Face, linguistic (im)politeness and polyphony in Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd

Thomas Hardy’s novel Far from the Madding Crowd provides a stark contrast in how the characters project their face (Goffman 1967) and how they seek approval from others. Such a contrast can be analysed in terms of Bakhtin’s polyphony – the many voices found in a text which includes the author’s portrayal of his protagonists and how they interact with each other. In order to highlight this contrast and its way of coming across, I examine how three key characters in the novel, Gabriel Oak, Sergeant Frank Troy and William Boldwood, present themselves interpersonally. I use the concept of linguistic (im)politeness to demonstrate how the protagonists try to further themselves, especially in their pursuit of Bathsheba Everdene. I argue that a linguistic (im)politeness approach can also be applied to other novels of Thomas Hardy and indeed to a wider range of literature.gerrymugford@yahoo. comGerrard Mugford works on B. A., M. A. and PhD programmes at the Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico. He holds a PhD in TEFL from the Institute of Education, University of London. His current research interests include second-language interpersonal language use, literature and critical linguistics. He has published articles and book chapters on foreign language pragmatics, politeness, impoliteness, literature and lexical studies.Universidad de Guadalajara1546