Symbolism in "Far from the Madding Crowd".

Symbolism is one of the important devices which helps in interpreting one writing in more than one levels. It improves the quality of the writing and interest of the readers. Symbolism is the way of suggesting one thing in terms of another. It says something with the help of pretention or disguise.


              In "Far from the Madding Crowd", Thomas Hardy also uses various symbols to suggest the deeper level of meaning of the novel. First of all, the title itself is symbolic. The title suggests that the rustic village people are leading a better life than the urban people. They are homely, quite, and joyous. They are far away from the "madding crowd" of the urban society.


             The scene of great thunderstorm, which threatens Bathsheba's corn- ricks, provides an opportunity for the author to contrast the firmness of Oak and the careless immorality of Troy. The thunderstorm is a symbolic representation of the turmoil that Bathsheba's mind is going to be afflicted with soon after.


             The description of barn, with its solidity and timelessness has another symbolic suggestion. The activities going on in the Great Barn have been described as --- It took place in the Great Barn, an ancient building dating from the middle ages and used for centuries for the purpose for which it was constructed. Weatherbury itself was as old and unchangeable as this Barn and so, "the Barn was natural to the shearers and the shearers to the Barn."


            Bathsheba like the typical women desires to be dominated and loved by a sexually aggressive man and until that desire has been subdued, she cannot make a wife for Oak,who is essentially a passive lover, no matter how strong and good he is otherwise. Hardy describes her as:

       "She was of the stuff of which great men's mothers are made. She was indispensable to high generation; hated at the tea parties, feared in shops, and loved in cries."

Through Bathsheba's desire for male domination, Hardy brings out other characteristics of inter-relationships.


             The first encounter of Troy and Bathsheba is also symbolic in purpose, which suggests the ultimate relationship that Troy is going to have with Bathsheba. It also throws light on the weakness of Bathsheba. It also shows Bathsheba's flattery. The spur is also here used as a symbol of sex. The spur of Troy which actually gets entangled in Bathsheba's dress is a conventional symbol of male potency.


             The scene of sword play is also symbolic when it is interpreted psychologically. The sword, itself, even more obviously phallic than the spur,  gleams "a sort of greeting, like a living thing". This swordplay attracts Bathsheba towards Troy.


           Thus symbolism and metaphor plays a very important role in Hardy's "Far from the Madding Crowd" which increases the beauty and charm of the novel.