Symbols

The Moon-
The moon shows up in Far From the Madding Crowd as a symbol for love. It is commonly brought up whenever Hardy is talking about a relationship or someones feelings in the novel. Whenever Hardy is talking about Gabriel and his feelings for Bathsheba, or even when he is just describing something about Gabriel, he mentions the stars. For example, the first time Gabriel sees Bathsheeba the sun is out, it is during the day. This is because he has not yet developed any real feelings for her. everytime he sees her again after that the time that he sees her starts to get later and later towards night. Once Hardy uses the moon in description to Gabriel and Bathsheeba meeting, you can tell that Gabriel at least has now developed strong feelings for Bathsheeba. = = == == = = = = = = ==