The Importance of Character and a Good Name in The Mayor of Casterbridge Introduction The novel The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy deals with the importance of character and reputation. The story is centered on the life of Michael Henchard and his struggle with the consequence of a decision made as a young man in an inebriated state. The novel begins with Michael, his wife Susan, and their young daughter Elizabeth-Jane arriving in the town of Weyden-Priors on "Fair Day." Michael drinks…

commonly known as Feminine Critique sought to divorce literary analysis away from abstract diction-based arguments and instead tailored their criticism to more “grounded” pieces of literature like plot, characters, and so on and recognize the implicit misogyny of the structure of the story itself. My paper on The Disparate Treatment of Patriarchy in ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge ' and ‘The Mahabharata’ throws a feministic light in Thomas Hardy 's and Ved Vyas 's works. Through my paper I want to particularly…

The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy wrote the novel 'The Mayor of Casterbridge' in 1886. Two of the main characters, Donald Farfrae and Michael Henchard have a contrast in luck and Hardy uses characterisation, language, historical and social background and a craft in the structure of his novel to help bring across this point. During this essay I am going to comment upon how Hardy does this and further consider the view that, Farfrae's good fortune…

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,…

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…

countless opportunities for the characters in Thomas Hardy 's novel, The Mayor of Casterbridge, to embrace and experience this necessary growth, there is an absence of such personal advancement and progress. Ultimately, the decisions and actions of Michael Henchard, Lucetta Le Sueur, Donald Farfrae, and Elizabeth Jane all demonstrate repetitive qualities and a lack of character development which either assist or hinder the justice and moral order of the characters’ fates. Throughout Hardy’s plot…

Human Destiny and Chance in Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge Present readers might perceive that Thomas Hardy's viewpoint in the novel The Mayor of Casterbridge is severe and depressing. However, most people adored Hardy during his living years. In an era when the Industrial Revolution was bringing dramatic and sometimes disturbing changes to England, he celebrated the nation's roots in its rustic past. In an era when new ideas like Darwin's theory of evolution challenged long established…

"The Mayor of Casterbridge" In The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy, a person’s future lies in the hands of his or her past actions. The intelligent or ignorant decision that they make places an immediate or long-term effect on the rest of person’s life. Michael Henchard, whose interactions with the people of Casterbridge lead to his demise, is only one of the people who decide their own destiny through their actions. The decisions that the residents of Casterbridge make affect the rest of…

Character Sketches: Elizabeth Jane Newson, later Elizabeth Jane Henchard, is naturally pretty but is never considered beautiful because of her conservative dress and attitude. The narrator says that young men do not obsess over her or fall in love with her because she isn’t ostentatious. Elizabeth Jane doesn’t wear the fashionable clothes and isn’t flirtatious. Instead she is reticent and much too serious for the guys in the novel. Elizabeth Jane tries to be extravagant at one point in the story…

novel The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy, the protagonist Michael Henchard discovers that if man makes rash decisions and is not careful, he will cause himself to self-destruct mentally and physically. Told in third person point of view, the author supports his theme by describing the setting of the fictional town of Casterbridge, establishing the central conflict of Henchard forgetting about his past, and becoming a new, better man. This affects the work as a whole because Hardy 's purpose…