Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy concludes The Mayor of Casterbridge with the following words: “. . . happiness was but the occasional episode in a general drama of pain.” These words sum up the tenor of the novel.
The novel opens with an infamous scene in which Michael Henchard, in a drunken stupor, sells his wife and young daughter to the highest bidder. Full of remorse when he realizes what he’s done, he spends the next few years searching for them. But to no avail. As penance for his actions, he abstains from drink for two decades, works hard, succeeds in business, and eventually becomes the respectable mayor of Casterbridge. When his wife shows up with her now fully grown daughter, Henchard tries to make amends. He re-marries his wife to give their relationship the cloak of respectability. All seems to be right with the world. But not so fast. This is Hardy, and his Henchard will not be let off so easily.
What follows is a series of challenging events, love triangles, unfortunate circumstances, secrets, past transgressions, regrets, and mistaken identities. Henchard constantly tries to be a better man, but he comes up short mainly due to his arrogance, pride, and quick temper. He is full of remorse for his mistakes. He no sooner regrets a past action when he has plunged himself headlong into another morass. His attempts to be good are thwarted at every turn. He is his own worst enemy and fails to see the good in others until it is too late.
Another character haunted by past transgressions is Lucetta. Hardy is equally tough on her. Lucetta tries to bury her secret past and lead a respectable life with a man she loves. But Hardy won’t allow it. There is no redemption for her or Henchard. Burdened with past mistakes, both characters die untimely deaths. The only characters permitted to have some modicum of a happy ending are those who are relatively blameless.
Hardy is masterful in establishing setting. He immerses the reader in rural Wessex and populates it with a motley crew of locals speaking in a dialect and diction barely intelligible to a modern reader. His plot is carefully constructed with twists and turns, unexpected appearances, and failed attempts at expiation. In Henchard, Hardy has created a complex, nuanced character riddled with flaws, one who is gruff and unlikeable. And, yet, somehow, he generates sympathy for him. We watch him struggle to be a better man. We want him to do well. But he disappoints and lets himself down at every turn. A Hardy-esque fate has him in its grasp and it won’t relinquish him.
Hardy’s vision is unrelentingly bleak, tragic, powerful, compelling, and masterfully executed. It is a cautionary tale of how mistakes made in one’s wild and woolly youth can have enduring and tragic repercussions.
Highly recommended.