"THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cliff Notes)

The story of Saul and David also symbolizes the replacement of the old order by the new. By utilizing biblical images, Hardy once again shows the conflict between tradition and modernization.

6. ILLUSION VS. REALITY

Nearly all of the main characters in The Mayor of Casterbridge put on a front. As readers, we know or suspect their true identities, and we wait for the truth to surface. Hardy presents many hints that foreshadow the reality behind the illusions. As you read, you might want to see how good a detective you are. Jot down any hints of illusions that you see and your suspicions about the truth. Then see how many of your suspicions are confirmed.

Hardy also interplays illusion and reality in his description of the skimmity-ride. Lucetta narrates the scene, and the events seem to take place more in her head than on the street below her window. Reread that scene carefully. Can you explain why the paraders just seem to disappear into thin air?

^^^^^^^^^^THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE: STYLE

The style of The Mayor of Casterbridge is clear and descriptive. The sentences are generally carefully developed. At times Hardy's language seems almost poetic (and, indeed, Hardy thought of himself primarily as a poet). Hardy, the poet, is clearly at work in his first extended description of Elizabeth-Jane in Chapter IV:

The sun shone in at the door upon the young woman's head and hair, which was worn loose, so that the rays streamed into its depths as into a hazel copse. Her face, though somewhat wan and incomplete, possessed the raw materials of beauty in a promising degree. There was an under-handsomeness in it, struggling to reveal itself through the provisional curves of immaturity, and the casual disfigurements that resulted from the straitened circumstances of their lives. She was handsome in bone, hardly as yet handsome in the flesh.

Look at the repetition of 's' sounds that give the description softness and 'h' sounds that give it strength. (This repetition of sounds is known as alliteration.) Hardy wants you to know that Elizabeth-Jane is a mixture of these two qualities. Her later actions will bear out this description.

Sometimes Hardy's language may seem old fashioned or wordy, but that is how Victorian authors often wrote. Note, for example, Hardy's explanation of Farfrae's business successes (from Chapter XVII):

Whether it were that his Northern energy was an overmastering force among the easy-going Wessex worthies, or whether it was sheer luck, the fact remained that whatever he touched he prospered in. Like Jacob in Padan-Aram, he would no sooner humbly limit himself to the ringstraked-and-spotted exceptions of trade than the ringstraked-and-spotted would multiply and prevail.

This passage may seem wordy or archaic to you, but notice Hardy's craftsmanship in using repetition, imagery, and allusion.

Hardy relies heavily on images and symbolism in his writing. Many times in The Mayor of Casterbridge he uses rain to add a pessimistic feeling to Henchard's actions. He also creates an ominous feeling by presenting some of the pivotal events in Henchard's downfall in nighttime shadows or in darkened rooms. In addition, Hardy uses animal images in his descriptions of Henchard and Farfrae. Hardy shows Henchard changing from "raging bull" to "fangless" lion and caged bird. Through extended metaphor, Hardy shows Farfrae acting as a powerful male animal laying claim to and taking over the territory of the former dominant male.

One interesting aspect of Hardy's style is his use of conversation and dialect. You can learn a great deal about characters, including their social status, from the way they speak. For example, Henchard's conversation generally consists of short sentences strung tightly together. He talks as quickly and as impulsively as he acts. Farfrae speaks precisely, illustrating his correctness. Farfrae's Scottish dialect also illustrates his foreignness. He is the new man on the Wessex scene. (Note the conversations between Henchard and Farfrae in Chapters VII and XII.) Elizabeth-Jane's speech pattern becomes increasingly refined as her character develops. The members of the town chorus show how unrefined they are by the colloquial quality of their rural dialect.

^^^^^^^^^^THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE: POINT OF VIEW

The Mayor of Casterbridge is written from the point of view of a third-person omniscient narrator. As an outside, all-knowing observer, the narrator can jump through time as he chronicles Henchard's rise and fall, as well as reveal the private thoughts of each character. He can also anticipate or review actions or speeches. He can even make value judgments, which he often does.

Note, for example, the following passage from Chapter IV, in which the narrator comments on Susan Henchard's actions and motives, briefly mentions the thoughts of another character, and makes some value judgments of his own.

But Susan Henchard's fear of losing her dearly loved daughter's heart by a revelation had little to do with any sense of wrong-doing on her own part. Her simplicity--the original ground of Henchard's contempt for her--had allowed her to live on in the conviction that Newson had acquired a morally real and justifiable right to her by his purchase--though the exact bearings and legal limits of that right were vague. It may seem strange to sophisticated minds that a young matron could believe in the seriousness of such a transfer; and were there not numerous other instances of that same belief the thing might scarcely be credited.

The narrator is not the only observer who comments on the action of the novel. Hardy often places two characters on the scene at one time, with a third character (usually Elizabeth-Jane) observing from a place "off-stage." Think of Henchard and Farfrae talking in the inn while Susan overhears them (Chapters VII and VIII), or of Henchard's contemplating pushing Farfrae from the hay-loft while Elizabeth-Jane silently watches the scene (Chapter XXXIII). Do you think this technique gives you a closer "insider's" view of the action, or does it seem distracting to you? Hardy controls your observation of the action by linking you with the outside observer.

^^^^^^^^^^THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE: FORM AND STRUCTURE

The story line of The Mayor of Casterbridge consists of plot twists, coincidences, echoes, and a series of minor and major climaxes. Throughout, Hardy deals with time in interesting or unusual ways. He can take several chapters to cover the events of a single day or whisk through six months in a single paragraph. He even leaps completely over a period of nearly 20 years and lets you in on the events of those years little by little as the major characters reflect on the past.

Because The Mayor of Casterbridge was originally serialized in 20 magazine issues, the narrative is episodic. You might want to think of the book as a script for a television series. (In Hardy's time, books and magazines provided entertainment similar to television in our time.) Hardy puts just enough suspense at the end of one episode to make you want to read the next episode. That's just what a television writer does to make sure you'll be there for the next show. Look for the elements that connect one episode to another or lay the groundwork for future events.

The Mayor of Casterbridge may be divided into five sections:

1. Chapters I and II--the auction and oath

2. Chapters III-XIX--from Susan's return until her death

3. Chapters XX-XXX--from Lucetta's entrance until her marriage to Farfrae