Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy

First published: 1872

Type of work: Novel

Type of plot: Pastoral

Time of plot: Nineteenth century

Locale: Rural England

Principal characters

• Dick Dewy, a passenger carrier
• Reuben Dewy, his father, also a passenger carrier
• Mr. Shiner, a wealthy farmer
• Mr. Maybold, the vicar
• Fancy Day, a schoolteacher and organist

The Story:

On Christmas Eve, the Mellstock Choir prepares to set out for its annual caroling venture. In fine voice, mellowed by generous mugs of cider, the men and boys gather at the home of Reuben Dewy. Then, with their fiddles and the cello of Grandfather Dewy, they depart on their rounds. After calling at outlying farms and houses, they arrive at the schoolhouse to serenade the new schoolmistress, Fancy Day. At first, there is no indication that she has heard them; but at last, she appears, framed, picture-like, in a window. Later, the men miss young Dick Dewy. When they find him, he is leaning against the school, staring up listlessly at the now-darkened window.

At church the following morning, Fancy Day causes a stir of excitement. She is the main attraction for Dick Dewy, Farmer Shiner, and the new vicar, Mr. Maybold, but she does not endear herself to a number of other men in the congregation because she commits what they regard almost as blasphemy. For as long as anyone can remember, the male choir has provided music for the service, but the young woman, on her first day in church, leads the young girls in singing along with the men. Some of the older and wiser ones foresee trouble from a woman who is so forward.

Dick gives his annual party on the afternoon and evening of Christmas Day. When Dick can claim Fancy for a dance, he is transported with joy; but when she dances with Shiner, a more handsome and more wealthy man, Dick is downcast. When Shiner escorts the lady home, the evening is ruined for young Dick.

Using a handkerchief left behind by Fancy as his excuse, Dick finds the courage to call at the schoolhouse a few days later. A very inexperienced lover, he simply returns the handkerchief, stammers a “good day,” and departs. It is not until spring that he makes any real progress in his love affair. By that time, Dick is a wan and shadowy figure of a man. He speaks to no one of his love, but it is obvious to all but Fancy and her other two admirers that Dick is not himself.

Before Dick can declare himself, however, a delegation from the choir waits on Vicar Maybold. The delegation has been made uneasy by a rumor that the group is to be displaced by organ music played by Fancy Day; soon, the choir learns that the rumor is true. The vicar has brought an organ to the church because he prefers that instrument to a choir. To spare the feelings of the faithful choir members, however, he agrees to wait before deposing them. They are to have the dignity of leaving on a special day, not on an ordinary Sunday.

Dick’s big day comes when he is allowed to bring Fancy and some of her belongings from the home of her father. He is dismayed to find Farmer Shiner also present, but when Fancy allows him to touch her hand at the dinner table, Dick’s spirits rise perceptibly. On the ride home, he cannot find the words that are in his heart; he feels, nevertheless, that he has made some progress. In the weeks that follow, rumors of Fancy’s friendliness with Maybold and with Shiner drive Dick to desperation. One day, he writes Fancy a letter in which he bluntly asks whether he means anything to her. When he receives no answer from Fancy, he resolves that he will talk to her next Sunday.

Before Sunday comes, however, Dick has to go on an errand for Maybold’s mother, taking him to a neighboring town. He is preparing to leave for home again when he sees Fancy waiting for the carrier. Seizing the opportunity, Dick helps her into his cart and triumphantly carries her off. On the drive home, he finally finds the courage to propose to her and is as much surprised as overjoyed to hear her acceptance.

Because they will not be able to marry for some time, Dick and Fancy keep their betrothal a secret. Furthermore, Fancy’s father has told her that he hopes she will accept Shiner for a husband. One trait of Fancy’s character troubles Dick. She seems to take undue pleasure in dressing to please others, but whenever he prepares to punish her by letting her worry about him for a change, Fancy apologizes for her vanity. Unable to resist her tears, the young lover takes her back into his heart before she knows there has been a problem.

On the day Dick is at last to meet Fancy’s father to ask for her hand, Dick prepares himself carefully. Fancy’s father tells him bluntly that he is not good enough for Fancy and that she is too cultured, too well educated, and too wealthy for a plain carrier. Sadly, Dick agrees, and he turns toward home.

Fancy, however, is not so easily defeated. When tears fail to move her father, she resorts to the age-old trick of languishing away for love. She does not eat, at least not so that her father notices; she merely pines and sighs. The ruse works, and her father reluctantly finds himself begging her to marry her young lover. The date is set for the coming midsummer.

On the day Fancy is installed at the organ and the choir is discontinued, Dick can not attend church because he has to serve at the funeral of a friend. Fancy has put her hair in curls and in other ways dresses more lavishly than usual. Dick is sorry to see her dress so beautifully, especially given that she knows he will not be present to see her. Still, she puts him off brusquely. On his way home that night, Dick walks through the rain to get one last glimpse of his love before he retires for the night. She refuses to lean far enough out her window to give him a kiss. Later, when she sees Vicar Maybold approaching through the rain, she greets him warmly. The vicar, who had been enchanted with her appearance that morning and knows nothing of her betrothal to Dick, has decided to ask for her hand in marriage. Surprising even herself, Fancy accepts him.

The next morning, Maybold meets Dick on the road. Still thinking himself betrothed, Dick shyly tells Maybold of his coming marriage to Fancy. Shocked, Maybold keeps silent, leaving Dick ignorant of Fancy’s faithlessness. Maybold then sends a note to the young lady, telling her that she must not forsake Dick. Before his note can be delivered, Maybold receives a note from Fancy, in which she writes that she had been momentarily swayed by the prospect of a more cultured, elegant life; she begs to withdraw her acceptance of his proposal because she has loved and still loves another.

The wedding takes place that summer. It is a great celebration, marred only by Maybold’s refusal to perform the ceremony. Dick is puzzled and cannot think of any way in which he might have offended the vicar. After the ceremony, Dick tells his bride that they will never have a secret between them; Fancy replies that they never will, beginning from that day forth.

Bibliography

Daleski, H. M. Thomas Hardy and Paradoxes of Love. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1997. Daleski reevaluates the treatment of gender in Hardy’s novels, defending the author from charges of sexism and maintaining that some of Hardy’s female characters are depicted sympathetically. Argues that Hardy is the premodern precursor of sexual failures and catastrophic ends.

Gatrell, Simon. Thomas Hardy and the Proper Study of Mankind. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1993. Notes that Under the Greenwood Tree asserts an air of social harmony, albeit with an odd, discordant voice. Concludes that the marriage of Fancy Day and Dick Dewy symbolizes a renewal of village life.

Kramer, Dale, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Thomas Hardy. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999. An introduction and general overview of Hardy’s work, ideas, and literary skills. Essays explore Hardy’s biography, aesthetics, and the impact of his work on developments in science, religion, and philosophy in the late nineteenth century. Also contains a detailed chronology of Hardy’s life and the essay “The Patriarchy of Class: Under the Greenwood Tree, Far from the Madding Crowd, The Woodlanders.”

Mallett, Phillip, ed. The Achievement of Thomas Hardy. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000. A collection of essays analyzing select Hardy novels and other works. Examines Hardy and nature, Hardy and architecture, and the presence of poets in his novels, among other topics. Includes a bibliography and an index.

Millgate, Michael. Thomas Hardy: A Biography Revisited. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. This biography enhances and replaces Millgate’s 1982 biography, considered to be one of the best and most scholarly Hardy biographies available. Includes a bibliography and an index.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Thomas Hardy: His Career as a Novelist. New York: Random House, 1971. Considers Under the Greenwood Tree to be a kind of woodland pastoral or novel of rural manners. Concludes that Hardy’s novel, though an idyll, contains many elements that are less than idyllic.

Page, Norman, ed. Oxford Reader’s Companion to Hardy. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Three hundred alphabetically arranged entries examine Hardy’s work and discuss his family and friends, important places in his life and work, and his influences. Also examines critical approaches to his writings and provides a history of his works’ publication. Also includes a chronology of his life, lists of places and characters in his fiction, a glossary, and a bibliography.

Tomalin, Claire. Thomas Hardy. New York: Penguin, 2007. This thorough and finely written biography by a respected Hardy scholar illuminates the novelist’s efforts to indict the malice, neglect, and ignorance of his fellow humans. Tomalin also discusses aspects of his life that are apparent in his literary works.

Vigar, Penelope. The Novels of Thomas Hardy: Illusion and Reality. New York: Humanities Press, 1978. Argues that Under the Greenwood Tree is a light, often humorous, pastoral tale, one barely touched by extravagances of coincidence and melodrama and one that seldom strays into the realms of passion and tragedy.