William Boldwood is in his forties, and he has not taken a wife. He is much sought after in Weatherbury, He proposes and becomes obsessed with Bathsheba, which seems resolved when she marries Troy. Boldwood slips into what today would be called depression. Boldwood resumes his pursuit of Bathsheba, and when Troy arrives just as Boldwood's plan seems on track, Boldwood shoots Troy, attempts suicide, and then walks to the jail to turn himself in for murder. 