Summary Bathsheba, though not in love, nevertheless realized that Boldwood was an eligible bachelor. “He is so disinterested and kind to offer me all that I can desire,” she thought. “Yet Farmer Boldwood,” the author informs us, “whether by nature kind or the reverse to kind, did not exercise kindness […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 20Summary and Analysis Chapter 19
Summary When Boldwood finally called on her, Bathsheba was not in. He had forgotten that, being a serious farmer, she might well need to be out-of-doors. Having put her on a pedestal, he found it difficult to see in her an everyday individual like himself. Their relationship was one of […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 19Summary and Analysis Chapter 18
Summary Boldwood gave the impression of being aristocratic. He lived in a home recessed from the road, with stables behind it. It was all overgrown with shrubbery. In the stables were fine, healthy horses; all was warmth, contentment, and plenty. Looking after the horses was almost a sacred ritual for […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 18Summary and Analysis Chapter 17
Summary On Saturday at the market, Boldwood saw Bathsheba. “Adam had awakened from his deep sleep, and behold! there was Eve. . . . and for the first time he really looked at her.” He found her beautiful, but, unaccustomed to judging women, “he furtively said to a neighbor, ‘Is […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 17Summary and Analysis Chapter 16
Summary A small congregation at All Saints’ Church was startled by the clash of spurs at the close of a weekday service. A cavalry soldier strode into the chapel and spoke to the curate. “‘Tis a wedding!” murmured one of the women, brightening. “Let’s wait!” Through the open door from […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 16Summary and Analysis Chapter 15
Summary After a few hours of sleep, the maltster made himself a breakfast of bread and bacon which “was eaten on the plateless system” and flavored with a “mustard plaster.” Although he was toothless, his hardened gums functioned efficiently. Warren’s Malthouse served as a sort of clubhouse, an alternative to […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 15Summary and Analysis Chapter 14
Summary Boldwood sat in his living room, “where the atmosphere was that of a Puritan Sunday lasting all the week.” He was increasingly fascinated by the anonymous valentine, which “must have had an origin and a motive.” In spite of himself, Boldwood kept reverting to the mystery. He tried to […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 14Summary and Analysis Chapter 13
Summary To while away Sunday afternoon, Bathsheba and the chatterbox Liddy, who, “like a little brook, though shallow was always rippling,” practice an old superstition: divining one’s future husband by consulting the Bible with a key. Bathsheba turned to the Book of Ruth and, reading, she was a bit abashed. […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 13Summary and Analysis Chapter 12
Summary Bathsheba followed up her decision to be a good farmer by attending the corn market at Casterbridge the next day. She saw how the men bargained, using facial contortions and gesticulations, manipulating their sticks as props or as prods for livestock as if they were extensions of their hands. […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 12Summary and Analysis Chapter 11
Summary Hours later, in snow and darkness, a figure appeared on the public path that was bordered by a river. In the background could be heard the constant gurgling of water. The figure was counting out the windows of a barracks. Stopping at the fifth, it threw a small snowball […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 11