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Summary of Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge
T(caps)he novel discusses Michael Henchard, temperamental hay trusser and his wife, Susan, at Casterbridge. He takes too much of wine mixed with rum, sells his wife and daughter Elizabeth Jane for five guinea to a sailor Mr. Newson. When the effect of the alcohol leaves him, he became sober, regrets and vows to abstain from alcohol for twenty one years. Afterwards, he became the Mayor of Casterbridge. At last, Susan Henchard (Susan Newson) and Elizabeth Jane sought Michael Henchard. But Michael Henchard takes on Donald Fanfare who is desirous of helping him in his business. Mr. Newson is believed to have died in a shipwreck. Susan and Michael remarried and lived together as husband and wife. Susan died, left behind a wish for Elizabeth Jane. Lucetta, the former lover of Henchard, now in healthy inheritance, took advantage of their past relationship to blackmail him into a promise of marriage, but Madam Cuxsom wades into Lucetta‟s dilemma by revealing Henchard‟s sale of his wife and daughter at the fair with Donald Fanfare. Enthroned as the Mayor of Casterbridge,
Henchard became aggrieved with envy and planned to overturn Donald‟s material success. This led to his eventual fall and bankruptcy. Donald buys over his property and business and employed Michael Henchard, who engages Donald in a pre-planned duel which ends in his regret; pregnant Luccetta dies of the shock in the Skimmington ride. At last, the true paternity of Elizabeth Jane is revealed, Henchard dies miserably.
3.3 Themes
Below are some of the themes discussed in The Mayor of Casterbridge
3.3.1 Sin and Repentance
Michael Henchard auctioned his wife for five guineas at a fair after the excessive intake of Mother Cuxson‟s drink which had been mixed with rum. Later, he regrets his stupidity, goes into the church, repents and vowed never to drink alcohol for the next twenty one years of his life. He confesses, honoured his decision, gets more serious with his business, became successful and his life changed from a mere hay trusser to a wealthy merchant, and he rose to become a magistrate, church warden and the The Mayor of Casterbridge.
3.3.2 Deception
After Elizabeth Jane and Susan returned and are re-united with Michael Henchard, the latter ‟s wife kept the true paternity of her daughter, Elizabeth Jane, a secret. When she died, she left a death bed wish for her daughter and warned that the letter should not be opened until Elizabeth Jane gets married.
3.3.3 Crime and punishment
Michael Henchard may have sold his wife, Susan and daughter, Elizabeth Jane after taking too much of rum and later repented at the church, but he reaped the consequences of his action in ways he never expected. Apart from losing the paternity of his daughter, Elizabeth Jane, he also missed marrying Lucetta and more ridiculously, he spent the later part of his life as a nobody, left Casterbridge much the same way he came. The novel reads:
Henchard formed at this moment much the same picture as he had presented when entering Casterbridge for the first time nearly a quarter of a century before, except to be sure that the serious addition to his years had considerably lessened the spring of his stride that his state of hopelessness had weakened him (p. 366)
Henchard ‟s punishment was both physical and spiritual. His former lover, Lucetta, became the victim of Henchard ‟s inflection. Her past came to full view through the skimmington ride that killed her in pregnancy. Some of the issues contained in the letter are she should not be buried in consecrated ground, no sexton should be asked to toll the bell, nobody should see her corpse, no mourners are allowed behind the deceased at the funeral; flowers must not be planted on her grave and no one must remember her. The deceased had meant to keep these entire secrets, even long after her death, but for the curiosity of Michael Henchard who was too impatience to keep the sealed envelope containing the letter, hence he opened it and exposed the secret.
3.3.4 Vanity of Life
Michael Henchard began as a nobody in Casterbridge. He was a hay trusser, and a reckless drunkard. He rose to become a successful corn merchant and then the Mayor of Casterbridge. He struggled to overturn Donald who became the new Mayor. He sold his wife and children but the five guineas did not have any significant improvement on his life. Instead, he became bankrupt. His wife, Susan died, and he lost the paternity of Elizabeth Jane. He left Casterbridge empty, the same way he began as a struggler.
3.6 Style
The style of the novelist is discussed below
3.6.1 Language
The novelist‟s language is detailed and descriptive. This gives the reader a comprehensive view of the entire story. With such use of language in the novel, characters appear realistic and consistent with the various conditions in which they are involved.
3.6.2 Allusion
Hardy‟s descriptive power in the novel alludes to Biblical and classical allusions. References are made to the Roman architectural design. And when it became apparent to the hero that he had misbehaved, he turned to the Holy Bible and the church, and became a warden. The novelist attempts a detailed explanation of most events in a version that gradually leads the reader into the world of the characters.
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