Far from the Madding Crowd, Part 23 of 31

The Sleepy Bookshelf

This episode of The Sleepy Bookshelf continues the poignant narrative of Far From The Madding Crowd, focusing on Bathsheba's emotional turmo

Key takeaways

• Bathsheba's emotional response to Fanny's death reveals a complex mix of empathy, guilt, and unresolved jealousy toward Troy.

Main topics

• Grief and mourning
• Emotional conflict in relationships

Notable quotes

'Don't! Don't kiss them! Oh, Frank, I can't bear it! I love you better than she did!'

Conclusion

The episode culminates in Bathsheba's emotional collapse and flight from Troy, marking a

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:02) Good evening. Imagine how much better the world would be if everyone woke up well-rested every day. That's why I and the team here at Slumber make the Sleepy Bookshelf. You can join us in this mission by supporting the show via our premium feed, which will get you ad-free access to the entire bookshelf and exclusive bonus episodes. If premium isn't for you, that's okay. recommending your favourite episode to a friend or family member is just as meaningful. Thank you so much for your support, and I hope you sleep well tonight. Hello, it's Elizabeth, and I'm excited to share with you the newest show from Slumber Studios. It's called Sleepy History, and it's exactly what it sounds like. intriguing stories, people, mysteries and events from history, delivered in a supremely calming atmosphere. Explore the legend of El Dorado, see what life was like for the Roman gladiators, uncover the myths and mysteries of Stonehenge. You'll find interesting but relaxing episodes like these on Sleepy History and the same great production quality you've come to know and love from The Sleepy Bookshelf. So check it out. And perhaps you'll have another way to get a good night's rest. Just search Sleepy History in your preferred podcast player. Good evening and welcome to The Sleepy Bookshelf. where we put down our worries from the day and pick up a good book. I'm your host, Elizabeth, and it is wonderful to be here with you. This evening will be continuing far from the madding crowd, but first, allow yourself to become completely still. Feel the gentle rise and fall of your breath as your body begins to soften. Speaker 2 (2:32) Notice the small places where you're holding tension. Maybe that's your eyebrows, your jaw, your shoulders. And with each slow exhale, allow your body to grow heavier, calmer and more relaxed. Let yourself sink into comfort and know that there is nothing left to do now but breathe and rest. Speaker 2 (3:19) At Bathsheba's request, Joseph Porgras collected Fanny Robbins' body from the workhouse in a flower-covered wagon to be brought home for a respectful burial. On his way back, he stopped at the Buck's Head Inn, where he was persuaded by Jan Kogan and Mark Clark to stay for a drink. Speaker 2 (3:46) Joseph lost track of time, and Gabriel Oak eventually found them all, unfit to drive the wagon. Taking charge himself, he drove Fanny home, and when he arrived, he discovered that the funeral would have to be delayed until the following morning, because the gravediggers had gone home, and Joseph hadn't given him the death certificate to pass on to the parson. Speaker 2 (4:18) Bathsheba insisted that Fanny be brought into the house rather than left alone in the coach house overnight. Fanny was put in the hall, supported on two benches, and before Gabriel left, he noticed the words Fanny Robin and Child written on the coffin. He quietly erased the final two words in an attempt to spare her immediate heartbreak. Leaving only Fanny's name before he departed. We pick up tonight, just one hour later. With Troy still not at home. So just lie back and relax. As I turn to the next pages of Far From The Madding Crowd. Chapter 43. Fanny's Revenge. Do Speaker 4 (5:40) you want me any longer, ma'am? Speaker 2 (5:42) inquired Liddy at a later hour the same evening, standing by the door with a chamber candlestick in her hand and addressing Bathsheba, who sat, cheerless and alone in the large parlour beside the first fire of the season. No more tonight, Liddy. Speaker 4 (6:04) I'll sit up for Master if you like, Mum. I'm not at all afraid of Fanny if I may sit in my own room and have a candle. She was such a childlike, nesh, young thing that her spirit couldn't appear to anybody if it tried, I'm quite sure. Oh, no, no. You go to bed. I'll sit up for him myself till twelve o'clock, and if he has not arrived by that time, I shall give him up and go to bed too. And it's half past ten now. Oh, is it? Why don't you sit upstairs, ma'am? Why don't I? Speaker 2 (6:43) said Bathsheba, desultorily. Speaker 4 (6:48) It isn't worthwhile. There's a fire here, Liddy. She Speaker 2 (6:54) suddenly exclaimed in an impulsive and excited whisper. Have Speaker 4 (7:00) you heard anything strange, said a fanny. The Speaker 2 (7:05) words had no sooner escaped her than an expression of unutterable regret crossed her face, and she burst into tears. Speaker 4 (7:15) No, not a word, Speaker 2 (7:18) said Liddy, looking at the weeping woman with astonishment. Speaker 4 (7:23) What is it that makes you cry so, Mom? Has anything hurt you? Speaker 2 (7:29) She came to Bathsheba's side with a face full of sympathy. Speaker 3 (7:35) No, Liddy, I don't want you anymore. I can hardly say why I have taken to crying lately. I never used to cry. Good night. Speaker 2 (7:47) Liddy then left the parlour and closed the door. Bathsheba was lonely and miserable now. Speaker 2 (8:00) Not lonelier, actually, than she had been before her marriage. But her loneliness, then, was to that of the present time, as solitude of a mountain is to the solitude of a cave. And within the last day or two had come these quieting thoughts about her husband's past. Her wayward sentiment that evening concerning Fanny's temporary resting place had been the result of a strange complication of impulses in Bathsheba's bosom. Perhaps it would be more accurately described as a determined rebellion against her prejudices. A revulsion from a lower instinct of uncharitableness which would have withheld all sympathy from the dead woman, because in life she had preceded Bathsheba in the attentions of a man whom Bathsheba had by no means ceased from loving, though her love was sick to death just now with the gravity of a further misgiving. Speaker 2 (9:14) In five or ten minutes, there was another tap at the door. Liddy reappeared, and coming in a little way, stood, hesitating, until at length she said, Speaker 4 (9:30) Marianne has just heard something very strange, but I know it isn't true, and we shall be sure to know the rights of it in a day or two. What is it? Oh, nothing connected with you or us, ma'am.