer was to create an account of life in the swiftly changing Dorsetshire as it had once been. He was particularly interested in the rituals and histories of that part of England, as well as the dialect of its locals. The title Far From the Madding Crowd suggests avoidance of the life of a city, modernized government, crowds and industry; in it, Hardy tries to fashion a portrait of what he saw as an endangered way of life and to create a snapshot for future generations.
Summary
At the beginning of the novel, Bathsheba Everdene is a beautiful young woman without a fortune. She meets Gabriel Oak, a young farmer, and saves his life one evening. He asks her to marry him, but she refuses because she does not love him. Upon inheriting her uncle's prosperous farm she moves away to the town of Weatherbury.
A disaster befalls Gabriel's farm and he loses his sheep; he is forced to give up farming. He goes looking for work, and in his travels finds