Class is a really big deal in Far from the Madding Crowd. Certain characters move from one class to another as the story unfolds: Gabriel Oak, for example, starts the book as a farmer with his own land and sheep, but a freak accident plunges him into financial ruin and he needs to take a job as a shepherd. This is depressing to him, both because being broke sucks and because Bathsheba didn't want to marry him when he was just a farmer.
As the novel progresses, you find out more and more how people's opinions and options tend to be determined by what place they occupy on the social ladder. The rich get to have options and opinions and the poor… don't.
Questions About Class
- Do you think Bathsheba's pride comes from the fact that she's a wealthy owner of a farm, or is her pride a byproduct of her beauty? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
- Why does Bathsheba always talk about Sergeant Troy's family background when justifying her choice to marry him? What is Troy's background compared to his current position in the army?
- How does Gabriel Oak's behavior change when he starts making more money at Bathsheba and Farmer Boldwood's farms?
Chew on This
In Far from the Madding Crowd, we learn that no matter how much money or status a person has, the quality of their character is all that matters.
In Far from the Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy shows us that a person's social class is important because things like money and education can totally change a person's personality.