Far from the Madding Crowd · Chapter
XXXIX: Coming Home; A Cry explained
Bathsheba and Troy return from market, arguing about his gambling losses at the races.
What happens
Bathsheba and Troy return from market, arguing about his gambling losses at the races. On the road, a poor woman approaches and recognizes Troy, fainting. Troy sends Bathsheba ahead, speaks privately with the woman—revealed to be Fanny Robin—and arranges to meet her on Monday. Bathsheba suspects the woman's identity but Troy deflects.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Honesty
Troy lies to Bathsheba about knowing Fanny, while Fanny's fear to write reveals a history of deceit.
Love and Marriage
Bathsheba's marriage to Troy is strained by his gambling and secret past, showing the disillusionment of their union.
Social Class and Ambition
Troy's transformation from sergeant to fashionable farmer contrasts with Fanny's destitution, highlighting class divides.
Characters to notice
- Bathsheba Everdene
Listless and sad, she confronts Troy about his gambling and later suspects his connection to the mysterious woman.
- Frank Troy
Now a farmer using Bathsheba's money, he is agitated by the encounter with Fanny, speaks gently to her, and lies to Bathsheba about knowing her.
- Fanny Robin
Appears in extreme poverty, recognizes Troy, faints, and agrees to meet him on Monday at Grey's Bridge.
Key passages
“Yes, if it hadn't been for that wretched rain I should have cleared two hundred as easy as looking, my love,”
Troy boasts that without the rain he would have won two hundred pounds at the races.
Shows Troy's gambling addiction and his attempt to justify losses to Bathsheba.
“Please, sir, do you know at what time Casterbridge Union-house closes at night?”
Fanny asks Troy what time the workhouse closes, revealing her desperate poverty.
Introduces Fanny's plight and the workhouse as a symbol of social failure.
“I have only another moment, continued Troy; and now listen. Where are you going tonight? Casterbridge Union?”
Troy hurriedly asks Fanny if she plans to stay at the workhouse, then arranges a secret meeting.
Reveals Troy's prior relationship with Fanny and his attempt to manage the situation secretly.