Dr Diane Duffy has paid a visit to Wessex to explore the life, work and inspiration of Thomas Hardy. Far From the Madding Crowd is the subject of our 2025-26 study sessions.
When Bathsheba arrives in Weatherbury, she is described as a striking young woman who is bound to have an effect on men:
the sun lighted up to a scarlet glow the crimson jacket she wore, and painted a soft lustre upon her bright face and dark hair. The myrtles, geraniums, and cactuses packed around her were fresh and green, and at such a leafless season they invested the whole concern of horses, waggon, furniture, and girl with a peculiar vernal charm.
While red is the colour of passion and danger, its juxtaposition with the fresh greenness of the plant life creates a tension between knowingness and innocence. Yet Bathsheba was vain enough to smile at her own reflection in a looking-glass, although whether the smile began as a factitious one, to test her capacity in that art,—nobody knows; it ended certainly in a real smile and thus Hardy suggests a certain amount of artifice. Bathsheba was well aware of her effect on men: her instinct on two or three occasions was merely to walk as a queen among these gods of the fallow.
Diane Duffy
Click the image to enlarge and see caption. Our thanks to Clothes in Books , who first imagined this painting as Bathsheba.
Use the links in the list of study sessions to see Diane’s Extracts and Points to Ponder for each session.
List of Study Sessions
Session 2 (from 2pm, Tuesday 25 November 2025) – Chapters 12-24
Session 3 (from 2pm, Tuesday 27 January 2026) – Chapters 25-35
Session 4 (from 2pm, Tuesday, 24 February 2026) – Chapters 36-46
Session 5 (from 2pm, Tuesday 31 March 2026) – Chapters 47-52
Session 6 (from 2pm, Tuesday 28 April 2026)
We’ll consider some of the novel’s themes, including setting, gender, religion, humour, and Victorian society. These can be compared with Gaskell and her treatment of similar subjects
Doors open from 1pm: feel free to bring a packed lunch. The study session and Zoom meeting will begin at 2pm (UK time).
Simply come along and pay on the door, or use the Book Now button (no booking fee). Diane will also run the sessions on Zoom, so if you can’t join us in Knutsford, join us online. You’ll receive the Zoom link with your ticket.