Classics Retold

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, a...

In Chapter 43 of Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy the reference to the "Mosaic law" means the laws traditionally believed to have been given by Moses to the Israelites in the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament.  Mosaic simply means "of Moses."  Hardy uses the phrase in moral and emotional context connected with marriage, fidelity, and punishment.  The allusion especially evokes the ancient and severe legal code of Old Testament - a system associated with justice devoid of mercy and compassion.  In this chapter of the novel, the emotional atmosphere is dominated by Bathsheba's sufferings, Troy's cruelty and recklessness, and the shadow of Fanny Robin's death. Questions of guilt and morality pervade the emotional atmosphere.  Bathsheba see her fate as a retribution for the death of Fanny and her child. Fanny through her death takes revenge on Bathsheba.  There is an implied contrast between harsh Mosaic laws and soft Christian ideas of forgiveness and...

In Chapter 43 of Far From The Madding Crowd, the phrase "Esther to this poor Vashti is a biblical comparison. It exposes a dramatic change in Bathsheba's position in Sergeant Troy's eyes.  Both Esther and Vashti are queens from Biblical book of Esther.  Vasti was the first queen of King Xerexxes, the ruler of Achaemenid Empire. She loses the King's favour and was removed. Esther became the queen and gained king's affection.  So the expression "Esther to this poor Vashti" means one woman replacing the other in affection, favour, or status.  At this point in the novel Bathsheba realizes that Troy's feelings have shifted towards the memory of Fanny Robin.  Bathsheba feels displaced.  Hardy's comparison suggests:- • Bathsheba has become Vashti, the neglected queen. • Fanny even in death becomes like Esther -- the woman who enjoys Troy's emotional devotion.  The phrase reflects jealousy, emotional dethronement and the painful realisation that love ...

Nesh is a dialect adjective meaning unusually sensitive to cold weather, because of being physically weak or frail in constitution.  Example: Put a coat on, you are being nesh.  The term is predominantly used in Northern England, the Midlands, and  North Wales. It is derived from Old English "hnesc" meaning weak, feeble or infirm.  It is a dialect in regional lexicon, and is still used by the locals.

A wall bounded the site of Casterbridge Union House. A long portion of the site was unwalled at the end. Here stood a gable, and it was covered by ivy, and a small door stood beyond the expanse of dark green leaves. The sill of the door was three or four feet above the ground. The ruts on the ground beneath indicated that the door was meant for vehicles carrying goods and passengers; it was not for pedestrians.  The entry and exit by the door was only at rare intervals: tufts of grass were growing undisturbed in the chinks of the sill. The clock on the tower of St George's Church pointed at three minutes to three, and a blue spring wagon, picked out with red [1] containing boughs and flowers turned from the highroad and halted on this side of the gable.  The chimes were yet stammering out a shattered form of Malbrook [2]; Joseph Poorgrass rang the bell, and received direction to back his wagon against the high door under the gable. The door then opened, and a plain elm coffin ...

In Chapter 42 of Far From The Madding Crowd, the phrase "I am a stanch Church of England" is a dialogue rendered by Jan Coggan.  Here:  Stanch is an archaic form of staunch, meaning firm, loyal, steadfast or strongly devoted. Church of England is Anglican church.  The speaker means that I am a firm and loyal supporter or the member of the Church of England.  Hardy's folk characters often speak with exaggerated seriousness about religion while sitting in taverns drinking ale or gossiping.  The religious identity is more cultural and social than theological. The conversations also reflect village pride, and attachment local traditions. 

Chapter 42 of Far From The Madding Crowd byThomas Hardy. Context: Joseph Poorgrass in Buck's Head inn, enjoying a mug of ale with his neighbours Jan Coggan and Mark Clark.  Poorgrass is entrusted with the coffin of Fanny Robin, and during his tedious journey in the wagon, he takes a break.  "Have gone to dogs -- upon my carcass" aired by Mark Clark is part of a rustic emotional dialogue typical of Hardy's farm folks. "Have gone to dogs"  This is an old English idiom meaning to deteriorate, to be ruined, or to fall into disarray or misery. Mark Clark means that life or circumstances have become very bad. "Upon my carcass"  Here it means not a dead body. Its meaning is "upon my soul" or "on my life" or "I swear it" The combined meaning of the phrase is: "Things have completely gone wrong, I swear they have."  The speech pattern reflects Hardy's Wessex folks' dramatic, earthy, and humourous even in distr...