Far from the Madding Crowd: Students warned of ‘upsetting scenes’ in Thomas Hardy novel

University of Warwick said 1874 novel referenced ‘the cruelty of nature and the rural life’

Students at the University of Warwick are being given content warnings about potentially “upsetting scenes” in Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd.

Released in 1874, the novel is set in the rural south-west of England and tells the story of a young woman, Bathsheba Everdene, living in the fictional countryside village of Wessex.

The novel is famed for its descriptions of agricultural life, including the graphic deaths of many animals. In one scene, a sheepdog drives an entire herd of sheep off a cliff.

Far from the Madding Crowd is taught as part of the English Literature course at Warwick, with students this year being warned in advance about the aforementioned moments in the story.

“Far from the Madding Crowd: Contains some potentially rather upsetting scenes concerning the cruelty of nature and the rural life,” the content warning reads (via The Telegraph).

Content warnings or trigger warnings are often placed on works of art or culture in order to prepare their consumers of content within that they may find disturbing or want to avoid.

Far from the Madding Crowd has been adapted for the screen many times, most recently with a 2015 film starring Carey Mulligan.