Far From The Madding Crowd

The relative passage of time is an important theme in the novel, and at various points throughout we are reminded of differing conceptions of time. The recurrence of watches and clocks symbolizes a modernity in which time becomes more regulated and more important for everyday life, rather than being guided by the natural world. Indeed, standard time was only introduced and popularized as a concept in the mid 1800s as it was necessary for scheduling railroad shipping. Far from the Madding Crowd, written in 1874, is situated in the midst of this tension between local and standard time. One interesting example of this is Gabriel’s own timepiece at the start of the novel, which is almost cartoonish in its inefficacy: not only is it too large and kept in a place that makes it difficult to actually retrieve, but the time isn’t actually accurate, requiring Gabriel to resort to old-fashioned methods or peering into others’ houses (5). Another interesting example occurs later, in Chapter 42, while Joseph whiles away the afternoon at the Buck’s Head Inn: as the group continually convince him to stay rather than rushing, as Fanny is already dead, we are told of the persistent chiming of Jan’s pocket watch noting the passage of time in a manner in conflict with their own, slow conception of it.