The Wedding That Wasn't — Far from the Madding Crowd

On a weekday morning in the barracks-town church of All Saints', a small congregation of women finishes a sermonless service and is about to disperse when Sergeant Troy strides up the aisle in scarlet and spurs. The clink of his step makes everyone guess a wedding is beginning; he stations himself rigid at the altar while the quarter-jack strikes half-past eleven and no bride appears.

Minutes of silence give way to titters, then awkward quiet as the visible clock machinery marks three-quarters and finally noon while Troy stands like a column refusing to show embarrassment. He endures the stares, turns at last, and stalks down the nave flushed with humiliation past women who came to see a bride and found only pride on display.

Outside in the square he meets Fanny sobbing: she waited at the wrong church, All Souls' instead of All Saints', and thought tomorrow would do as well. Troy calls her a fool for fooling him, laughs hoarsely when she asks if they can marry tomorrow, and walks rapidly away leaving when unanswered. Hardy turns a small mistake into public ordeal and shows Troy's cruelty outweighing Fanny's error while the church women watch both.