Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who Is the Fairest of Them All? The Importance of Public Opinion in Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd.

The importance of local public opinion is a driving force within Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd. The main characters Gabriel Oak, Bathsheba Everdene, Mr. Boldwood and Sergeant Troy are all influenced by the varied opinions of their rural society. Bathsheba is considered to be beautiful, and is therefore wanted as a wife by all three major male characters. Gabriel is constantly worried about Bathsheba’s reputation. Troy loses the love of his life because he cannot swallow his pride when he is made to wait at the altar in a church, because the woman he was going to marry was delayed. Mr. Boldwood, preferred among the public as a superior suitor, is driven to action by Bathsheba’s hoax valentine and the interest, which the rural community of Weatherbury has taken in her. Despite the pastoral charm of this novel, it has a certain realism; depicting the way that fickle nature plays an important role in the survival of the main characters. Another aspect of this realism illustrates the way that human pride and vanity can often be the downfall of an individual. The significance of Public opinion is also a part of this realism