"Cliff Notes - Mayor of Casterbridge, The" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cliff Notes)
Henchard also grows jealous of Farfrae's rising influence in both Henchard's business and in Casterbridge. The two men quarrel and Henchard fires Farfrae, who then sets up a successful competing grain business. Henchard begins rash speculation in wheat in an effort to wipe out Farfrae, but he fails miserably in the attempt. Henchard is rapidly going bankrupt.
Soon after Susan's death, Lucetta Templeman, Henchard's former paramour, comes to Casterbridge to marry Henchard. In order to provide Henchard with a respectable reason for visiting her, Lucetta suggests that Elizabeth-Jane move in with her. Henchard tries to force Lucetta to marry him, but she is unwilling. She has fallen in love with Farfrae and soon marries him.
Henchard's business and love life are failing; his social position in Casterbridge is also eroding. The final blow comes when the woman who ran the furmity tent in Weydon-Priors is arrested in Casterbridge. When she spitefully reveals Henchard's infamous auctioning of his wife and child, Henchard surprisingly admits his guilt. The news, which is harmful to Henchard's reputation, rapidly travels through the town. Henchard is soon bankrupt and forced by his poverty to become Farfrae's employee. Henchard's 21-year abstinence also ends, and he begins drinking heavily again. He moves to the poorest section of town.
Farfrae and Lucetta buy Henchard's old house and furniture. The Scotsman then completes his displacement of Henchard by becoming mayor of Casterbridge. Later, Henchard challenges Farfrae to a fight to the death. Henchard is on the verge of winning when he comes to his senses and gives up.
As the mayor's wife, Lucetta becomes the stylish and important woman she has longed to be. But she fears her secret affair with Henchard, if revealed, might destroy her marriage to Farfrae. She begs Henchard to return the damning letters she had written him years before. Henchard finds the letters in his old house and reads some of them to Farfrae. He intends to reveal their author as well but relents at the last minute. Later, he asks Jopp, a former employee, to deliver the letters to Lucetta. Henchard doesn't realize Jopp hates both him and Lucetta. Jopp shares the letters with some of the lowlife of the town. Excited by the scandal, these people plan a "skimmity-ride"--a mock parade to ridicule adulterers through the town to shame Henchard and Lucetta. Lucetta sees herself paraded in effigy, and the shock kills her.
Henchard reconciles with Elizabeth-Jane, who continues to believe Henchard is her father. He sees his final chance for happiness crumbling, however, when Elizabeth-Jane's real father, the sailor Newson, comes to Casterbridge to find his daughter. Out of affection for Susan, Newson reveals that he pretended to be lost at sea so that Susan, who hated their relationship, could return freely to Henchard. Henchard lies to the sailor, telling him Elizabeth-Jane died soon after her mother's death. Newson leaves, but Henchard worries that the sailor might return to reclaim Elizabeth-Jane.
During the following year, Henchard's life becomes fairly settled. He lives with Elizabeth-Jane and runs a small seed store. Farfrae begins courting Elizabeth-Jane, and the two plan to marry. Then the sailor returns, and Henchard flees Casterbridge.
Henchard appears at Elizabeth-Jane and Farfrae's wedding to deliver a present. Elizabeth-Jane spurns him, and Henchard sees that Newson has taken over as father of the bride--a role Henchard can never play. He leaves Casterbridge broken-hearted. A few days later, Elizabeth-Jane discovers Henchard's present, a bird in a cage. The unattended bird has died of starvation. Touched, she and Farfrae go in search of Henchard. Too late, they learn he has just died in the hovel where he had been living with the humblest of his former employees. The young couple read Henchard's pitiful will, in which Henchard asks that no one remember him.
^^^^^^^^^^THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE: MICHAEL HENCHARD
The Mayor of Casterbridge is almost completely dominated by one character--Michael Henchard, the itinerant hay-trusser who becomes mayor of a Wessex town. Even when Henchard is not present, the other characters always seem to be talking about him or wondering how to deal with him. He is larger than life, as are his successes and failures.
As you read The Mayor of Casterbridge, you are likely to be impressed by Michael Henchard, but you may have trouble deciding whether you admire, loathe, pity, or condemn him. Some readers see Henchard as a victim of a fickle fate, while others feel that he deserves all of the anguish he has to endure in the course of the novel. Henchard has a special moral code all his own.
Henchard's energy is amazing. You might think of him as a billiard ball in constant motion. He is a man of action. He rushes headlong, bounding from one impetuous act to another. He may regret an action, such as auctioning his family, but he never tries to take back anything he has done. Instead, he may do something else, equally rash, in order to make amends for his first action. For example, he readily takes Susan back into his life and just as readily admits his guilt when he is confronted by the furmity woman.
Pride is another major character trait of Michael Henchard. His personal pride separates him from the other people around him. It is at the core of his successes as well as his failures.
Hardy points out Henchard's pride throughout the novel, starting with his initial description of the main character on page 1. Henchard's walk is that of a skilled countryman--not that of a general laborer--and "in the turn and plant of each foot there was, further, a dogged and cynical indifference personal to himself..."
Henchard's combination of energy and pride results in his becoming a prosperous merchant and the town leader. However, the combination also proves self-destructive. He is driven to outdo Farfrae, and this leads to the breakup of their friendship and partnership, and, ultimately, to Henchard's bankruptcy. He cannot accept the truth of Elizabeth-Jane's parentage, and he becomes estranged from her as well. In addition, he cannot comfortably allow Lucetta to marry another man.
Consistency is another major character trait of Michael Henchard. He is always the same man. His wife Susan points out this consistency several times as she and Elizabeth-Jane seek their "distant kin." In Chapter IX, she says, "He was always so." Do you think Henchard's consistency is an admirable trait? Henchard tells people exactly what he thinks of them, and they know exactly what to expect of him. Yet his inflexibility makes him an almost impossible person to live and work with.
Hardy leaves a major question about Henchard for you to answer: Is he a villain who commits evil acts, or is he a pawn of fate? Does he deserve the terrible end that he suffers? Hardy seems to admire Henchard, but he does not allow Henchard to find peace and happiness.
^^^^^^^^^^THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE: SUSAN HENCHARD
Susan Henchard's personality contrasts with her husband's. While he is active, she is passive. He is certain and enthusiastic; she is confused and bitter. In Chapter II, Hardy describes Susan as being a fatalist. She is resigned to whatever life brings her--even being auctioned off to another man whom she accepts as her new mate. Susan's actions add a fatalistic tone to the whole novel. Yet what happens to her influences much of the action of the novel. Hardy also uses the word "mobility" to describe Susan. She is a moveable person, physically and emotionally. She does not live for herself. Most of her actions are motivated by the desire to help her surviving daughter. She leaves with the sailor in hopes of finding a better life for Elizabeth-Jane, and she returns to Henchard in hopes of helping the second Elizabeth-Jane get ahead in life.
Hardy purposefully only sketches Susan for you. She is undeveloped as a character. If she were stronger, she might draw your attention away from Michael Henchard. Think about it. Do you feel real sympathy for what happens to Susan?
Yet, when Susan does act or make decisions, she unwittingly influences many of the major events. She leads the family into the furmity tent. She accepts the auction, rather than fighting for her rights as Henchard's wife. She reminds the furmity woman of the auction and of Henchard's whereabouts. She leaves behind the poorly sealed note that reveals Elizabeth-Jane's parentage. She even gives both girls the same name, which adds to Henchard's confusion. Susan Henchard may be a minor character but she has major influence in this novel.
^^^^^^^^^^THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE: ELIZABETH-JANE NEWSON
Elizabeth-Jane is the embodiment of a proper young woman. She is reserved, innocent, and polite. You may think that some of her views, particularly those she expresses early in the book, are a little prim. For example, she is concerned about Susan's talking with the furmity woman and is shy in approaching Farfrae. By Victorian standards, however, Elizabeth-Jane should be concerned with acting properly at all times. She must live up to her status as a mayor's daughter.
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