Troy's Satanic Reference

In Chapter 43 of Far From The Madding Crowd, sergeant Troy makes one of the most revealing statements about himself when he says to Bathsheba: "If Satan had not tempted me with the face of yours, and those cursed coquetries, I should have married her." 

And then turning to Fanny: "In the sight of Heaven you are my very very wife." 

This reference of Satan and Heaven (God) have several layers of meaning. 

1. Troy shifts blame on to Bathsheba

When Troy says that Satan tempted him through Bathsheba's beauty, he is making biblical image of temptation. 

In Christian tradition Satan tempts people away from the right path.  Troy is effectively saying:  Fanny Robin was the woman he should have married.  Bathsheba's beauty tempted him away from that duty. His marriage to Bathsheba therefore is a kind of moral fall.

But Troy's claim is untrue and unfair. He is avoiding his responsibility for his own choice.  He chose to abandon Fanny and pursue Bathsheba, attracted by her wealth. He used to bet on race horses and lose Bathsheba's money.  By invoking Satan, he tries to present himself a victim of temptation.

2. Hardy exposes Troy's self deception.

The irony is that Troy had just admitted:

"I had been a bad and black hearted man." 

Here, he recognises his guilt, but  transfers the blame to Bathsheba.

This reveals the contradiction in his character: He feels genuine remorse for Fanny, but still lacks the moral strength to accept it.

Hardy shows that Troy's repentance is emotional and not ethical.

3. Moral marriage versus legal marriage.

When Troy says to Fanny:  "In the sight of Heaven you are my very, very wife." 

He is appealing to a higher divine judgement.  Legally and socially Bathsheba is his wife.

But Troy tries to establish that Fanny was the woman he genuinely loved.  He had intended to marry her.  And therefore, before God she is his true wife.  This is devastating for Bathsheba because it denies The value of her marriage.  It leads directly to her anguished question.

"If she is that, what am I?" 

4. The biblical reference heightens the tragedy.

Hardy uses religious and funeral imagery, like coffin with name Fanny  and child, prayer, heaven and Satan, guilt and judgement 

At Fanny's coffin all illusions of Bathsheba collapse.  She learns the truth about Troy. Hardy concludes the scene with the Greek word τετέλεσται (tetelestai)meaning it is finished - the words traditionally associated with Christ's final utterance on the cross.

Troy's references to Satan and God/ Heaven are not merely religious expressions.  They reveal his guilt, his attempt to explain his failure, his belief that Fanny was his true moral wife, and the spiritual collapse of his marriage to Bathsheba.

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