Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy

All members of the groups enjoyed this popular novel, including those who were re-reading and knew the work well...

General comments on the novel:

• Stands out as being pastoral, domestic, funny novel without the anguish and tragedy of Hardy’s later novels, but with a Hardyesque twist at the end.
• Simple story line, but comes alive with fantastic descriptions of nature, countryside, characters, detail of buildings (light on the stairs). See a great novelist at the beginning of his career
• Full length, prose idyll of rural life published in 1872
• Group members were surprised by the lateness of carol singing around the villages -  until 3am on Christmas morning. Every villager was supposed to be able to hear the carols, if not from outside their own house then from carols being sung outside neighbouring properties. 
• Music was very important to Hardy – Hardy’s music books in Dorset County Museum, some have carols at front and folk songs at back (upside down). Both his father and grandfather were part of the quire at Bockhampton 
• Hardy loved dancing – much (and best part) of Fanny and Dick’s courtship through dancing.
• Original story much more about the choir  and changes to rural community – Hardy advised to put in stronger story line
• Lots of humour

Themes: Nature, Character, Dialect, Decline of traditional ways

Dialect

• Sometimes need to look up meanings – based on Hardy’s intimate knowledge of local characters and how they speak.  
• Strength of dialect reflects social standing of characters

Nature

• Some rural scenes were taken from Hardy’s first, unpublished novel the ‘The Poor Man and the Lady’ 
• Dutch School of painting referred to in the title: a close study of rural life, looking at the work and lives of the rural population.  Dutch School artists include Rembrandt, Vermeer, Frans Hals and Van Ostarde
• 1881 review of  ‘Under the Greenwood Tree’ – delightful because of the descriptions of nature and Dorset
• Power of nature very strong – nature vast, mankind small, but fate doesn’t play a strong part as in later novels.
• Examples highlighted during discussion:

1. Lovely description of Fancy in the rain (Autumn Ch 3)
2. Excellent descriptions of trees (First paragraph of book and near end of Conclusion)
3. Collecting the honey and burying the bees
4. Dick going nutting

• Nature is seen as friendly, benign, pastoral and nonthreatening.  In many of Hardy’s novels nature has stronger personality and becomes part of the characters and action. In Under the Greenwood Tree Hardy is quietly exploring aspects of nature which he will use more darkly in later novels

Character

• Fancy Day – shallow, pretty, cares about dresses, hair and skin (why do we see this as negative?) Vacillates about who to marry. Likes chasing after the unobtainable – loses interest when she secures it? Are Hardy’s women rather stereotypical? Did Fancy want to be the organist in order to be the centre of attention in church? She did strike a blow for women when she encourages the girls to sing louder in church, to have their voices heard (which upset some of the men folk as it wasn't how it should be) Fancy can be seen as the focus of change.Fanny not liked – she will lead Dick a dog’s life,  quite cruel at times.
• Narrator states her eyes were 'too refined and beautiful for a tranter's wife'
• Narrator enters Fancy's consciousness only once, she appears to lack any inner life
• Dick Dewey - his courtship seems a bit lame at times – how much is there to his character beyond idolising Fanny?   Dick blinded by love.
• Educated beyond his family but still dependent on them, wanting to branch out, wanting to fall in love but in a different way to his parents
• although a member of the quire he slips away at least twice - a change to the old order
• Other characters: Respect for vicar, Mr Maybold.  Even though he was the instrument of change and choir losing their Sunday performances, the choir were very respectful when negotiating time of their last performance.

Change and decline of traditional ways

• Church lost its soul/heart when organist took over and became more elitist.
• Set in 1840. Everyone knows their place in society but rural change starting. Strong community illustrated at Christmas party
• Huge movement into towns 1840 – 1900
• Loss of trades like shoemaker (wonderful description) and tranter. Trains to carry goods, mass produced shoes
• What kind of Dorset is Hardy representing? Quite a rosy picture – doesn’t depict poverty (1882 Dorset Labourer essay depicting plight of labourer – suffering from ‘progress’)
• Under Greenwood Tree not about the labouring class. 
• Thomas Leaf is the only one in a smock.
• Everyone happy with their lot. Still a deferential society. UGT doesn’t reflect unrest (Tolpuddle Martyrs)

General points

• Hardy had difficulty publishing it because too short. Publishers wanted 3 volumes because lending libraries were a major client and they wanted several volumes as got income from loan of each volume.
• Lots off different versions because Hardy sold the copyright – didn’t come back into ownership of the Hardy family until 7 years after his death.Would be interesting to do an in depth consideration of changes to words in different editions.  Final sentence – some versions ‘would’ some ‘should’ – much discussion on which version is the darker.  
• Nightingale refers to Philomena who had her tongue ripped out so she could never reveal her secret, but later turns into a nightingale.  Discussion of what happened to Tess when she confesses her secret.

Going the Rounds – a walk through Higher and Lower  Bockhampton to Stinsford Church following much of the route in Under The Greenwood Tree, singing West Gallery carols, lead by Tim Laycock is put on in early December every other year by the Thomas Hardy Society.

The loss of nature words from the Oxford Junior dictionary:

www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/13/oxford-junior-dictionary-replacement-natural-words

Robert Macfarlane's Landmarks is a meditation on words, landscape and the relationship between the two. Read more at http://www.penguin.co.uk/books/landmarks

Go to Max Gate to see 15 minute film of  the first part of Under The Greenwood Tree,  filmed by Tim Laycock at Hardy’s Cottage.

Copies of the 2005 TV Film are still available from online retailers