T. Hardy "The Mayor of Casterbridge"

 

Moral suicide of a "man of character"

by Thomas.Hardy

The Mayor of Casterbridge is one of the best novels by the eminent English realist writer Thomas Hardy (1840-1928). The book is structured like a classic tragedy. It describes the death of a man ("Life and Death of a Man of Character"), as a result of his character flaws and repeated blows of fate. This fate, which in Hardy often takes the form of accidents, leads to the fact that the position of the protagonist is gradually undermined until the fall becomes inevitable.

Main characters

Michael Henchard: turned mayor of Casterbridge

Susan Henchard (Newson): Henchard's wife, sold to Newson

Richard Newson: sailor; buys Susan and lives with her for many years as her  husband

Elizabeth Jane: Susan's daughter by Henchard; dies in infancy

Elizabeth Jane: Susan's daughter by Newson; marries Farfrae

Donald Farfrae: becomes Mayor of Casterbridge after Henchard.

Lucette Templeman: A Jersey native who has an affair with Henchard; marries Farfrae.

Summary

 Michael Henchard travels with his wife Susan and their daughter looking for work as a farmhand. In one dining room, he drinks too much and, out of frustration, impulsively declares that he is putting his wife up for sale to the highest bidder. Although no one takes him seriously, after sobering up, realizing what he has done, he goes in search of his young family. When he finally finds their trail, it turns out that all three have already sailed to another country. Henchard goes to church and vows that he will abstain from drinking for the next 21 years (the same as his age at that time). In the period following this, he turns into a successful grain wholesaler and becomes mayor of Casterbridge. Eighteen years later, Susan returns to England with her daughter Elizabeth Jane. Newson, she knew, had died, and she wants to return to her lawful spouse. He agrees with this and, in order not to give people a reason to slander, he pretends that everything is developing normally, in the usual manner he takes care of Susan as a bride, and soon there is, nevertheless, a buyer, a sailor Newson, who buys for five guineas Henchard has a wife and a daughter. When Henchard remarries her the next morning. Meanwhile, Henchard hires a young Scot, Donald Farfrae, as a manager. Farfrae and Elizabeth-Jane soon begin dating. Farfrae turns out to be more knowledgeable about grain and the grain trade than Henchard, which leads to a chill in the relationship. Henchard eventually asks Farfrae to leave the company and leave his daughter alone. Farfrae starts his own grain trade, which flourishes very quickly,

 

Susan falls ill and dies shortly after the marriage. Then Henchard learns that Elizabeth Jane is not his daughter, but Newson's; his own daughter died shortly after leaving. This does not contribute to a good relationship between them. Elizabeth Jane decides to leave home and live with a lady who has just arrived in town. This lady is Lucetta Templeman, the woman with whom Henchard had an affair. When she learned of Susan's death, she decided to come to Casterbridge to marry Henchard. While Lucetta is waiting for Henchard's visit, she meets with Farfrae, who wants to pay a visit to Elizabeth-Jane. Lucetta and Farfrae immediately feel an attraction to each other, which leads to a marriage between them. Lucetta asks Henchard to return all her letters to him. The messenger with the letters, however, comes to the tavern, where he opens them and reads them publicly. By that time, 21 years had passed since Henchard swore not to drink, and he again drinks without measure. When the crowd in the tavern found out about the contents of the letters, they decided to use them to humiliate the young couple. Lucetta is so shocked that she becomes seriously ill from this and dies.

 

Henchard's growing dislike of Farfrae leads him to develop compassion for Elizabeth-Jane and a better relationship between them. But Newson is alive. He unexpectedly comes to Henchard and asks him about his daughter. In order not to lose her, Henchard tells Newson that she is dead. Newson leaves disappointed. Elizabeth-Jane stays with Henchard and a new bond develops between her and Farfrae. When Henchard learns that Newson has returned to town, he loses his footing and leaves town to avoid further confrontation. Elizabeth-Jane discovers Henchard's deception and is reunited with her father. Preparations are underway for the wedding of Elizabeth-Jane and Farfrae.

 

In the evening, in the midst of the wedding, Henchard returns to the  town to congratulate Elizabeth-Jane, and she reproaches him for cheating. He leaves, but she regrets her words and goes with Farfrae to look for Henchard. When they find him, he turns out to have just died. His last wish was to be forgotten.

Analysis

The action of the novel takes place in the 20-40s of the XIX century, in one of the south-western cities of England, the fictional city of Casterbridge. The protagonist of the novel, Michael Henchard, is an agricultural worker, a laborer who is driven by poverty to the city to earn money. Thanks to the exceptional qualities of his original character, this native of the people becomes the mayor of the city, but in a new field he turns into a domineering egoist and selfish.

As a “Story of a Man of Character,” The Mayor of Casterbridge focuses on how the characteristic of the protagonist make him to suffer. A “Man of Character,” such values is well known  as honor and moral virtue. Michael Henchard does not fit into such a categories. Throughout the novel, his extreme temper quickly shift him into a ruthless competition with his best friend  Farfrae that tears-out him of his pride and reputation, while his insecurities lead him to deceive the one person he learns to truly care about, Elizabeth-Jane. Henchard dies an unnoticeable death, mooch off to a humble cottage in the woods, and he setting his will that no one remember. There will be no statues in the Casterbridge-square,.. Henchard’s worth, then—that which makes him a “Man of Character”,lies in his choises to suffer and in his ability to resist a great pain. He carry the wait of his own mistakes as he have  sold his own family, mismanages his business,. there can be no more honorable than Henchard’s brand of “courageous endurance.”

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