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

NOTE: ONE MODEL FOR HENCHARD Thomas Hardy's maternal grandfather, George Hand, was a laborer who drank heavily and eventually died of consumption (tuberculosis). Hardy's mother told him many stories about his grandfather's drunkenness, and Hardy wove her descriptions into his characterizations of the two heavy and tragic drinkers in his novels--Henchard and Jude Fawley of Jude the Obscure.

Henchard takes two steps to correct the situation, both ineffectual. He goes unobserved to the village church and takes a solemn oath not to drink again for 21 years (he is only 21 now). Then he begins looking for Susan, although he knows neither the sailor's name nor his hometown. However, Henchard's pride and shame keep him from revealing the true story behind his family's disappearance. Had he done so, people might have been more willing to help him. In any case, after several months he gives up the search and moves on to Casterbridge.

The second chapter contrasts sharply with the first. It is much shorter and less dramatic. Yet it reveals even more about Henchard's character: He acts quickly and often makes errors. He sometimes regrets his mistakes, but his way of handling them is not to undo what he has done but to take a new course of action.

He relies more on instinct than on thought. His instincts have led him to rid himself of his family and to find his way to Casterbridge. Both of these deeds will play important roles in his subsequent success and his eventual downfall.

NOTE: THE PROLOGUE SECTION The first two chapters are separate from the rest of the novel in terms of time, place, style, and development. They serve as a prologue section. The prologue introduces several of the main characters and presents core events that will underlie much of the later action, As you read the first two chapters, think about why Hardy sets them off from the rest of the novel. Why doesn't he begin the book in Casterbridge in the 1840s and flash back to the earlier events in Weydon-Priors? There are several possible reasons. Which of the following explanations seems most logical to you? One is that Hardy wants the auction in Chapter I to stand out from the rest of the book. It's the key event in both Michael Henchard's rise and fall. Secondly, Hardy wants to shock you and capture your interest immediately. A third reason is that Hardy wants to draw you into the world of Wessex and separate you from your own time and place. What a strange place this is, you may think, in which a man can sell his family and no one seems to be very upset about it! A final reason is that Hardy's focus is on the destructive nature of Henchard's character and his powerlessness to overcome his fate. He does not want you to see Henchard first as a man of power and influence. You know that Henchard is doomed long before he recognizes this fact.

^^^^^^^^^^THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE: CHAPTER III: SUSAN'S SEARCH FOR HENCHARD

Chapter III opens the second section of The Mayor of Casterbridge. You might call this chapter "Echoes, Contrasts, and Coincidences." In the first paragraph, Hardy includes several echoes of Chapter I. The scene is again the dusty road leading to Weydon-Priors. The leaves are turning brown once more. And strangers are once again entering the village. The strangers are Susan Henchard and her daughter Elizabeth-Jane, a girl of about 18.

The echoes continue. The two women arrive in the village on Fair Day. In fact, they have come to the village exactly 18 years after the auction. They even head toward the place where furmity is being sold.

While he is echoing the past, Hardy also presents numerous contrasts. Eighteen years have made quite a difference. The village and the fair are considerably run down now. The furmity woman no longer has a tent. She serves her brew, now "thin slop" instead of "rich concoction," from a pot over an open fire outdoors. Yet she still spikes it illegally with rum.

The most intriguing contrast lies in Susan Henchard's reason for returning to Weydon-Priors. She first arrived there with Michael Henchard and left with Richard Newson, the sailor. Now Newson has been lost at sea, and Susan is looking for Michael Henchard. Does she intend to resume her marriage with Henchard?

Elizabeth-Jane asks her mother why they have come to this place and learns that her mother first met "father"--Newson--here. Susan tells her they have returned to the village to try to locate their kin, Michael Henchard, who is related to them "by marriage." As Susan approaches the furmity woman, her daughter wonders why she wants to talk to someone as unrespectable as the old hag. Elizabeth-Jane's comments illustrate both her primness and her lack of memory about the past.

Susan's conversation with Mrs. Goodenough, the furmity woman, brings out some amazing coincidences. Mrs. Goodenough still remembers the infamous auction. She even recalls an old message from Michael Henchard to his former wife. He told Mrs. Goodenough 17 years ago that if she should ever see Susan again, to tell her that he had moved to Casterbridge. Do all of these coincidences seem a little too contrived? They are typical in a Hardy novel, and they sometimes annoy readers. Yet these coincidences keep the story moving along smoothly.

NOTE: THE IMPORTANCE OF COINCIDENCES AND FORESHADOWING Since many of Hardy's novels were first serialized in magazines, he needed various devices to tie the episodes together and keep his readers in suspense. The use of coincidences was one of these devices. Hardy's use of coincidence also adds to the fatalistic nature of the plot. The coincidences seem to show that Henchard can't escape his fate.

In Chapter III, Hardy also illustrates his technique of foreshadowing future events. Look carefully at his description of Elizabeth-Jane at the beginning of this chapter, and at Susan's statement to her daughter about their relationship to Michael Henchard. Harry describes the girl as being "about eighteen," as being "Susan Henchard's grown-up daughter," and as never having been known by Henchard. Hardy is planting clues in your mind about the characters that won't be explained until later. He is also provoking you into reading further.

^^^^^^^^^^THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE: CHAPTER IV: ENTERING CASTERBRIDGE

In Chapter IV, Hardy begins to fill you in on what has happened to Susan Henchard since the auction. Susan has kept her past a secret from Elizabeth-Jane, fearing that her daughter might be upset by the truth behind Susan's relationship with the sailor, Newson. Susan had moved with the sailor to Canada, then back to England. More and more, Susan doubted the morality of her life with Newson. He understood and arranged, conveniently, to become lost at sea.

Free of one problem, Susan still has another--how to help Elizabeth-Jane make her way in the world. Susan decides that finding Henchard might help resolve all her problems. She will return to her proper husband. Henchard might have become successful enough to help Elizabeth-Jane. In addition, he might help Susan decide how to tell the girl about the past.

The two women enter Casterbridge on a Friday evening. Elizabeth-Jane is struck by how old-fashioned the town appears.

NOTE: THE PRIMITIVE NATURE OF CASTERBRIDGE In his descriptions of Casterbridge, Hardy emphasizes the old-fashioned, almost primitive, nature of the town. Casterbridge is imprisoned by trees and often cloaked in darkness. It is similar to the dark, foreboding castles in many horror or suspense stories.

Susan and Elizabeth-Jane overhear a conversation between two men in which the name "Henchard" is mentioned. Elizabeth-Jane wants to run after the men, but Susan stops her because she wants to make "private inquiries." She implies that Henchard might be a criminal or a debtor, but she probably fears that he has either remarried or has risen to heights too high for his modest former family.

The two also meet a woman who complains about how bad the bread in Casterbridge has become. She attributes the problem to spoiled wheat sold by the cornfactor. (In England, wheat is called "corn," and what we know as "corn" is called "maize.") In the next chapter, you will learn that the cornfactor is in fact Michael Henchard. The bad wheat he has sold to the town millers marks the first downturn in his career since his move to Casterbridge. Hardy once again presents a coincidence. Susan Henchard re-enters Michael Henchard's life just as his fortune is reversing.

^^^^^^^^^^THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE: CHAPTER V: DISCOVERING THE MAYOR

In Chapter IV, Hardy introduced the landscape of Casterbridge. In this chapter, he introduces its people. Why do you think he shows you the town in this manner?

As the chapter opens, the town band playing outside the King's Arms Hotel attracts Susan and her daughter. The most important town leaders are dining inside the hotel, and many of the minor townspeople are gathered across the street where they can observe the proceedings. Susan asks Elizabeth-Jane to converse with some of the townspeople so as to find out more about Henchard.

NOTE: THE TOWN CHORUS In many of his books, Hardy employs a chorus of minor characters to fill in some of the past events not explained in his narration. Greek dramatists often used this technique as did William Shakespeare. The chorus provides you with a good sense of local color and a special perspective on the important people or events in the book. In this chapter, the words and actions of the chorus reveal some very interesting information about Henchard. He is a mysterious character (you know more about him than the townspeople do). Henchard is clearly powerful, but he is also vulnerable if pushed. And the people in Casterbridge know how to push him.