Summary The woman continued on her slow way, stopping to rest from time to time and praying for strength. She counted the milestones to encourage herself to proceed. A carriage passing in the darkness lighted her face, “young in the groundwork, old in the finish; the general contours were flexuous […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 40Summary and Analysis Chapter 39
Summary Bathsheba was riding up steep Yalbury Hill in the gig, with Troy walking alongside. He was no longer in uniform. They were discussing his gambling losses, which he blamed on a wet racetrack. Bathsheba tearfully predicted the eventual forfeit of the farm if he continued his present rate of […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 39Summary and Analysis Chapter 38
Summary “It was now five o’clock, and the dawn was promising to break in hues of drab and ash.” The wind grew stronger and uncovered some wheat ricks, and Gabriel weighted them down with fence rails. He continued to cover the barley while the rain beat down heavily. He remembered […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 38Summary and Analysis Chapter 37
Summary A series of flashes and rumblings signaled the closeness of the storm. After the second peal of thunder, a candle was lit in Bathsheba’s room. The fourth flash of lightning struck Oak’s ricking-rod, and he paused momentarily to improvise a lightning rod. The fifth flash brought Bathsheba into the […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 37Summary and Analysis Chapter 36
Summary Late August brought storm threats, and Oak worried for the eight exposed hayricks. Troy had designated the evening for the harvest supper and as Gabriel approached the barn, he heard music. The place was decorated with garlands, and fiddlers played for the dancing. The musicians asked Bathsheba to choose […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 36Summary and Analysis Chapter 35
Summary Very early the next morning, Gabriel and Coggan were in the fields. They heard an upper casement window being opened. Troy leaned out. “She has married him!” said Coggan. As Gabriel failed to reply, Coggan, glancing at the averted face, said, “Good heavens above us, Oak, how white your […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 35Summary and Analysis Chapter 34
Summary That same evening at dusk Gabriel was leaning over Coggan’s garden-gate, taking an up-and-down survey before retiring to rest.” A carriage approached and from within came the voices of two women — Bathsheba and Liddy. “The exquisite relief of finding that she was here again, safe and sound, overpowered […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 34Summary and Analysis Chapter 33
Summary After a week, Bathsheba had not returned. Maryann received a note that her mistress was detained. Another week elapsed, and the oat harvest began. As the men worked in the fields they saw a runner. Maryann, who was helping bind sheaves, had an uncomfortable premonition, for she had dropped […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 33Summary and Analysis Chapter 32
Summary “The village of Weatherbury was quiet as the graveyard in its midst, and the living were lying well-nigh as still as the dead. The church clock struck eleven. The air was so empty of other sounds that the whirr of the clock-work immediately before the strokes was distinct, and […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 32Summary and Analysis Chapter 31
Summary To avoid Boldwood at his return, Bathsheba planned to visit Liddy, who, granted a week’s holiday, was visiting her sister. Bathsheba set out on foot and, after walking about two miles, saw coming toward her the very man she was seeking to evade. Boldwood was obviously disturbed by her […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 31