Finishing Thomas Hardy's 'Under the Greenwood Tree'

Having just finished Thomas Hardy's 'Under the Greenwood Tree', I quite naturally have some thoughts buzzing round my head.  I'm sure I read this novel(la) about 10-12 years, but one way or another, before reading it this time, I could remember next to nothing from it.

This time round, I had the good fortune of reading a fantastic Introduction by Dr. Claire Seymour from the University of Kent in the Wordsworth Classics edition of the book.  This sensitised me to two central themes in the novel(la), the issues of cultural continuity and cultural loss which was pivotal for me gaining a much better understanding of the book this time round.

Dr. Seymour's Introduction also sensitised me to the fact that there are two main plots in 'Under the Greenwood Tree':  the demise of the Mellstock male choir and the love intrigue between Dick Dewy and Fancy Day (and Farmer Shiner and Parson Maybold too).  The male choir issue obviously relates to the cultural continuity versus cultural loss themes, as the replacement of the male choir (with its violins, cello etc.) with the more modern use of the harmonium leads to many male rustic members of the local Anglican congregation feeling redundant in local church life.

Having visited St. Michael's church, Stinsford (Hardy's model for the church in 'Under the Greenwood area); Lower Higher Bockhampton (Hardy's birthplace, the Hardy cottage being the model for the Dewy household in the book); Lower Bockhampton (the old schoolhouse being the model for where Fancy Day teaches in the book) etc.  I could clearly visualise some of the paths (e.g. the riverside walk from St. Michael's to Lower Bockhampton) trodden in the novel, especially those covered by the half-drunk male choir in the early hours of Christmas Day (some of the magical early scenes from 'Under the Greenwood Tree').

Tied in with the cultural continuity-cultural loss themes of the book, there is yet again the issue of upwardly mobile (semi-) outsiders coming into a rustic community and disturbing its natural dynamic and equipoise.  Here, the main outsider is Parson Maybold, whose arrival, and being soon under the influence of Farmer Shiner, signals the demise of the Mellstock choir due to both of them believing that Fancy Day's playing of the harmonium at church will lead to one of them getting married to her.  Like Grace Melbury in 'The Woodlanders' and Clym Yeobright in 'The Return of the Native', Fancy Day herself is in the awkward position of being a native who is returning to a rustic community having seen something of the big world beyond it.  However, through the genuine love chemistry that develops between Fancy and Dick Dewy, 'Under the Greenwood Tree' has a more positive ending with the marriage of Dick and Fancy than 'The Return of the Native' and 'The Woodlanders' which feature the failed marriage of Clym Yeobright and Eustacia Vye and almost irreparably damaged marriage of Grace Melbury and Dr. Fitzpiers.

While both 'The Return of the Native' and 'The Woodlanders' end in tragedy: with Eustacia Vye and Damon Wildeve both drowning in the former and Giles Winterbourne sacrificing his life for Grace Melbury's moral honour in the latter, 'Under the Greenwood Tree' ends far more happily with Dick and Fancy's wedding party taking place in Keeper Day's garden.  As the younger people dance, the older ones sit under the great big tree in the garden reminiscing about things from the (sometimes deep) past.  For me, this is kind of tinged with some sadness, as Dick now wants to follow Fancy in becoming more upwardly social mobile, which will inevitably lead to further cultural loss, a continuing move away from rich, rural traditions.

While reading 'Under the Greenwood Tree', I also step-by-step watched the 2005 film version which helped me to visualise some of the main characters in the book better, such as Farmer Shiner, Parson Maybold, Fancy and Dick below:

However, I couldn't help but notice that the film version used quite a lot of poetic licence (e.g. Dick going business-seeking on the day of Fancy's first performance on the harmonium in church, when in the book, Dick more honourably attends the funeral of a friend in a neighbouring village).