Published Paper Details:

Fate is a prominent actor in Hardy's novel. It is, as Cazamian has said, an invisible third party in his novel. Like the Greek drama, the novels of Hardy are pervaded with a profound sense of fate. As E.M. Forster puts it, "the fate above us, not the fate working through us - that is what is eminent and memorable in Wessex novels". No doubt Hardy's scheme of tragedy admits of a large space of fate. Hardy's mind was darkened by the doctrine of necessitarianism and the philosophy of Determinism which denied free-will to the individual and which asserts that man is a mere play thing in the hand of some Blind Force. The Greek and Shakespeare call this force fate or destiny but Hardy calls it chance or circumstance or immanent will. 'Far from the Madding Crowd' is a powerful tragic expression by Hardy in which he portrays beautifully the role of chance and fate played in the lives of characters that ultimately leads to the suffering and even death of some characters. This role of chance and fate is so prominent in Hardy's fictional works that some critics call Hardy a pessimist novelist. Hardy's philosophy of life is marked with a strong note of fatalism. In Hardy's novels Destiny is character. Man is a helpless creature in the hands of Destiny or Fate. The keen eyes of fate are always looking intently on his activities with a view to intervening as and when it so likes. Man is not free to choose the type of life he wants to live. Obstacles and hindrances swarm on his path of life.