Mayer of Casterbridge

 Henchard and Farfrae meet one day while walking, and Henchard asks the younger man
if he recalls the story of the woman from Jersey whom he gave up in order to remarry his
first wife.
 He tells Farfrae that the Jersey woman now refuses to marry him, and Farfrae states that
Henchard has no further obligation to her.
 Later, Henchard visits Lucetta and asks if she knows Farfrae. She says that she does, but
she downplays the significance of her reply by claiming to know almost everyone in
Casterbridge.
 Just then, someone knocks at the door, and Farfrae enters. Henchard thus begins to
suspect that Farfrae is his rival for Lucetta’s affections.
 Henchard decides to hire Joshua Jopp, the man whose managerial position he had earlier
given to Farfrae. He tells Jopp that his primary objective is to cut Farfrae out of the corn
and hay business.
 In order to discern harvest conditions, Henchard consults a man known as a “forecaster”
or weather prophet. This man predicts that the harvest will bring rain, so Henchard,
trusting that the upcoming crop will be bad, buys a large quantity of corn. When harvest
comes, however, the weather is fair and the crop is good, which causes prices to fall.
Henchard loses money and fires Joshua Jopp.

Themes
Literary Devices  Themes

The Importance of Character

 As a “Story of a Man of Character,” The Mayor of Casterbridge focuses on how

its protagonist’s qualities enable him to endure.
 One tends to think of character, especially in terms of a “Man of Character,” as
the product of such values as honor and moral righteousness.
 Certainly Michael Henchard does not fit neatly into such categories. Throughout
the novel, his volatile temper forces him into ruthless competition with Farfrae
that strips him of his pride and property, while his insecurities lead him to deceive
the one person he learns to truly care about, Elizabeth-Jane.
 Henchard dies an unremarkable death, slinking off to a humble cottage in the
woods, and he stipulates in his will that no one mourn or remember him. There
 will be no statues in the Casterbridge square, as one might imagine, to mark his
life and work.
 Yet Hardy insists that his hero is a worthy man. Henchard’s worth, then—that
which makes him a “Man of Character”—lies in his determination to suffer and in
his ability to endure great pain.
 He shoulders the burden of his own mistakes as he sells his family, mismanages
his business, and bears the storm of an unlucky fate, especially when the furmity-
woman confesses and Newson reappears.
 In a world that seems guided by the “scheme[s] of some sinister intelligence bent
on punishing” human beings, there can be no more honorable and more righteous
characteristic than Henchard’s brand of “defiant endurance.”
Themes

The theme of The Mayor of Casterbridge appears to be the arbitrary and almost always malign
workings of the universe and blind chance upon the destinies of men. Such evil, unrelenting
machinations bring pain and suffering upon the characters in the novel, and there is no escape
except in a day-to-day acceptance of life.

Much has been written concerning Hardy's famous pessimism. However, in The Mayor of
Casterbridge, despite the workings of blind fare, the occurrences of chance, and the vagaries of a
hostile natural environment, Michael Henchard is still responsible for his own fate. If he had not
sold his wife in a fit of drunken self-pity, the painful events would not have ensued. If he had not
overspeculated in order to ruin Farfrae, it would not have mattered if it rained, or snowed, or
hailed. Certainly in his many years as corn-factor and leading businessman he had come through
other natural disasters. It is only in this one case that he lets his keen sense of rivalry and lust for
revenge cause him to speculate recklessly.

Self-Destruction

Throughout the novel, protagonist Michael Henchard makes decisions while drunk, angry,

proud, or jealous. These choices ultimately harm Henchard himself and lead to the loss of his
family, his fortune, and his position in society. The novel opens with Michael Henchard’s cruel
act of selling his wife Susan and child Elizabeth-Jane while he is drunk. Henchard’s drinking
early in the novel causes an emotional riff between himself and his wife, and allows her to
happily leave him for Richard Newson.

After the loss of his wife and daughter, Henchard vows to not drink for twenty years. This vow
allows Henchard to be successful and prosperous, rising to prominence in Casterbridge as the
mayor and as the owner of a successful corn and wheat business. His subsequent return to
alcoholism contributes to his poor plan to kill Donald Farfrae. Henchard’s alcoholism is linked
to his pride, as he uses drinking to compensate for feelings of self-hatred. His pride causes him to
lose his partnership with Farfrae and to eventually go bankrupt because he cannot accept that the
younger man might be more popular and more successful than himself. Henchard’s pride
produces his jealousy of Farfrae. After Farfrae’s holiday celebrations are more popular than
Henchard’s, Henchard in a “jealous temper” says that the young man’s time as his business
manager is drawing to a close.
As Farfrae starts his own separate business and continues to excel within Casterbridge society,
Henchard loses family and fortune as his jealousy harms himself and his reputation. For
example, Henchard’s attempt to ruin Farfrae’s business backfires and causes his own business to
go into debt. Despite Farfrae’s kindness, Henchard establishes himself as Farfrae’s rival in
business and in romance. Henchard’s interest in Lucetta increases, primarily because of her
transfer of her affections to Farfrae. Henchard jealously tries to force her to agree to marry him.
When Lucetta marries Farfrae secretly, Henchard is angry and obsessed with her betrayal.
Henchard is driven crazy by the thought of Farfrae taking a position as the new mayor, and their
positions are completely reversed by the end of the novel. Farfrae is a successful and prominent
figure in Casterbridge, and he lives in the grand house that was once Henchard’s. Henchard dies,
virtually alone and friendless.

Love of Family and Romantic Love

The plot of the novel is frequently driven by complex truths about characters’ family
relationships, which are hidden and revealed. Early in the novel, Michael Henchard wishes to
remarry Susan for his daughter’s sake, but once Henchard learns that Elizabeth-Jane is not his
daughter by blood, he no longer cares for her. For Henchard, ties of blood are strongest. Richard
Newson also cares deeply for his own offspring, as he seeks out Elizabeth-Jane and goes to great
lengths to reconnect with her by returning to Casterbridge multiple times. Susan lies to
Elizabeth-Jane about her connection to Henchard. Then Henchard unknowingly misrepresents
himself as her father. The final reveal of her true parentage secures her happiness and
reconnection with Newson. Confusion surrounding the identity of Elizabeth-Jane’s biological
father continues throughout the novel, emphasizing the importance of family connections to each
of the characters.

Romantic love, in addition to familial love, directs characters’ choices in the novel. Love causes
characters to feel and behave in irrational ways that defy their circumstances. Love is presented
in contrast to one’s loyalty to duty and commitment. Love tears Donald Farfrae away from
Elizabeth-Jane, as he falls for Lucetta. Despite Farfrae’s encouragement of Elizabeth-Jane, he
cannot resist Lucetta. He goes against his previous actions and hurts Elizabeth-Jane because his
feelings for Lucetta are too strong to resist. Lucetta loves Henchard, despite his commitment to
his wife, until she falls for Farfrae. Henchard and Elizabeth-Jane both believe that Lucetta is
“bound” to Henchard because of her past commitment to him, but Lucetta prioritizes her love for
Farfrae over her duty, saying “I won’t be a slave to the past—I’ll love where I choose!”
Elizabeth-Jane is hurt by Lucetta’s secret marriage because she loves Farfrae throughout the
novel, despite his relationship with Lucetta.

Loyalty to Duty and Commitments

Loyalty is a defining aspect of the characters Elizabeth-Jane and Susan in this novel. Both
women fulfill the expectations of their duties as women, wives, and daughters, while also
upholding their past commitments. Duty in the novel is any abstract idea of what is expected of
an individual because of her or his position in society. Commitments are any specific agreements
made in the past above and beyond one’s duties.

The Indelibility of the Past

The Mayor of Casterbridge is a novel haunted by the past. Henchard’s fateful decision to
sell his wife and child at Weydon-Priors continues to shape his life eighteen years later, while the
town itself rests upon its former incarnation: every farmer who tills a field turns up the remains
of long-dead Roman soldiers. The Ring, the ancient Roman amphitheater that dominates
Casterbridge and provides a forum for the secret meetings of its citizens, stands as a potent
symbol of the indeli-bility of a past that cannot be escaped. The terrible events that once
occurred here as entertainment for the citizens of Casterbridge have, in a certain sense,
determined the town’s present state. The brutality of public executions has given way to the
miseries of thwarted lovers.
Henchard’s past proves no less indomitable. Indeed, he spends the entirety of the novel
attempting to right the wrongs of long ago. He succeeds only in making more grievous mistakes,
but he never fails to acknowledge that the past cannot be buried or denied. Only Lucetta is guilty
of such folly. She dismisses her history with Henchard and the promises that she made to him in
order to pursue Farfrae, a decision for which she pays with her reputation and, eventually, her
life.