In Thomas Hardy's 'Far from the Madding Crowd' is Bathsheba's autonomy in choosing a husband celebrated or chastised?

Thomas Hardy's 1875 work 'Far from the Madding Crowd' presents the reader with a critical dilemma. Does the independence of headstrong farmer Bathsheba Everdene extoll the virtues of dominant female sexuality? Or alternatively does her indecisiveness, allied with the innate tragedy of the work, merely feed into medieval stereotypes of gender roles. Hardy invokes this question throughout the novel, reminding us of her intelligence, beauty and toughness whilst simultaneously describing the catastrophic events these characteristics provoke. It would be easy to read Bathsheba as one of the first Victorian feminist icons. Her famous line 'It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs' exhibits an acute understanding of the social issues of the 19th century, but also points to her action-driven approach towards life, assuming a traditionally male role on the farm, much to the shock of her workers. This is realised in perhaps the defining image of the novel, that of three suitors coveting her for their wives, yet in her domineering control of their passions, Hardy elevates female sexuality to a position of enormous power, shattering the marital convention.  Alternatively, whilst Bathsheba is undoubtedly an a-typical character, it could be argued that this reversal of gender-roles induces the tragic events of the novel. A traditional Victorian reading could decree that it is her coquettish note which sends Boldwood mad with foiled desire, her lust that leads her into a loveless marriage with Sergeant Troy, and her initial misdiagnosis of Gabriel Oak's character that leads to the indecisiveness of the novel's course.  As Hardy cuttingly remarks 'When a strong woman recklessly throws away her strength she is worse than a weak woman who has never any strength to throw away.' Bathsheba could be cheaply cast as the embodiment of female indecisiveness, a modern realisation of Hamlet's famous line 'Frailty, thy name is woman.' In all likelihood Hardy's intended portrayal of Bathsheba lies in between the two extremes. It seems perfectly possibe for Bathsheba to be both a feminist icon in a man's world and occasionally err in judgement. Just as Hardy remarks, 'Some women only require an emergency to make them fit for one', Bathsheba's pragmatism and sturdiness in her complex situation implies no little sympathy towards her plight.