The Mayor of Caterbridge,subtitled "the life and death of a man of character" is a tragic novel written by the british author

Thomas Hardy. Set in the fictional town of Casterbridge it is one of Hardy's Wessex novels,all set in a fictional rustic England.The chief protaganist of the novel is Michael Henchard who is a hay-trusser by profession. The story opens one evening in late summerdurin 1826 where we are introduced to Michael Henchard when he is walking along with his wife Susan and their infant daughter Elizabeth-Jane towards the village of Weydon-Priors in Upper Wessex.They enter a refreshment tent and order two basins of furmity.The woman selling the furmity mixes rum in the basin meant for Henchard.He continues taking rum and is soon very intoxicated and starts talking about the ruin of young and promising men by early and thoughtless marriage and that his life has also been ruined the same way.He then offers to sell his wife to anyone who would pay the price of 5 guineas.A sailor, Richard Newson, offers to pay that price and Henchard sells off Susan and his daughter who leave with the sailor. The very opening chapter contains an event which is highly dramatic.Although some readers might think that sale of a wife is highly improbable it was not beyond the pale of possibility at that time.Henchard's rash nad impulsive nature is revealed in his ignominous actions. Thisa incident also portrays Susan as a weak-minded person.Although he tries to find his family the next day he is too late.He feels genuinely repentant and remorseful over his foolish actions which is evident from the fact that he takes a solemn oath that he would not take any liqour for a period of 21 years, being a year for every that he has lived as his age is 21.He then decides to try his luck in Casterbridge. 18 years later Susan comes to the town of Casterbridge with her grown up daughter Elizabeth-Jane after asking about Henchard's wherabouts from the furmity woman.Newson appears to have been drowned at sea and with no means of livelihood Susan is now looking for Henchard Elizabeth -jane has not been informed of the past events and has been told by Susan that they are looking for Michael Henchard who is a distant relative of hers and might be able to help them. On reaching Casterbridge they learn that Henchard is now a rich corn and wheat merchant and is also the mayor of the town. Just as Susan and Elizabeth-Jane arrive in town a young sotchman named Donald Farfrae, is also passing through the town on his way to America.Farfrae is also in the same line of work as Henchard and Henchard hires him as his corn manager.A healthy friendhip soon grows between them.Meanwhile Susan and Elizabeth-Jane are also back in his life and he decides to marry Susan and take Elizabeth-jane as his step daughter.Henchard had been carrying on a love affair with a woman Lucetta

Le Seur from the island of Jersey. Their affair had caused a scandal back in Jersey and henchar had promised marriage to Lucetta but on arrival Susan's unexpected arrival he could not keep his promise.Meanwhile Elizabeth-Jane has started developing a liking for Farfrae and henchard also learns that the town's people also prefer dealing with Farfrae instead of Henchard. henchard developes an animosity towards Farfrae,breaks off his friendship with him and fires him from his job.This again is an example of Henchard's impulsive nature.First he was really quick in making Farfrae his confidante and later on an impulse he starts hating him. Fafrae starts his own wheat business and begins to prosper.Meanwhile Susan's health starts deteriorating and she eventually passes away.In his loneliness Henchard tells ElizabethJane that he is her real father.But fate plays a cruel trick on him when he finds a letter addressed to him by Susan saying on the envelope "to be opened after Elizabeth-jane's wedding".Henchard,however,opens it and reads that Elizabeth-jane is actually Newson's daughter and that his real daughter died in her infancy.Henchrd is now overcome with grief. Henchard now becomes cold towards Elizabeth-Jane and she is no longer happy living with him.In the meantime Henchard's former mistress,Lucetta, arrives in Casterbridge after inheriting a fortune from her aunt. She has also changed her name to Lucetta Templeman.Initially she wants to pick up her relationship with him where it left off, but propriety requires that they wait a while and she takes Elizabeth-Jane into her household as a companion. She also learns a little bit more about Henchard, specifically, the details of how he sold his first wife become public knowledge when the furmity vendor who witnessed the sale makes the story public. Henchard does not deny the story, but when Lucetta hears a little bit more about what kind of man Henchard really is she starts to see him more clearly, and she no longer particularly likes what she sees.