Thomas Hardy has many masterpieces in his oeuvre (Tess of the d’Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure are other strong contenders among Hardy’s best), but Far From the Madding Crowd stands out as his most accurate depiction of an attractive woman’s struggle with power. The heroine of the story, Bathsheba Everdene, is confident, proud and very well-aware of the effect she has on men. Over the course … Continue reading Bathsheba Everdene & The Predicament of the Attractive Woman in Power