Far from the Madding Crowd, Chapter 40 summary

What happens

1. The woman sleeps beneath a haystack, wakes after midnight, and resumes her painful walk toward Casterbridge.
2. She makes crutches from forked sticks, but exhaustion forces her to fall and then struggle onward.
3. Along a railing, she divides the distance into small goals before reaching a bridge and losing hope.
4. A large dog approaches, and she leans on his shoulders to continue while avoiding other people.
5. She reaches a refuge near six, rings its bell, and receives help from a man and two women.
6. When she asks about the dog, the man says he drives him away with stones.

What to notice

The woman survives by limiting what she asks herself to endure. Her imagined stopping points make a large task temporarily manageable.

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