SOURCE: Kramer, Dale. “Far from the Madding Crowd: The Non-Tragic Predessor.” In Thomas Hardy: The Forms of Tragedy, pp. 24-47. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1975.

In the following chapter from his study of Hardy and classic tragic forms, Kramer asserts that Far from the Madding Crowd is not a tragedy but does exhibit some of the tragic dichotomies, which would appear in later novels.

The critical reputation of Far from the Madding Crowd has remained the most stable among Hardy's novels, and for good reason. Few issues tantalize and puzzle its readers. The first installment in Cornhill Magazine showed that it would be a powerful novel. Published anonymously as a serial, it at first provoked speculation that George Eliot was the author,¹ but Hardy's grammatical and syntactic infelicities were soon compared unfavorably with her skill.² All in all, the immediate critical response was warm, despite qualifications, and the...