Lamenting the Idyllic--Thomas Hardy’s Nostalgia in Far from the Madding Crowd

The useful conceptions of nostalgia are instrumental for a close look at Thomas Hardy’s pastoral sentiment towards the vanishing rustic life, which is disturbed by the abrupt intrusion of industrialization in the country. Hardy’s pastoral nostalgia finds its refuge in the partly real, partly dreamlike Wessex, in which a self-contained atmosphere of idyllic contentment remains. Through a nostalgic interpretation of Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd, the essay explores Hardy’s nostalgic construction of a fraternal Weatherbury community, including the incarnation of his idealized peasant type Shepherd Oak and the desirably pastoral romance. Through a collection of Hardy’s imaginations, the research aims to probe into the individual’s ambiguous psychology and complicated perception when confronting with the social and cultural transitions in the late nineteenth century England.