Gender And Sexuality Of The Heroine Bathsheba Everdene

Despite being an era defined by its conservatism and strong sense of repression, progressive and subversive notions of gender can indeed be found in Victorian works, including those written by male authors. Thomas Hardy, arguably the most controversial novelist of his time, depicted gender and sexuality in a completely foreign way to Victorian ideals, leading to much of the controversy around him. Though many scholars argue vehemently that he cannot be classified as a feminist writer, it is undeniable that he placed women in roles most authors would not dare to, and openly expressed sexuality in ways that completely ignored the societal rules of Victorian propriety. Through his depiction and support of androgynous character roles and the†¦show more content†¦The performance Bathsheba gives on the back of her horse, riding â€Å"in the manner demanded by the saddle, though hardly expected by the woman,† observed by Gabriel is a pivotal scene in the development of her strength derived from her androgynous nature (Hardy 15). While riding her horse, Bathsheba approaches bramble too low to ride up right underneath it. She checks to see if anyone is around before laying her back against the horse, head resting over the rear, and proceeds to ride underneath. This position shocks and impresses Gabriel, for he is seeing probably for the first time, a woman in a classically male position by straddling the horse and simultaneously in the position of a woman by laying back against it. Much in the way of her being a female farmer, in this moment Bathsheba is operating somewhere in the middle of the gender spectrum. However, it is not just Hardy’s heroine that portrays his unconventional ideas of gender, but his male protagonist Gabriel Oak, also demonstrate his promotion of androgynous identities. Boldwood and Troy, two of Bathsheba’s suitors inflict their gaze upon her in order to own her, a fact she is keenly aware of when she says â€Å"I hate to be thought of men’s property in that way,† in her open disagreement to marriage (26). The superficiality of Troy’s gaze, which is constantly rooted in Bathsheba being an object, is made grossly apparent, when he is looking upon the corpse of his lover Fanny Robin and turns to his then