Summary
The novel opens on a December afternoon with the introduction of a character named Gabriel Oak. Gabriel is an unassuming man in his late twenties who has risen from humble beginnings as a shepherd to work as a bailiff (a manager of a farm) and now leases his own farm near the town of Norcombe, where he tends a flock of sheep. While Gabriel is out walking, he observes an attractive young woman riding on a wagon full of household items. He catches up to the wagon when the driver and the woman engage in a dispute about the rate they have to pay at a turnpike, and settles the dispute by paying the fare himself.
That night, while staying in his hut and tending to his sheep, Gabriel sees an unexpected light and goes to investigate. Inside a nearby shed, he finds two women tending to a sick cow. Observing them, he realizes that the younger one is the same woman he encountered on the wagon. The next morning, he returns to the shed just as the young woman also returns, and brings her the hat she had lost in the windy night. Unfortunately, Gabriel also embarrasses the young woman by making it clear that he has seen her behaving playfully when she thought she was alone, and she reacts with scorn.
A few days later, Gabriel finds himself in a dangerous situation when he falls asleep in his hut without opening the ventilation holes, risking suffocation. He awakens from unconsciousness to find the young woman. Having come to tend to her cow, she noticed something was wrong, and dragged him out of the hut. The young woman, who he later learns is named Bathsheba Everdene, behaves somewhat flirtatiously, and Gabriel becomes enamored with her.
As the days pass, Gabriel becomes increasingly infatuated and decides to propose to Bathsheba. He goes to visit her at the home of her aunt, Mrs. Hurst, bringing with him a baby lamb as a gift. He shares his intention with Mrs. Hurst, who tells him that Bathsheba has many suitors. Gabriel is discouraged and decides to leave but Bathsheba comes chasing after him. He suggests they get married, indicating that he has bright financial prospects and would take good care of her, but Bathsheba explains that she can’t marry him since she doesn’t love him. Gabriel initially vows that he will love her forever, but when Bathsheba suggests it would be wise for him to marry a woman with money, he seems to agree with the idea. This annoys her, and the two part on awkward terms.
Analysis
The novel’s opening chapters quickly establish both the attraction and tensions between Bathsheba and Gabriel. The characters have occupied opposite class trajectories, since Gabriel has risen from a humble background to now leasing a farm and owning his own sheep, while Bathsheba has been well-educated and presumably comes from a good family, but now seems to be orphaned and reliant on the charity of her relatives. Bathsheba’s high-spirited and somewhat inconsistent character is made clear from the beginning: when she thinks she is alone, she engages in playful acts like gazing at herself in the hand-mirror and laying flat on the back of her pony to avoid low-hanging branches. At the same time, she is easily embarrassed when it becomes clear that Gabriel has seen her engaging in these behaviors.
While she does not seem to like having been caught in irreverent behavior, Bathsheba is clearly marked out as an unconventionally strong-willed and self-reliant woman. She refuses to comply with the demands of the toll gate-keeper, and she takes a hands-on approach to farm work. Gabriel seems to find the combination of her playfulness and competence deeply alluring, especially in contrast to his own somewhat serious demeanor. He is clearly intrigued by her from the first time he sees her, and after she rescues him, he becomes rapidly infatuated.
The narrative and then Bathsheba herself both seem to raise the question of how profound Gabriel’s love can be, given how little time the two have spent together when he proposes. He seems willing to assume that they will be compatible, and his explanation of why they should marry focuses on the material comforts he can offer her. Gabriel is clearly somewhat shy and insecure since he abandons hope of wooing Bathsheba as soon as he hears she has other suitors, but his promising prospects give him some confidence in believing he could be a good provider. He also seems fairly unromantic about his hopes, since he tells Bathsheba he would be happy to marry her even if she does not yet love him, but at the same time, he passionately declares he will never stop having feelings for her.
