Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

There are so many things in this novel which make it a timeless classic. This book has been read for many years by different audiences. People of different ages, genders, have read this amazing novel, which is based on the life of Bathsheba Everdene, a female protagonist who is a proud, capricious, and handsome heroine of this novel.
So I have noticed so many different things in this novel. One of them is love. Thomas Hardy has beautifully portrayed love and influence of love in our lives. Love is something to live for. It changes how we look at things and how we lead our lives.

The love of Bathsheba Everdene is something very inspiring and it is something pivotal and significant in her storyline.

Other than that, something very empowering that I have noticed in this novel is independence. So, the independence of female characters. I believe Thomas Hardy is one of the very prominent writers who has written about female independence and individual independence generally.

This is a timeless classic and in those times, female protagonists were not there and we cannot find female stories so frequently in classic literature just like this one. The protagonist of this novel inherits a farm and works on it and moves to the town where she makes different men and explores her love life and independence and the rural rustic lives.

My personal favourite character from this novel is Gabriel Oak. He was a loyal and honest shepherd and his love for Bathsheba is unwavering. He is, I believe, obsessed and devoted to Bathsheba. And his simplicity makes me wonder how amazing of a man he would have been if it were a real character.

One of the things that really inspired me was the central theme of this novel, which is Bathsheba's feminism and how she challenges societal norms and values of that time. It is inspiring for the women of the modern day world and it is devotional and significant when it comes to teaching young minds and men of today.

Modernity has made things so complex around the globe that we live in a gender diaspora and confusion, but this novel sets so many things in clarity. The way Thomas Hardy has portrayed the emotions of characters and has related them to faith and nature is phenomenal.

When you read the novel at first, it takes you a few pages to get into the nerves of the novel, but when you are deep into it, you can clearly resonate and relate to the emotions of the characters, especially Bathsheba and Gabriel Oak.

My personal favourite lines which are so striking from the novel are: "It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in a language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs." This is such a fascinating line which makes you think so much about world standards and how a woman feels.

Another line that I find very striking and touching is: "To men her voice was sweeter than the tones of a brook."

Thank you so much guys, I hope these lines, the characters, the themes, and the central idea of this book "Far from the Madding Crowd" looked attractive to you. Thomas Hardy is a phenomenal writer.

I had the opportunity to read this novel a few months back. I could not read it in one go, it took me a few months. But when I did, I was so delighted that I gave it a go. I would recommend it to all of you to read this novel. Thank you so much.

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