The mayor of casterbridge
The mayor of casterbridge“The business of the poet and novelist is to show the sorriness underlying the grandest things, and the grandeur underlying the sorriest.” Thomas Hardy said this upon completion of the novel The Mayor of Casterbridge. Thomas Henchard, the main character in his novel, becomes the example to illustrate this idea. Henchard is at one point the most powerful person in a small town called Casterbridge. He is the wealthiest person and commands the most respect, but Hardy shows some terrible characteristics of Henchard. Because of Henchard’s pride and ego, he loses his fame and fortune and becomes a part of the lowest working class. There, while exhibiting some of his cruder qualities, he also shows signs of true affection to others.
While Henchard is the mayor, he scolds the chronincly late Abel for being tardy. Henchard is in Abel’s hut, and demands the following from Abel who is just waking up:
“’ Out of bed, sir, and off to the granary, or you leave my employ today! ‘Tis to teach ye a lesson. March on; never mind your britches’” (169)!
Even though Abel does deserve a punishment, he is a grown man and such punishments like those fall into the category of cruel and unusual. A simple deduction in his pay would have been suitable, Henchard however decides to humilate him. Hardy is showing that, even in the most powerful people, human flaws make people do the worst of things. Hardy further shows this in Henchard’s relationship with Donald Farfrae. Farfrae is a young Scottish man that Henchard woes to become the manager of Henchard’s wheat business. As time passes, Henchard becomes wealthier because of Farfrae’s talents. Farfrae becomes the intergral part of Henchard’s business. Without Farfrae, Henchard’s business would collapse. Henchard knows this, but his pride gets in the way. Farfrae plans to hold a carnival on the day of a festival, but, when Henchard finds out about this, Henchard decides to imitate Farfrae by having his own which is much bigger and lavish than Farfrae’s. On the day of the festival, it rains heavily. Henchard’s carnival is canceled while Farfrae’s remains because of an elaborate tent structure he creates. People call Henchard,...
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