THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE – STUDY MATERIAL

COMPILED FROM VARIOUS SOURCES

Setting and date

The book The Mayor of Casterbridge is one of Thomas Hardy's Wessex novels, and is set largely in the
fictional town of Casterbridge, based on Dorchester in Dorset. The author intended Casterbridge to be
an imaginative presentation of certain aspects of the town as he remembered it in the "dream" of his
childhood.

Although the opening sentence of the novel states that the events described took place "before the
nineteenth century had reached one-third of its span" the date of Hardy's own childhood places it rather
later — in the mid-to-late 1840s.

First publication and early reception

Hardy started work on The Mayor of Casterbridge in the spring of 1884, after a three-year pause. He
completed it in a little over a year, and it was first issued in weekly parts in January 1886, followed by
full publication in May 1886. A reader for the publisher, Smith, Elder & Co. was not impressed and
complained that the lack of gentry among the characters made it uninteresting. It was issued with a
small print run of only 750 copies.

Hardy himself felt that in his efforts to get an incident into almost every weekly instalment he had added
events to the narrative somewhat too freely, resulting in over-elaboration. However, he was deeply
affected, telling a friend that the novel was the only tragedy that made him weep while writing it.

About Hardy

Thomas Hardy was born in 1840 in Dorset. Hardy’s rural beginnings influenced much of his fictional
settings. The Mayor of Casterbridge demonstrates Hardy’s position in the shifting world of the times,
containing parts of both Victorian and Modernist literary forms. Throughout the novel Hardy traverses
through the effects of economic and cultural growth as witnessed in Weydon-Priors decline and the
continually changing moral codes and conduct evidenced in the passionate and reckless character of
Lucetta Templeman. Within the novel, Thomas Hardy uses a variety of major and minor themes
alongside motifs and symbols that can be analyzed by looking at plot, character analysis and other
literary devices used throughout the novel. This essay will attempt to analyze the themes of fate and
chance alongside love.

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Narrative Technique, Fate and Chance

Hardy usually uses the third person singular narrative voice and the technique of the omniniscient
narrator, having a peek at the minds of every character.

Fate and Chance usually play a big role in his novels. This is because he believed that the adversities of
Fate usually determined the destiny of an individual. The forces of fate in his novels may be social or
personal, or it may also be demonstrated by the force of love and its adversities. Most often, fate is also
exhibited through chance co-incidences in his novels.

Characterization and Plot

At first glance, the character itself within the context of Hardy’s novel would appear to play the greater
role over fate, with the protagonist Michael Henchard’s misfortunate happenings the result of his own
numerous flaws and disreputable past, however it can also be stated that arbitrary fate plays a central
role within the context of the novel.

There are many examples of this theme which first becomes apparent at the very beginning of the novel.
When Susan and Henchard find the fair during the first act, there are two shops offering the service of
food. Susan encourages Henchard to enter the furmity tent which seemingly does not sell alcohol,
Henchard agrees but ends up getting intoxicated. It would appear chance and fate helped to gently nudge
Henchard into committing the despicable act of selling his wife as consciously he had chosen to avoid
the tent which sold alcohol. It can also be seen as fate that a passing sailor who had both the kindness
and the money to accept Henchard’s offer and price was in the same tent.

Thomas Hardy has explored the idea of fate and chance within a variety of his poetry and novels, often
displaying the theme as the superior over-character within his works, controlling the happenings and
lives of his characters. Throughout The Mayor of Casterbridge, there is often a conflict between fate
and the individual character, with the real conflict not between man and man, but man and the
omnipotent fate, with Henchard as much in the hands of fate as Farfrae and Elizabeth-Jane, this
reasoning is why for all of Henchard’s insipid personality traits, the reader struggles to project blame
onto the individual. On this same note, it can easily be deferred that Henchard’s own personality is due
to fate and chance, his foul temper causes him act without thinking and his rashness leads him to sell
his wife.

Henchard illustrates how a person may unbridle fate through a varied range of both immoral and cruel
choices. He shows how interfering fate is can be found by choices that are unseeing and unreasoned.

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Farfrae however illustrates the opposite. He shows how sensible thought process and choices can lead
to a positive course in life by pre-empting any opportunity for Fate to intervene.

The narrative voice explains to the reader that “The movements of his mind seemed to tend to the
thought that some power was working against him.” (27.4) This demonstrates to the reader that
Henchard himself is superstitious and aware of the power of fate and his rare moment in which
Henchard looks for something outside of his own being as the cause of his own misfortune, this is
further seen later in the novel “”I wonder,” he asked himself with eerie misgiving; “I wonder if it can
be that somebody has been roasting a waxen image of me, or stirring an unholy brew to confound me!
I don’t believe in such power, and yet what if they should ha’ been doing it!”” (27.5) This further shows
Henchard playing with the idea that things might not all be his fault, which is a rare happening as he
usually accepts the blame to be on himself.

Another important theme throughout the novel is that of Love, both familial and romantic as well as the
lack of both. Evidence of this theme can be found when the reader first meets Susanne and Henchard,
the latter had already lost love for his wife and when she reappeared, only married her due to a sense of
duty to both her and his believed daughter. “Nobody would have conceived from his outward demeanor
that there was no amatory fire or pulse of romance acting as stimulant to the bustle going on in his
gaunt, great house; nothing but three large resolves: one to make amends to his neglected Susan, another
to provide a comfortable home for Elizabeth-Jane under his paternal eye; and a third to castigate himself
with the thorns which these restitutory acts brought in their train.” (13.8)

There is also no love left between Lucetta and Henchard, as displayed through her love letters now
providing only shame and embarrassment. “This young creature was staying at the boarding-house
where I happened to have my lodging; and when I was pulled down she took upon herself to nurse me.
From that she got to have a foolish liking for me. Heaven knows why, for I didn’t encourage any such
thing. But, being together in the same house, and her feelings warm, there arose a terrible scandal, which
did me no harm, but was of course ruin to her.” (12.23) Henchard once again proposes engagement out
of duty with little love shared between the characters.

Hardy covertly explores the theme of love through familial love. Elizabeth-Jane’s relationship with
Henchard is a whirlwind of emotion, and a source of eventual suffering for both parties. Henchard
believes blood to be the main source of love and after discovering the truth about her parental heritage
loses love for her, finding her negative traits over-power the positive ones.

There is however some forgiveness for Henchard from Elizabeth-Jane after the event of the formers
death at the near end of the novel. “Her experience had been of a kind to teach her, rightly or wrongly,

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that the doubtful honour of a brief transit through a sorry world hardly called for effusiveness, even
when the path was suddenly irradiated at some half-way point by daybeams rich as hers. But her strong
sense that neither she nor any human being deserved less than was given, did not blind her to the fact
that there were others receiving less who had deserved much more. And in being forced to class herself
among the fortunate she did not cease to wonder at the persistence of the unforeseen, when the one to
whom such unbroken tranquillity had been accorded in the adult stage was she whose youth had seemed
to teach that happiness was but the occasional episode in a general drama of pain.” (45.32) Elizabeth
Jane honors Henchard’s wishes and neither mourns him or tends his grave, however she reflects in the
above quote the dispensation of happiness and Henchard’s own obsessions with reputation. It can be
assumed that to Elizabeth Jane, Henchard is one of the people that deserved more from life in regards
to happiness and love.

PLOT OF THE NOVEL

At a country fair near Casterbridge in Wessex Michael Henchard, a 21-year-old hay-trusser, argues with
his wife Susan. Drunk on rum-laced furmity he auctions her off, along with their baby daughter
Elizabeth-Jane, to Richard Newson, a passing sailor, for five guineas. Sober and remorseful the next
day, he is too late to locate his family. He vows not to touch liquor again for 21 years.

Believing the auction to be legally binding, Susan lives as Newson's wife for 18 years. After Newson
is lost at sea Susan, lacking any means of support, decides to seek out Henchard again, taking her
daughter with her. Susan has told Elizabeth-Jane little about Henchard, and the young woman knows
only that he is a relation by marriage. Susan discovers that Henchard has become a very successful hay
and grain merchant and Mayor of Casterbridge, known for his staunch sobriety. He has avoided
explaining how he lost his wife, allowing people to assume he is a widower.

When the couple are reunited, Henchard proposes remarrying Susan after a sham courtship, this in his
view being the simplest and most discreet way to remedy matters and to prevent Elizabeth-Jane learning
of their disgrace. To do this, however, he is forced to break off an engagement with a woman named
Lucetta Templeman, who had nursed him when he was ill.

Donald Farfrae, a young and energetic Scotsman passing through Casterbridge, helps Henchard by
showing him how to salvage substandard grain he has bought. Henchard takes a liking to the man,
persuades him not to emigrate, and hires him as his corn factor, rudely turning away a man named Jopp
to whom he had already offered the job. Farfrae is extremely successful in the role, and increasingly
outshines his employer. When he catches the eye of Elizabeth-Jane, Henchard dismisses him and
Farfrae sets himself up as an independent merchant. Farfrae conducts himself with scrupulous honesty,

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but Henchard is so determined to ruin his rival that he makes risky business decisions that prove
disastrous.

Susan falls ill and dies shortly after the couple's remarriage, leaving Henchard a letter to be opened on
the day of Elizabeth-Jane's wedding. Henchard reads the letter, which is not properly sealed, and learns
that Elizabeth-Jane is not in fact his daughter, but Newson's – his Elizabeth-Jane having died as an
infant. Henchard's new knowledge causes him to behave coldly towards the second Elizabeth-Jane.

Elizabeth-Jane accepts a position as companion to Lucetta, a newcomer, unaware that she had had a
relationship with Henchard which resulted in her social ruin. Now wealthy after receiving an inheritance
from her aunt, and learning that Henchard's wife had died, Lucetta has come to Casterbridge to marry
him. However, on meeting Farfrae, she becomes attracted to him, and he to her.

Henchard's financial difficulties persuade him that he should marry Lucetta quickly. But she is in love
with Farfrae, and they run away one weekend to get married, not telling Henchard until after the fact.
Henchard's credit collapses and he goes bankrupt. Farfrae buys Henchard's old business and tries to
help Henchard by employing him as a journeyman.

Lucetta asks Henchard to return her old love letters, and Henchard asks Jopp to take them to her. Jopp,
who still bears a grudge for having been cheated out of the position of factor, opens the letters and reads
them out loud at an inn. Some of the townspeople publicly shame Henchard and Lucetta, creating
effigies of them in a skimmington ride. Lucetta is so devastated by the spectacle that she collapses, has
a miscarriage, and dies.

The next day, Newson – who it transpires was not lost at sea – arrives at Henchard's door asking about
his daughter. Henchard, who has come to value her kindness to him, is afraid of losing her
companionship and tells Newson she is dead. Newson leaves in sorrow. After 21 years, Henchard's vow
of abstinence expires, and he starts drinking again.

Eventually discovering that he has been lied to, Newson returns, and Henchard disappears rather than
endure a confrontation. On the day of Elizabeth-Jane's wedding to Farfrae, he comes back, timidly
seeking a reconciliation. She rebuffs him, and he departs for good. Later, regretting her coldness, she
and Farfrae set out to find him. They arrive too late, and learn that he has died alone. They also find his
last written statement: his dying wish is to be forgotten.

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CHARACTERS IN THE NOVEL

In most of Hardy’s novels, there are two kinds of characters: the major characters and the minor
characters. Almost all his characters are rustic or rural characters, as the scene and location of his
novels is, always, the Wessex countryside of England or the South-western part of the country. The
minor characters often function as important ‘links’ between the major characters. For example, the
furmity woman, in this novel, is an important link between Henchard and Susan, and also serves as a
continuity between the former’s past and present.

Michael Henchard
He is the impulsive and mercurial main character, the "man of character" that the novel follows. Like
his wife Susan, he believes that an evil fate is responsible for his misfortunes. However, unlike his wife,
he tries to fight back against this fate with his bullish nature. He does have a kind spirit, wanting to
make amends to Susan and Elizabeth-Jane, happily taking Farfrae under his wing, caring for the poor
of the village. He also lives with high morals, confessing in several instances when he could easily lie.
Yet when he believes he is crossed, he becomes extremely angry and will stop at nothing to ruin his
rival. Unfortunately, he always comes to regret his anger, usually when it is too late to make amends.
The whole novel tries to determine whether his character works against him, or if a heartless fate has
brought him down.

Susan Henchard Newson

She believes that everything that happens to her is controlled by a menacing fate, and the events of the
novel seem to support her view. She accompanies Michael Henchard to Weydon-Priors, and seems to
be a dutiful wife to him. However, upon being sold for five guineas, she becomes angry and willingly
leaves with Newson the sailor, effectively dissolving the marriage with Michael. After Newson's
supposed death, she returns to Wessex to find her husband. Although she eventually has a normal
marriage with Michael, she carries the secret of Elizabeth-Jane's birth with her to her grave, revealing
it in a letter that should be opened on Elizabeth-Jane's wedding day.

Elizabeth-Jane Henchard
She is the first Elizabeth-Jane introduced in the novel. As an infant, she is sold with her mother for five
guineas to Newson the sailor. Three months later after the auction, she dies. She has black hair, one trait
that Michael remembers about her.

The furmity-seller
She is the owner of the furmity tent in Weydon-Priors, where Susan and Elizabeth-Jane Henchard were
sold. She is the one who adds liquor to Michael's furmity, which in turn makes him angry enough to

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sell his wife. She only remembers the auction when Susan mentions it eighteen years later. Later, she
again leads Michael into despair by disclosing the whole story of the auction at her trial.

The townspeople of Weydon-Priors

These are the witnesses to the sale of Susan Henchard. Unlike the people of Casterbridge, they make
no attempt to get involved in the lives of others. Although they do not approve of the sale of a wife,
they make no attempt to stop the auction or to show him the error of his ways.

Richard Newson
He is the kind sailor who offers to buy Susan and Elizabeth-Jane Henchard, but not before asking Susan
if she is willing to go with him. After Elizabeth-Jane Henchard dies, he becomes the father of a girls
who is now named as Elizabeth-Jane Newson. Later he fakes his death at sea, planning to return after a
few months for Elizabeth-Jane. Even though he discovers that Michael has lied about Elizabeth-Jane's
death, he asks Elizabeth-Jane to forgive him.

Elizabeth-Jane Newson
She is the daughter of Susan Henchard and Newson the sailor, and from her parents she inherited her
fair hair. She is overly concerned with manners and respectability. Although she has a melancholy air,
Elizabeth-Jane has a great ability to love, giving it to her mother, her father, her stepfather, and later her
husband.

The townspeople of Casterbridge

Unlike the people of Weydon-Priors, the people of Casterbridge make it a point to remark and get
involved in the affairs of the other townspeople. They are the ones who point out that Michael's crops
don't sell, that Farfrae is a charming and wise young man, that Lucetta needs a comeuppance. Through
these remarks, they serve as a Greek chorus.

Donald Farfrae
He is a young Scotsman who passes through Casterbridge on his way to America. However, Michael
quickly realizes Farfrae's great head for business, and makes him general manager. Farfrae is well-
rounded: he knows business, and he also understands society's desires for courtly manners and
entertainment. Michael greatly respects Farfrae and asks him for advice on several occasions. However,
Farfrae has everything that Michael doesn't: the love of Lucetta, the support of the townspeople, and
eventually the mayorship of Casterbridge. At the end of the novel, Farfrae finds happiness in his
marriage to Elizabeth-Jane.

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Joshua Jopp
He is the first applicant for the position of Michael Henchard's general manager. Because Farfrae was
chosen, Jopp hates him and will do anything to ruin him. From this point, Jopp behaves as the typical
villain. He hates Lucetta because she refuses to help him, and he plays upon the hatred of the
townspeople and the weaknesses of Michael to ruin her.

Abel Whittle
Abel works in Henchard's company, but he is always a bit tardy. Michael becomes so angry one day
that he punishes Abel by making him come to work without pants. Nevertheless, Abel remains a faithful
employee. Because Michael was kind to his mother, Abel willingly cares for Michael in his final days
and delivers his last will to Elizabeth-Jane.

Lucetta Templeman (Le Sueur)

She is a flighty and indiscreet woman who follows her emotions. In her youth, she met Michael
Henchard in her native Jersey. She wishes to marry him, but is stopped when Susan returns. After
Susan's death, she moves to High-Place Hall in Casterbridge to keep an eye on Michael. However, she
falls in love with Michael's rival Farfrae and marries him. She constantly fears that Michael will reveal
their past connections through her scandalous love letters. Eventually the letters are read by the
townspeople of Casterbridge, and they hold a skimmity-ride to mock the relationship between Lucetta
and Michael. The shock of seeing the skimmity-ride kills Lucetta.

Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge As an Aristotelian Tragedy

Marlena Tassone, Honours Bachelor of Science in Biology (2009), Lakehead University, Ontario,
Canada

homas Hardy incorporates many elements of the classical Aristotlean tragedy in his
novel The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886). In an Aristotelian tragedy, the most important element is the
experience of catharsis, the arousing of pity and fear in the audience. The effect of catharsis on the

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audience depends on the unity of the plot and the effective presence of a tragic hero. The plot in an
Aristotelian tragedy consists of the reversal, the recognition and the final suffering. In the protagonist's
following a pattern of decline and alienation, Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge is similar to
the Greek tragedies, in particular Sophocles' Oedipus the King. Both literary works use three elements
— catharsis, a complicated plot containing a secret, and the presence of a tragic hero — to create the
effect of tragedy. In The Mayor of Casterbridge, however, Hardy uses these three characteristics to
create a modern Aristotelian tragedy played out in mid-nineteenth century England.

In The Mayor of Casterbridge, Hardy use of coincidence implies that he shares Aristotle's belief
that the plot is important in the creation of a tragedy. In much the same way as Aristotle, Hardy attaches
special importance to the three elements of the plot in a tragedy: the reversal, the recognition, and the
final suffering. He unites the events in The Mayor of Casterbridge with these elements to portray the
"paradoxical rise and fall" (Seymour-Smith 20) of former hay-trusser and corn-factor/local political
leader Michael Henchard. The basic structure of the plot in the novel "with its emphasis upon the single
protagonist and upon the course of the hero's downfall, is patently Aristotelian" (Kramer 70). In The
Mayor of Casterbridge, Hardy follows the rise and fall of Michael Henchard, a poor itinerant
agricultural worker who gains both fortune and respect upon becoming the mayor of Casterbridge.
Unfortunately, the consequences of his past transgressions contribute to the tragic decline in Henchard's
material, social and familial welfare.

In Sophocles' Oedipus the King, the arrival of the Messenger from Corinth initiates the tragic
reversal of the protagonist. The Messenger, ironically attempting to help Oedipus by telling him that
the Corinthian royal couple, Polybus and Merope, were not his real parents, creates the opposite effect;
he provides the crucial piece of information that will reveal that Oedipus has fulfilled the prophecy of
the Oracle of Delphi by killing his father and marrying his mother. In Hardy's novel, Mrs Goodenough,
the furmity woman from the opening chapter, enacts a function similar to that of the Corinthian
Messenger in Oedipus the King. The return of the furmity woman and her dramatic revelation in court
plays a vital role in hastening Henchard's decline. Mrs. Goodenough exposes Henchard's shameful
secret: the sale of his wife Susan and their child, Elizabeth-Jane, to a sailor for five guineas two decades
earlier. Her declaration results in Henchard's social and financial ruin, as

the amends he had made in after life were lost sight of in the dramatic glare of the original act . . . On
that day — almost at that minute — he passed the ridge of prosperity and honour, and began to descend
rapidly on the other side. [Hardy 291]

Although at the point at which Susan and her grownup daughter enter the town he is the most
influential man in Casterbridge, the revelation of the wife-sale destroys his public reputation as his
financial difficulties compel Henchard to declare bankruptcy; simultaneously disgraced and ruined, he

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soon becomes a social outcast. The furmity woman's accusation initiates the tragic reversal in The
Mayor of Casterbridge; however, the reversal is complete only when Donald Farfrae becomes the new
mayor. At this point in the plot, Henchard has lost his reputation as a worthy and honourable citizen,
his political and fiscal capital, and the opportunity to marry the heiress Lucetta Templeman. Henchard,
suffering from poverty and loneliness, finds himself again at the bottom of fortune's wheel, while
Farfrae now occupies a station at the top.

The connection between the reversal and recognition scenes in the plots of both Oedipus the
King and The Mayor of Casterbridge is essential in each writer's development of an Aristotelian
tragedy. In both literary works, the reversal leads directly to the recognition. Specifically, Oedipus
discovers his true identity only after combining details from the stories of both the Messenger and the
Herdsman; through interrogating these tale-tellers and their stories and then integrating these stories, he
pieces together a coherent narrative that contains the essential knowledge he previously lacked and
acted in ignorance of. Similarly, in The Mayor of Casterbridge, Henchard's recognition of his true
circumstances occurs following the visit of the Royal Personage (presumably, Prince Albert) to
Casterbridge. During the state visit of the Royal Personage, Henchard attempts to conduct himself for
the last time in the role of mayor. Instead of choosing to occupy the role of a mere onlooker, meeting
the royal visitor among the crowd of townspeople, Henchard, dressed in his "fretted and weather-beaten
garments of bygone years" (Hardy 339), attempts to greet the visitor on behalf of the city. His "eccentric
behaviour" (Kramer 81) merely represents a desperate attempt to regain some of the dignity previously
accorded to him as mayor. Only after the confrontation between Farfrae and himself in the loft does
Henchard fully recognize his loss of his status. He can no longer identify himself as the mayor of
Casterbridge, nor can he expect to receive the same privileges that he once enjoyed. With this
realization, Henchard "finally acknowledges the overthrow of his own 'reign'" (Kramer 85) as the Mayor
of Casterbridge. Henchard's insight and recognition of his current circumstance set into action his final
suffering.

The protagonists in both Sophocles' Oedipus the King and Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of
Casterbridge experience their final suffering following the reversal and the recognition scene. In an
Aristotelian tragedy, the suffering of the protagonist is irreversible: Oedipus' self-blinding, prompted
by Jocasta's suicide, cannot be reversed — he is bound forever to suffer in self-imposed darkness.
Similarly, Henchard experiences a final suffering in The Mayor of Casterbridge. Henchard suffers
through more than one death in the novel. Long before his physical death, Henchard dies in reputation
and public esteem, no longer a man of wealth and power when his time as mayor ends. The moment of
his final suffering, however, occurs after he experiences the loss of his step-daughter, Elizabeth-Jane.

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 Immediately following the recognition, Hardy notes that a great change comes over Henchard
regarding Elizabeth-Jane:

[I]n the midst of his gloom [Elizabeth-Jane] seemed to him as a pin-point of light . . . and for the first
time, he had a faint dream that he might get to like her as his own, — if she would only continue to love
him. [361]

Unfortunately, Richard Newson's appearance in Casterbridge destroys any hope Henchard has of a
possible future with Elizabeth-Jane. Hardy remarks that, upon Newson's arrival, "Henchard's face and
eyes seemed to die" (Hardy 366). When he lies to Newson about Elizabeth-Jane's death, he is trying to
avoid losing her (perhaps, in his mind, a second time, although he is all too aware that this girl is the
sailor's daughter and not his). Sadly, his deception of Newson betrays Elizabeth-Jane's trust and
ultimately destroys their relationship. Henchard dies because he sees no reason to continue living; he
has lost the last person who loved him and whom he loved in return.

According to Aristotle, a tragedy must contain the presence of a tragic hero: "a leader in his
society who mistakenly brings about his own downfall because of some error in a judgement or innate
flaw" (Banks ix). Both Oedipus of Thebes and Michael Henchard of Casterbridge satisfy many
Aristotelian requirements of the tragic hero. Thomas Hardy's novel records Henchard's rise and fall,
revealing him at the outset as an ambitious, proud, and impulsive hay-trusser who (between chapters,
and outside the narrative, as it were) "rises from shameful obscurity to the mayoralty" (Chapman 148).
Early in the novel, Henchard is at the height of his prosperity and resides at the top of fortune's wheel.
He is well liked and highly esteemed by the townspeople of Casterbridge. Consequently, Henchard
position in society is high enough for his fall to be considered tragic.

In Aristotelian tragedies, the tragic hero causes his (or her) own downfall through the operation
of some innate flaw or hamartia. Often the protagonist of a tragedy suffers from hubris, or excessive
pride. The essence of the tragic hero, however, is that their very nature compels "them to take actions
the least advantageous to them" (Kramer 16) despite possessing free will. For example, Teiresias
adequately warns Oedipus not to pursue the investigation of Laius's death, but Oedipus, too stubborn to
listen, continues his search for the king's murderer. He becomes the instrument of his own destruction
because his pride prevents him from paying heed to the prophet Tieresias's advice. Similarly,
Henchard's attributes such as his "pride, his impulsive nature and his ambition are exactly the conditions
[that cause] his downfall and his destruction" (Gatrell 84). His character traits and his subsequent
reaction to certain circumstances lead to his financial ruin, and to the destruction of his relationships
with the others about whom he cares most.

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 In The Mayor of Casterbridge, Hardy unites Michael Henchard's tragic fall with his excessive
pride, his impulsive nature and his ambition to succeed. Throughout the novel, Henchard makes many
mistakes: he fails to maintain his wealth, his social position and his relationships with those who care
for him. His jealousy of Farfrae causes "him to lose both a faithful employee and a good friend" (Kramer
86). Henchard's pride cannot accept the fact that Farfrae has become more popular then he among the
townspeople of Casterbridge. Furthermore, he feels threatened by Farfrae's sudden success; thus, he
dismisses Farfrae. Donald Farfrae's dismissal leads to a drawn-out business competition between the
two corn-factors that strips Henchard of his personal possessions, his public favour as mayor, and the
two women in his life: Lucetta Templeman and Elizabeth-Jane Newson.

Michael Henchard's excessive pride not only destroys his relationship with Donald Farfrae, but it
also causes him to alienate Elizabeth-Jane. In The Mayor of Casterbridge, Henchard's "discovery that
[Elizabeth-Jane] is not his daughter" (Paterson 99) wounds his fatherly pride; as a consequence of this
knowledge, his treatment of Elizabeth-Jane changes dramatically. He becomes very cold toward her
and even avoids addressing her by name. Hardy notes that "Henchard showed a positive distaste for the
presence of this girl not his own, whenever he encountered her" (Hardy 203). Consequently, Elizabeth-
Jane eventually moves in with Lucetta and this separation further weakens Henchard and Elizabeth-
Jane's already strained relationship. Henchard's relationship with Lucetta suffers as well. He is too proud
to visit Lucetta when his stepdaughter is present, in addition, his pride prevents him from accepting
Lucetta's invitation for a private meeting. His recurring absent disheartens Lucetta, who "no longer
[bares toward] Henchard all that warm allegiance which had characterized her in their first
acquaintance" (Hardy 226). Subsequently, she marries Donald Farfrae instead, rationalizing that
Henchard's conduct at Weydon-Prioirs negates his elibility as a socially accepotable husband.

In an Aristotelian tragedy, the most important element in the audience's response, catharsis,
depends upon the emotional effect of the literary work. Despite being classified as a novel, Thomas
Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge evokes both the feeling of pity and fear in response to Michael
Henchard's suffering. Henchard is a man "who reacts to circumstances according to his character — a
man ready to absorb greater opposition than he receives, and then laying himself open, willing to accept
full blame for what unexpectedly happens" (Kramer 90). For instance, Henchard refuses to defend
himself against Elizabeth-Jane's accusation regarding his deception of Newson; he does "not
sufficiently value himself to lessen his sufferings by strenuous appeal or elaborate argument" (Hardy
402). Furthermore, Henchard seeks out his own punishment because he is determined to shoulder the
burden of his own mistakes. Even in death, he is punishing himself for his past misdeeds. An example
is the closing lines of Henchard's will where he asks ?that no man remember" (Hardy 409) him. In The
Mayor of Casterbridge the more Henchard condemns and punishes himself for his past transgressions,
the more sympathy and pity the reader feels for him.

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 In addition to evoking readers' sympathy and pity, Thomas Hardy also arouses their sense of fear.
The destruction of harmony in the novel following Henchard's tragic fall affects the lives of those
around him, such as Farfrae, Lucetta, and Elizabeth-Jane. These individuals are witnesses to the
repercussions of Henchard's actions and are also subject to suffer from his transgressions. For instance,
the reader fears for Farfrae's life immediately following "the battle of physical strength" (Kramer 86)
between himself and Henchard. Hardy uses the reader's uncertainty regarding Farfrae's fate to instill the
emotion of fear. Like the bull, Henchard?s nature is self-destructive. His death at the end of the novel
is tragic, yet it also alleviates the reader's anxiety. Subsequently, Hardy succeeds in creating a cathartic
experience.

In The Mayor of Casterbridge, Hardy creates "the most valid and meaningful modern revival and
adaptation" (Seymour-Smith 23) of an Aristotelian tragedy. Hardy combines the elements of plot and
the presence of a tragic hero to induce a cathartic experience at the end of the novel. The Mayor of
Casterbridge exhibits many similarities with Sophocles' Oedipus the King in that each literary work
recounts and dramatizes the rise and subsequent fall in fortune of the tragic hero through the operation
of some innate character flaw. Although Thomas Hardy's novel is not a drama, it does satisfy many
requirements for an Aristotelian tragedy. Thomas Hardy skilfully follows the classical design of a
tragedy and, in doing so, his novel The Mayor of Casterbridge stands independently as an exceptional
piece of nineteenth-century literature.

24th March 2006

Works Cited

Banks, Thomas Howard. "Introduction." Three Theban Plays: Sophocles' Antigone, Oedipus the King
and Oedipus at Colonus. By. Sophocles. New York: Oxford, 1956. xi-i.

Chapman, Raymond. "The Worthy Encompassed by the Inevitable: Hardy and a New Perception of
Tragedy." Reading Thomas Hardy. Ed. Charles P. C. Pettit. New York: Palgrave, 1998.

Gatrell, Simon. Thomas Hardy and the Proper Study of Mankind. Charlotesville, UP of Virginia:
1993.

Hardy, Thomas. The Mayor of Casterbridge. New York: Penguin, 1981.

Kramer, Dale. Thomas Hardy: The Forms of Tragedy. New York: Macnillan, 1975.

Paterson, John. "The Mayor of Casterbridge as Tragedy." Hardy: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed.
Albert J. Guerard. Englewood Cliffs, Spectrum: 1963. 91-112.

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Seymour-Smith, Martin. "Introduction." The Mayor of Casterbridge. By Thomas Hardy. New York:
Penguin, 1981. 11-58.

Sophocles. Three Theban Plays: Sophocles' Antigone, Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus.
Trans. Theodore Howard Banks. New York: Oxford, 1956.

The Mayor of Casterbridge as a Novel of Series of Coincidence

In Hardy's novel chance-coincidences play a very vital and dominating role in determining the destiny
of the character. In his novel The Mayor of Casterbridge too, there are a series of coincidences
throughout the whole plot structure. Michael Henchard, the protagonist is a laborious hero, but
everything goes beyond his control and at last he meets his tragic death in a very sympathetic mood.

He is guided by his fate in every step of his life. The series of coincidences are started from beginning
to the end of the novel. Selling his wife and daughter in his unconsciousness, taking them by Richard
Newson, successive establishment of Farfrae, Susan's death, naming the newly born child of Susan and
Sailor as Elizabeth Jane, Henchard's failure in business, getting Susan and Jane at Casterbridge,
becoming the mayor of Casterbridge from a hay- trusser, knowing the child as a sailor's daughter, etc.
all events of the novel are guided by the coincidences and fate in the novel.

By filling the whole plot structure with so many coincidences Hardy imposes his philosophy of life.
According to the life philosophy of Hardy, we do not have any free will, though we have, we are
manipulated by our fate or coincidences. This sort of philosophy proves as true by presenting the
protagonist of the novel, Michael Henchard as a victim of his own fate or coincidence. The very starting
event of coincidence is his act of selling his wife and daughter in his unconsciousness. Before selling
his wife and daughter, there is not any clues to say that Henchaed doesn't like his wife and daughter.
By intentionally he does not want to sell his wife and daughter. So it is a kind of coincidence that he
drinks there and in his drunkard mood he sells his wife and daughter unconsciously. This is very first
and crucial coincidence which cause further ups and down in his whole life. Not only that the arrival of
the person who is ready to buy the wife and child of Henchard has also been presented in a very
coincidental manner. Similarly, when Henchard comes in conscious and feels guilty and goes in search
of his wife and daughter, but just before reaching Henchard they are taken away from there which is
another series of his fate or coincidence.

Susan's return to Henchard after a period of eighteen years is a pure accident for Henchard. Henchard
had given her up as dead. He had awaited her return for a long time, but finally hearing nothing about
her, he had given up all thought of her. And then she suddenly turns up one day. Her arrival coincides
with Henchard's decision to marry Lucetta. The unexpected return of Susan upsets all Henchard's

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calculations and brings a series of misfortunes to him. Although Henchard is very glad at his wife's
supposed daughter's being restored to him, yet he is somewhat perplexed how to deal with the other
woman, namely Lucetta.

Henchard's effort to win Elizabeth-Jane's filial love almost coincides with his discovery that she is not
his own daughter. Having lost his wife Susan through death and having lost the friendship of Farfrae
through estrangement, Henchard tries to win the affection of Elizabeth-Jane whom he believes to be his
own daughter. He tells her that she is his daughter and not the sailor Newson's. She believes him and
agrees to regard him as her father and also to change her name accordingly. Then Henchard, on opening
the imperfectly sealed letter left for him by Susan, discovers the painful secret, namely that Elizabeth-
Jane is after all the sailor's daughter and not his own. If Henchard had not found Susan's letter, or if that
letter had been properly sealed, he would have lived happily with Elizabeth-Jane, at least till her
wedding-day. But it was an accident that the letter had not been properly sealed. And it is another
accident that Henchard finds the letter just after he has tried to convince Elizabeth-Jane that he is her
father.

It is a pure accident that Elizabeth-Jane and Lucetta meet for the first time in the churchyard. This
accidental meeting leads to several complications afterwards. Lucetta engages Elizabeth-Jane as a
companion, her motive being partly to attract Henchard to her house. Henchard on his part is now ready
to marry Lucetta. As the author tells us, he now transfers to Lucetta the sentiments which had run to
waste since his estrangement from Elizabeth-Jane and Farfrae. But fate intervenes to prevent Henchard
from marrying that lady. Farfrae pays a visit to Lucetta's house in order to meet Elizabeth-Jane whom
he wants to court with the object of marriage. It so happens that Elizabeth-Jane is at that particular
moment not in the house, and Farfrae meets Lucetta just by chance. Lucetta has been expecting
Henchard to visit her, but Henchard is unable to come, and Farfrae turns up there instead. What a
coincidence! Far-reaching are the consequences of this coincidence. Lucetta falls in love with Farfrae,
and Farfrae falls in love with her, with the result that Farfrae is no longer interested in Elizabeth-Jane
who has all long been in love with him. A pure accident or coincidence leads to these big changes in
the lives of four human beings. Lucetta would now like to marry Farfrae, not Henchard. Farfrae would
like to marry Lucetta, not Elizabeth-Jane. Henchard who has lost Susan, Farfrae, and even Elizabeth-
Jane, will now lose Lucetta also. Evidently fate is hostile to Henchard, and has played a trick upon him
by sending Farfrae to Lucetta's house just when Elizabeth-Jane is away.

The appearance of the old furmity woman in Casterbridge is another accident. It was absolutely
unforeseen that the furmity woman would one day disclose the secret of Henchard's early life. And, yet,
perhaps the disclosure would not have come if the furmity woman had not been produced before
Henchard for trial. What a coincidence, again! The furrnity woman is prosecuted by the police for
committing nuisance near a church and Henchard is one of the two magistrates who will try her. The

15
furmity-woman is perhaps the only living witness of the sale of Susan by Henchard. And she happens
to be in Casterbridge, after having lived all these years in the village of Weydon-Priors where Henchard
had first seen her. This coincidence again leads to far-reaching consequences. The disclosure of
Henchard's secret of his early life affects Henchard's reputation badly.

Newson's arrival in Casterbridge to claim his daughter Elizabeth-Jan is another unforeseen and
accidental occurrence. Newson was supposed to have been drowned. In fact, it was the news of
Newson's death that had made it possible and even necessary for Susan to return to Henchard. If Newson
had been known to be living, Susan's return to Henchard would not have taken place, and Henchard's
life would have been absolutely different. But Newson was thought to be dead and then suddenly one
day he appears in Casterbridge searching for his daughter. Newson comes to claim his daughter just
when she has become indispensable to Henchard. Indeed, Elizabeth-Jane is the only source of comfort
that Henchard has now got, because in every other respect he is a ruined man. Newson's arrival in the
town almost coincides with Henchard's new emotional attitude towards Elizabeth-Jane.

In this way there are so many coincidental events in the novel that plays vital role in the holistic plot
development of the novel. Henchard has become the puppet of his own destiny. Everything goes beyond
the control of Henchard during the whole life journey of Henchard. All those events are brought into
the world by fate. Henchard has been depicted as a helpless protagonist in the hand of fate or
coincidences. No doubts he commits the mistakes by his own hands, but even in that condition also
readers sympathy goes to him. All these coincidental forces have come from the outside world rather
than the characters' own intentional commitment. Henchard always tried to maintain his power, prestige,
glory and dignity, but after all he faced only the tragic end of his life. There are so many ups and downs
during the entire journey of Henchard caused by the coincidences. The only determining factor of the
destiny of the character in Hardy's novel is that the mayor of Casterbridge is only chances, the
coincidences fate of the protagonist. After all, the whole plot structure moves around the series of
coincidences in the novel.

Conflict between Henchard and Farfrae as the Central Thematic Element

Farfrae is, at one point, the employee of Michael Henchard. On the post of manager Farfrae was
appointed by Henchard. Under the surveillance of Henchard, Farfrae began to work. Soon Farfrae began
to develop his skill through sound managerial performance.

Once Henchard tried to teach a lesson of punctuality to Abel Whittle by forcing him to go to work
naked. It was an odd way, a humiliating way to teach a lesson through that sort of punishment. Farfrae
was observing Henchard's way of punishing Abel so that Abel could learn the lesson, of punctuality.
But Farfrae was dissatisfied. Hence Farfrae took this way of Henchard as irrational and somewhat an
inhuman way of teaching a lesson about punctuality to a lazy worker. Therefore Henchard interfered

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and sent Abel back to put on his cloth. This activity of Farfrae punctured the pride and ego of Henchard.
Actually Farfrae did not intend to produce an ego puncturing effect on Henchard, Farfrae was simply
trying to become rational and practical in handling such an awkward situation. But this interference of
Farfrae produced an ironic effect. Henchard began to develop a destructive rivalry towards Farfrae.
Henchard intended to defeat Farfrae in social prestige and popularity by reorganizing celebration. But
this celebration ended in fiasco (failure). Again Henchard tried to defeat Farfrae. But it too ended in
fiasco. Then Henchard tried to destroy Farfrae in a threatening way. Finally, in this inner game of
destroying Farfrae Henchard destroyed himself. Again Henchard tried to defeat Farfrae by creating a
deviation in the relationship between Farfrae and Henchard. The more Henchard felt defeated the more
mean and aggressive he became. In each of these steps Henchard's activities produce the reverse
consequence. Finally, he went bankrupt. At the situation of bankruptcy, Henchard faced, Farfrae wanted
to help Henchard by setting up a small corn business. Farfrae tried to do this out of his generosity. "But
the more generous activities Farfrae wanted to perform for Henchard the more vindictive and defeated
Henchard became. Each generous act of Farfrae produced a reverse consequence in Henchard. Why?
Answer is- Henchard used to think that it is he who established Farfrae. So Henchard expected that
Farfrae should be loyal and subordinate to him. But Farfrae was rising at every step, whereas Henchard
was sliding from the popularity. How can Henchard humiliate himself, how can be lower himself by
accepting generous care from his rival Farfrae. Hence there is every reason to believe that to dramatize
the intense rivalry between Henchard and Farfrae is the ultimate target of Thomas Hardy.

Important Questions

1. Discuss the character of Michael Henchard.

2. Compare and contrast the characters of Michael Henchard and Donald Farfrae.

3. Discuss the novel as a Tragedy.

4. Write an essay on the women characters of the novel.

5. Compare and contrast the characters of Elizabeth-Jane and Lucetta in the novel.

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