Of Gargoyles and Men: Creative Vitality in Far from the Madding Crowd

Journal : FATHOM - a French e-journal of Thomas Hardy Studies

Focusing on the famous description of the gargoyle of the Weatherbury Church in Far from the Madding Crowd, chapter 46, this paper looks into the possible, yet little acknowledged, sources of Hardy’s treatment of the gothic and the grotesque—notably in relation with John Ruskin’s developments on the subject in The Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849) and The Stones of Venice (1851-53). From there it goes on to show that the awful distorted grin of the gargoyle is far more than a merely decorative motif: on the contrary it is used throughout Hardy’s novels to subtend a reflexion on cosmic indifference and the irony of Fate — since Fate is consistently shown as laughing sardonically upon men’s decisions and troubles.

Keywords : Architecture

Updated on 01/01/2016