In Thomas Hardy’s novel, The Mayor of Casterbridge: The Life and Death of a Man of Character Michael Henchard’s mistreatment of those around his seem to categorize him as an immoral man; however, his perseverance and desire to make amends reconcile him to the reader and make him seem more human.
The first and possible most immoral decision Henchard makes involves his wife Susan. Within the first few chapters of this novel, Michael Henchard, in a drunken state, auctions his wife and child off to a passing sailor for five guineas. This action has an immediate impact on the reader: not only is Henchard selling two human beings, he is selling the entirety of his immediate family. By introducing a character by having him commit such a heinous act, Hardy sets readers up to immediately dislike Henchard and label him as unethical. However, even with this unscrupulous act, Henchard’s subsequent actions help to soften the reader’s view of him. Upon waking the next morning and realizing his actions,
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After ruining Miss Templeman’s reputation, Henchard tries to make amends by marrying her. However, rather than being kind, Henchard proposes to Lucetta by threatening her until she accepts him. In this situation, Henchard is displaying his hostile nature and his complete disregard for the feelings of others. In spite of this hostility, the reader does recognize that Henchard is doing his best to make amends. Later on when Lucetta thoroughly refuses him, Henchard tries to return the evidence of their affair to her; however, instead their letters get revealed and Lucetta is again ridiculed. Despite Henchard’s best efforts to make things right, his actions continue to fall short. In this way, Henchard has a distinctly human quality about him. Even when he tries his hardest, his continuous mistakes allow the reader to relate to him and sympathize with him on a certain
Hardy attempts to illustrate Michael as a common man, which ultimately serves his purpose of exposing the archetypal and somewhat psychological realities of typical, everyday people. According to archetypal literary critics, “archetypes determine the form and function of literary works and … a text's meaning is shaped by cultural and psychological myths.” For that reason, Henchard is a perfect example of the archetypal fall because Thomas Hardy is demonstrating how Henchard reacts to situations like a real person would and that life is not always as simple as it is depicted in fictional fairytales. The archetype of Michael’s fall functions as Hardy’s vehicle to relay the meaning behind his work.
A woman’s reputation is regarded as a holiness attribute that is far more important than her social status in society. A tarnished reputation is considered by some elders as an abomination to one’s self image. In the novel, Gaskell puts Molly’s reputation as a respectable young woman on the line by insinuating that she was behaving unfashionably with Mr. Preston.
With this, his last novel, Hardy is moving away from the convention of the "inner life of the characters to be inferred from their public behavior" (Howe 513), so, although Sue...
Charlotte Temple's gallant Montraville, comes into the novel and alters Charlotte's world. He first takes the role of philanderer, in which he seduces the young girl, assuring her that he will take care of her and he will never leave her. However, he grows bored with her and after flying her from England to America, he l...
A primary implication in American literature is that behind every good leader lurks a few dark secrets. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the Reverend Dimmesdale is a devoted leader of the church who causes great inspiration to his congregation over the years. In fact, it seems that the greater his personal suffering grows, the more the public view of him appreciates. Arthur Dimmesdale is an adulterer and a hypocrite. While his lover Hester Prynne suffers publically for their combined sin, he is exalted as a moral icon. Through his own casuistry, he has convinced himself that he is serving the interests of the people this way. He is a very good minister, but a weak man. His dabbling in sin caused him to understand the peo...
She believes that their distaste for Tartuffe stems from his ability to condemn their sins and point out their moral flaws. At Dorines’ intimation that Madame only spends her time so harshly criticizing the world around her due to her fear of abandonment, Madame Pernelle takes her leave, reminding them that they should count themselves fortunate to have such a holy and blessed man such as Tartuffe present among them. Upon her departure, the remaining family puzzles at how their grandmother, as well as their father, could be so blind to Tartuffe’s insincerity, recounting the many instances in which Tartuffe deceived Orgon and Madame Pernelle with his charms. As Cleante leaves to rest, Damis asks her if she would inquire as to the status of Mariane’s marriage to Valere because, should they not wed, Damis would then not be able to marry Valere’s
There is more than one villain in Pride and Prejudice, but the figurehead of evil turns out to be George Wickham. His looks and appeal are used to lie and manipulate, and he does not express any remorse for his actions; instead, he feigns ignorance. Wickham portrays the most evil of antagonists: the ones whose book covers do not match their content. The growth, or rather deterioration, of Wickham’s character plays a large role in the meaning of the novel, in that it presents the prejudices and pridefulness that society can hold towards someone.
Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge. Sex is so intertwined in our society that it pervades each facet, including television, books, advertising, and conversation. Movies like The Matrix toss in gratuitous sex because the audience nearly expects it. Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge, therefore, is exceptional in its lack of sexual situations. The subject of sexual motivation and its inherent ambiguity with regard to Henchard's actions is a topic that caught my attention from the very first pages of The Mayor of Casterbridge.
Michael Henchard's Life in The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy Whilst studying 'The Mayor of Casterbridge' it is noticeable from a fairly early stage that the title statement is ambivalent. We can clearly see that he suffered a great number of disasters, but he also achieved success to a higher level than most.
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy is a novel about the rising and plummeting of a complex man named Michael Henchard. Michael Henchard does not just have one characteristic or just one personality for that matter. His personality can be described as thoughtful and strong-minded but also as ruthless, stubborn and cold. Henchard's impulsiveness, aggressive attitude, childishness and selfish nature made failure and misery inevitable in his life. The essence of his character is the root of his demise and misery.
Hardy uses imagery throughout the novel in order to explicitly define the ways in which life is unjust. This injustice is first displayed at Prince?s death, then again at his burial. Hardy chooses specific words to enable the reader to see exactly what is happing. He describes the mail-cart to be ?speeding along?like an arrow.? He explains that the mail-cart had ?driven into her slow and unlighted equipage,? and now the horse?s ?life?s blood was spouting in a stream and falling with a hiss into the road.? (Hardy 22). The descriptive words, such as ?speeding,? ?arrow,? ?driven,? ?unlighted,? ?spouting,? and ?hiss? allow the reader?s senses to capture the enormity of the situation. This quote also helps the reader to envision the misery of the situation. Tess is only attempting to help her family by bringing the hives to market to draw some income them. Her desire to help her family backfires with Prince?s accidental death, as he was their only form of income. The desperation induced by Prince?s death is shown when Hardy explains that Mr. Durbeyfield worked harder than ever before in digging a grave for Prince. Hardy states that the young girls ?discharged their griefs in loud blares,? and that when Prince was ?tumbled in? the family gathered around the grave (Hardy 24). Hard...
A multitude of feelings and sentiments can move a man to action, but in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, love and revenge are the only two passions powerful enough to compel the primary actors. There is consensus, in the academic community,1 that the primary antagonist in the novel, Heathcliff is largely motivated by a wanton lust for vengeance, and it is obvious from even a cursory reading that Edgar Linton, one of the protagonists, is mostly compelled by a his seemingly endless love for his wife, and it even seems as if this is reflected in the very nature of the characters themselves. For example, Heathcliff is described as “Black-eye[d]” [Brontë,1], “Dark skinned” [Brontë, 3] and a “dirty boy” [Brontë, 32]; obviously, black has sinister connotations, and darkness or uncleanliness in relation to the soul is a common metaphor for evil. On the converse, Edgar Linton is described as blue eyed with a perfect forehead [Brontë, 34] and “soft featured… [with] a figure almost too graceful” [Brontë, 40], which has almost angelic connotations. When these features and the actions of their possessors are taken into account, it becomes clear that Edgar and Heathcliff are not merely motivated by love and revenge as most academics suggest, but rather these two men were intended by Brontë to be love and hate incarnate.
Along with remarriage and the responsibility of a daughter, Henchard also adopts a work associate. Donald Farfrae, a young Scottish man, is appointed manager of Henchard’s dwindling corn business. In this point of the novel, the character development of Michael Henchard is proved through every outwardly observable aspect. Henchard holds postion of mayor, rekindles his marriage, and gains a friend. Alas this prosperity for Michael Henchard is not permanent. Although the managing skills of Donald Farfrae allow for a revival of Henchard’s corn business, Farfrae’s interest in becoming mayor drive the two apart. Henchard displays immense insecurity as he reverts to old habits and dismisses his colleague, Farfrae, despite the tremendous help he has provided Henchard with both his business as well as his well-being. This tendency is not odd though, Henchard also disowns his daughter, Elizabeth-Jane, for a similar reason. When Henchard is given the upsetting news of his daughter’s biological origins, he can no longer tolerate her presence in his household. Feeling as if he holds no importance in Elizabeth-Jane’s life, he lets insecurity and self-pity take control. Although Elizabeth-Jane was all Henchard had left after his wife’s death, the thought of caring for another man’s daughter was too much for Henchard to bear. Elizabeth-Jane eventually slipped out of Henchard’s life just as she had before that night at the furmity
Hardy originated from a working class family. The son of a master mason, Hardy was slightly above that of his agricultural peers. Hardy’s examination of transition between classes is usually similar to that of D.H. Lawrence, that if you step outside your circle you will die. The ambitious lives of the characters within Hardy’s novels like Jude and Tess usually end fatally; as they attempt to break away from the constraints of their class, thus, depicting Hardy’s view upon the transition between classes. Hardy valued lower class morals and traditions, it is apparent through reading Tess that her struggles are evidently permeated through the social sufferings of the working class. A central theme running throughout Hardy’s novels is the decline of old families. It is said Hardy himself traced the Dorset Hardy’s lineage and found once they were of great i...
What kind of person auctions off their wife and baby? In The Mayor of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy explores the personality of a man, Michael Henchard, who hands his family off to a stranger, Richard Newsom, for a mere five guineas. Oblivious to the consequences of such an act, Michael Henchard, intoxicated, lets go of his wife, Susan, and daughter, Elizabeth-Jane, who remain silent and unsure of what lies ahead. Just beginning his struggle in accepting standards of society, Michael Henchard realizes the disastrous effects of alcohol and promises to never drink again for twenty-one years. In his novel, Thomas Hardy examines the standards of society in Casterbridge at the turn of the twentieth century while detailing Michael Henchard's responses to these standards.