Motifs

Sheep-
====The most noticeable motif in the novel are teh sheep. They are always at the base of a tragedy. They are also usually the reason that Gabriel and Bathsheeba reunite after something goes wrong in their friendship. For example, Bathsheeba fires Gabriel and very soon after that she begs for him to come back because the sheep are sick and he is the only one that she trusts to properly care for them. We cannot also forget that the sheep are the reason that Gabriel found Bathsheeba in his life again. In the begining of the novel, after Bathsheeba has moved away, Gabriel's sheep get hearded off a cliff. This leads Gabriel to go looking for a job elsewhere, elsewhere ends up becoming the farm that Bathsheeba inherited from her uncle.====

The sun, moon, and stars-
====The sun, moon, and stars are another common motif in the novel. Hardy uses them in relation to the relationships in the novel. For example, when Gabriel first sees Bathsheeba it is during the day. At this point he has not yet developed any feelings for her. When he does start to develope feelings for her things start to happen at night, the moon and stars are more frequently talked about after they have developed feelings for one another.====

Farm-
====﻿The last common motif in the novel is the frequent description of farms, farmland, and tools used on farms. This is significant to the novel in the sense that it helps you to better understand what the characters are working with and talking about on a daily basis. Almost all of the novel takes place on the farm, so it is important that you understand everything there is to know about it.====