Far from the Madding Crowd is a late Victorian novel written in 1874. Many books of this era explored ambiguities and uncertainties, reflecting the uncertainty arising in British society during this period. Attempts at social reform—including new causes like women’s suffrage and the rise of Darwinism as an explanation for the evolution of species (and the subsequent conflicts with religious faith that followed)—produced a sense of instability reflected in many books written in this period.
Fiction of this period was largely realist, meaning that its project was to portray the lives of working-class or middle-class people as honestly as possible, without sentimentality and with a special interest in depicting the unglamorous side of city life. Hardy’s novels fit into this tradition in that they often depict lower-class or middle-class Britons struggling against class barriers and the limitations placed on them by the world around them (e.g. Bathsheba’s difficult relationship to her gender).
Though Hardy was definitely a Realist, his work was arguably influenced by the earlier Romantic movement in fiction. Romantic literature valued nature, subjectivity, and emotion; Hardy’s work departed from Realism in that the setting (usually a fictional county called Wessex) is sometimes portrayed in idealized, romantic terms. The bucolic setting and focus on country life have led some to characterize Far from the Madding Crowd as a pastoral novel.
In addition, Hardy’s novels often deal with sentimental themes of love and loss; Far from the Madding Crowd is focused on the three meaningful love stories of Bathsheba’s life and how she chooses the right men among those courting her. Gabriel Oak’s loyalty and ongoing passion for Bathsheba feels tinged with Romanticism’s ideal of intense, passionate love.
