A Tribute to the Women of Thomas Hardy

Hardy's first published novel, Desperate Remedies, is shamefully underrated. There are many interesting characters, but the heroine is beautiful, charming, optimistic and loyal Cytherea Graye. Devoted to the people she loves, she is the first of many Hardy women to inspire love or desire in just about everyone she meets.

There isn't much to the novel Under the Greenwood Tree, but its heroine, Fancy Day, is another charming, pretty woman. And she has a mind of her own: when her father forbids marriage to the man she loves, she resorts to trickery to make him change his mind!

Elfride, the girl with A Pair of Blue Eyes, is the darling of her father and later her stepmother. Like many Hardy women, she finds herself caught between two men who want her. Unlike many of her fellow heroines, however, she is able to resist marriage to the suitor she doesn't love.

Ah, Far from the Madding Crowd, the first Hardy book to be considered a classic (and one of my favourites)! And starring beautiful, capable, hardworking Bathsheba Everdene, who enchants three successive men without in the least intending to do it. She is also a unique individual and I really related to her!

The Hand of Ethelberta was a very interesting novel. Although I was more intrigued by the character of Picotee, the title character is the obvious heroine - and a very strong, independent woman who, despite her poor background, rejects three successive eligible men and holds out for a wealthy lord!

The Return of the Native might possibly be Hardy's darkest novel. And no wonder, as it stars proud, tempestuous, scheming yet bewitching Eustacia Vye (take note of the word "bewitching"). She enchants men of all ages, including one innocent little boy - but the women sure don't like her!

The Trumpet-Major is another Hardy novel that I consider underrated. It features one of his most loyal heroines, Anne Garland. Anne is faithful to her childhood sweetheart, though she hasn't seen him in years. She remains steadily faithful through every twist and turn, which is more than some Hardy women can say!

A Laodecian is another fascinating book, largely because of its heroine. Paula Power is possibly the first Hardy heroine to be viewed almost entirely from other people's perspectives. Yet a careful reading of the story shows that though reserved and undemonstrative, she has a warm and honest heart.

Two on a Tower features the first Hardy heroine belonging to a noble family - or at least, having married into it. Viviette Constantine is a passionate, troubled woman who falls deeply in love with a much younger - and lower-class - man. The story moves you as she struggles for happiness.

The Mayor of Casterbridge is more about the volatile title character, but if one of its women had to be a heroine I would pick Elizabeth-Jane. She is the kind, pretty, gentle girl who is victimized through much of the story. And, unlike the other major women, she survives the book!

The Woodlanders is one of my absolute favourite Thomas Hardy books. So many interesting characters! There are three main women but for this list I've picked Marty South. She is fiercely loyal and dedicated to her work and the people she loves. (The picture is of Hardy's favourite actress, Gertrude Bugler, playing Marty onstage!)

Ah... Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Hardy's most famous book and heroine! And you can see why. What a character that Tess is! Bewitchingly beautiful, she incites burning desire in the hearts of men. Yet she remains tantalizingly elusive, to both the men and the readers of her story.

I suppose I could have picked one of the Avice Caros, but to me Marcia Bencomb is the heroine of The Well-Beloved. She is the one who remains when all of the hero's other women are gone, the one whom he is ultimately faithful to - the one who finally wins him.

I love Jude the Obscure, which was most unfortunately Hardy's final novel. And I was captivated by Sue Bridehead! She wanted so badly to be a good woman, but she was confused and naive and kept making mistakes. Some say she was ahead of her time, but I disagree - wanting to leave a marriage unconsummated wouldn't go over today either!