Far from the Madding Crowd is an examination of country life and love. Gabriel Oak, a successful shepherd, proposes to Bathsheba, who refuses him. Oak later loses his business and ends up working on Bathsheba's farm. Bathsheba has become the love interest of two more men, Boltwood, her repressed neighbor, and Troy, whom she marries. Troy later disappears and is thought dead, so Boltwood again pursues Bathsheba. When Troy returns, Boltwood kills him and is sentenced to prison. After years, Bathsheba realizes she does love Oak and marries him.
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