Henchard's Ethical Choice in Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge

          In Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge, the author employs the concepts of fate and irony to trace the tragic downfall of protagonist Michael Henchard whose quest for love and acceptance, like the prophet Job, culminates in the unexpected loss of his home, family, and reputation. Overwhelmed by misfortunes, Henchard confronts life's adversities with courage and honesty, remaining true to his principles by loving and forgiving, despite the cruelty of unforeseen circumstances and the prejudice of society. A Byronic hero like Frankenstein and Manfred, Henchard relentlessly struggles against the crushing disappointments of fate. Like the misguided Oedipus, the main character chooses his own existential destiny, though it means isolation and death. Hardy also uses the theme of appearance versus reality to enhance the hero's psychological quest for understanding. Hardy shows how Henchard's entire life and reputation revolve around one haunting, unforgettable outburst in his early life, during a drunken rage, and how his subsequent attempts to rectify it prove futile. Nevertheless, the protagonist holds his course and lives by the dictates of his own existence. In essence, Henchard determines the ethical choices that govern his life, a feature which makes him one of Hardy's most notable characters.

              Hardy uses the concept of fate to evoke pity for the hero. Tired and frustrated after traveling miles on foot with his wife and daughter in an unsuccessful attempt to find work, Henchard, a passionate man, enters a tavern at Weydon Priors, proceeds to drink prodigiously, and in a moment of drunken frenzy, offers to sell his family to the highest bidder; whereupon a sailor named Newson accept s the offer and carries them away (21). Not until the following morning does Henchard awaken from his stupor to realize the horror of his crime, but by that time, it was too late to recant. The tavern was empty, and all that remained was his wife's wedding ring, which he found on the floor (23). Frantic and penitent, Henchard travels throughout the entire area for more than a year, yet can find no sign of them. In despair, he vows not to touch another drop of alcohol for the next twenty-one years, a period corresponding to the years of his life (25). As a final attempt, Henchard leaves word with the furmity woman at Weydon Priors that he is moving to Casterbridge, if she should ever encounter his wife or daughter again (31). Although the hero's behavior proves unconscionable, his guilt and remorse over the loss of his family manifests itself in his fervor to reunite with them, the vow that he affirms and maintains, and his return to the scene of his humiliation months later. Disappointed, the hero relinquishes the search only after it takes him to a seaport where he hears that people matching the description had departed aboard a ship a short time earlier (26).

            At this point, Hardy leaves the reader with the belief that the hero does everything possible to locate his family, that they had traveled overseas, beyond his reach, and that he is now justified in start a new life in Casterbridge. Instead of losing all hope, Henchard puts these events behind him, and after years of hard work, subsequently earns a place of authority as the elected Mayor of Casterbridge (39). A combination of fate and diligence rewards him, and it appears that Providence finally is smiling upon him for the first time. Rising from a position of abject poverty tone of the highest regard requires an inner strength and integrity. In fact, the author says that the protagonist "had been one of the chief stimulants for many years" in the village's development (306). Thus, the main character exemplifies the leadership potential that makes him a hero.

            As fate would have it, however, some eighteen years later, the roles reverse, and now Henchard's wife Susan and daughter Elizabeth are searching for him after they hear of Newson's death at sea (33). Ironically, the same furmity woman from whom the couple first purchased drinks in the tavern years earlier, and later to whom Henchard asked about his missing family now provides information about Henchard's whereabouts (31). Hardy uses this aged woman to unify his tale because, like Teiresias in Oedipus, her old age and reputation as the town gossip bests equips her for this inquiry. Hardy also uses irony to show how mother and daughter arrive at Casterbridge at the worst possible time for Henchard. After a long period of popularity as the mayor, Henchard now faces harsh criticism over the sale of "bad wheat" to his constituents. As Susan and Elizabeth enter the village, the disgruntled citizens demand proper restitution. The rude and callous comments of the people toward the mayor further suggests the public's impatience and ingratitude toward an official who has served them well yet now must resolve a seemingly impossible task (44). Demanding that Henchard change the essence of the wheat seems to him a miracle nothing short of changing water into wine. At the moment of the mayor's despair, a solution appears to fall from heaven. Overhearing the people's grievance, a stranger named Farfrae , newly arrived in the community, hands him a note with a method of processing the wheat to achieve this very goal (55). Here Hardy uses irony in this incident to suggest the hero's tragic vulnerability to the unforeseen circumstances of fate. First, the stranger mysteriously appears in Casterbridge at the same time when Henchard needs him most. Even more ironic is the unlikelihood of the young Scotsman's possessing a formula for wheat. In the event that the young man did provide the remedy, it is highly improbable that it would pertain to the same commodity that now plagues the mayor. The more that Henchard tries to resolve the problem, the more he becomes a victim of fate. For instance, Henchard's agreement to use Farfrae's process appears to be the solution to his problems, but in reality, it begins a course of occurrences that result in his worst nightmare. In essence, the appearance of a young merchant whom Henchard eventually hires as his assistant to save his business from disaster in reality begins a series of events that would supplant the protagonist in rank and esteem by robbing him of his fortune, reputation, and dignity.

             Hardy also stresses Henchard's kindness and generosity as heroic traits. The main character trusts Farfrae like a son, and even tells him about his crime of selling his wife and son. Henchard tells Farfrae, "It is odd that two men should meet as we have done on a purely business ground, and that at the end of the first day I should wish to speak to 'ee on a family matter. But, damn it all, I am a lonely man, Farfrae; I have nobody else to speak to; and why shouldn't I tell it to 'ee?" (82). Ironically, the protagonist soon lives to regret it (105). In essence, Henchard becomes a victim of appearances in this arrangement because it seems that fate has brought the two together at an opportune time in which each can equally benefit from their close association. Never did he imagine that this young Scotsman would one day replace him as mayor, purchase his home, business, and even wed Lucetta, the lady he entertains plans of marrying. The culmination of these events confuses and angers the hero. The young Scotsman would have nothing were it not for his befriending him, and yet Farfrae betrays him. Ironically, Henchard feels the same toward Lucetta. What appears to be the image of a young woman whom Henchard rescues from the throes of poverty in reality becomes another nightmare when he learns that she has decided to wed his rival instead. Lucetta moves to Casterbridge to consummate their plans for marriage, but Henchard's initial reluctance to continue their affair leads her to believe that he no longer loves her, and she consequently falls in love with the young Scotsman. What the hero fails to realize is that Lucetta comforts Henchard during the period of his emotional loss out of a sense of obligation toward him, not love. Rather than accepting the couple's happiness and joining in their celebration, the hero takes both Farfrae's and Lucetta's responses as a personal affront to his dignity. Once again, his pride is injured. In a different respect, as Henchard grows in popularity, he begins to feel a sense of superiority, and thus becomes hesitant to continue their intimacy. Thus, Lucetta's subsequent coldness toward Henchard leaves him with the false impression that she no longer loves or appreciates what he has done for her. Henchard wrongly assumes that gratitude commands a stronger place in the human heart than love or affection. His injured sense of pride once again overwhelms him. He stubbornly refuses to return Lucetta's love letters, and threatens to use them against her if she won't marry him. His pride blinds him to the reality of their love and the impossibility of his regaining her affection. In his jealous rage, he vows to avenge Farfrae. The author says Henchard was "stung into bitterness; like Bellerophon, he wandered away from the crowd, cankered in soul" (118). Sadly, the protagonist confuses the concepts of love and obligation. Henchard desires to marry Lucetta because of his sense of duty. As the hero tells himself, "Poor thing—better you had not known me! Upon my heart and soul, if ever I should be left in a position to carry out that marriage with thee, I ought to do it—I ought to do it, indeed!" (120). Hardy also uses the concept of fate, in this case, to demonstrate how the psychological motivation underlying the behavior of both Henchard and Lucetta results in equally tragic consequences. Henchard becomes obsessive with what he perceives as Lucetta's lack of appreciation, yet cannot abide the thought of her abandoning him. His pride cannot envision Farfrae as the superior choice. For instance, before Lucetta and Farfrae's affair begins, Henchard asks Farfrae whether or not he should tell a young lady about his humiliating sale of his family; and the young Scotsman advises him to tell the truth. To this, the hero replies that he could never divulge the truth, for fear of losing the mystery woman's love. Tragically, and ironically, his concealment of these details later surfaces and serves to ruin him. Similarly, Henchard's refusal to reveal the identity of his daughter's biological father for fear of losing her causes Elizabeth to hate him, and not until his death does she begin to realize the magnitude of his love, and the extent of her cruelty.

          Hardy intensifies the hero's sense of tragic loss by emphasizing his material and spiritual betrayal. Like Silas Marner, Henchard believes that truth requires no explanation, and consequently makes no effort to justify his behavior. Marner contends that God will clear him, and makes no effort on his own behalf. Convicted on false charges of robbery and witchcraft, Silas feels betrayed by God and man, and consequently, seeks refuge in the dark forest apart from society. Henchard suffers in much the same way. On the evening of Elizabeth's wedding reception, the hero makes no attempt to justify his silence concerning the arrival of her biological father, but leaves the caged goldfinch as a token of his enduring love (322). Henchard makes no mention of the deceit Susan earlier uses to persuade him that the young girl is his (127). Instead, the hero nobly rears Elizabeth as his own child. Ironically, the very night Henchard tells Elizabeth that he is her real father, and persuades her to change her name, he finds the posthumous letter from her mother saying Newson is the real father! (127). Thus, the hero feels trapped by circumstances. Hardy says, "Misery taught him nothing more than defiant endurance of it. His wife was dead, and the first impulse for revenge died with the thought that she was beyond him. He looked out at the night as at a fiend. Henchard, like all his kind, was superstitious, and he could not help thinking that the concatenation of events this evening had produced was the scheme of some sinister intelligence bent on punishing him." On the other hand, Henchard's guilty conscience keeps reminding him that his pride is the cause of his downfall. Hardy leaves the reader the choice of whether the hero is a victim of fate or self-will. The author says, "If he had not revealed his past history to Elizabeth, he would not have searched the drawer for papers, and so on. The mockery was that he should no sooner have taught the girl to claim the shelter of his paternity than he discovered her to have no kinship with him." Hardy thus creates this sense of betrayal to confuse and intimidate Henchard, The hero feels that "this ironical sequence of things angered him like an impish trick from a fellow-creature." The main character compares his misfortunes to Prester John "who lost his food to infernal harpies that snatched it up every time his table had been spread" (128).

           Hardy also enhances the tragic aspect of the story by focusing upon Henchard's loneliness. In essence, the hero has no one to speak up for him. Fearing that he might lose the last person in the world that loves him if he tells Elizabeth that Newson is her real father, he hides the truth for fear that she would hate him. Sadly, no one realizes Henchard's real motive until it eventually comes to pass, and she discovers the truth from Farfrae and Newson himself. Ironically, Henchard's judgment on this point proves accurate. The realization of her stepfather's lie fills Elizabeth with hatred and revulsion. Hardy sympathizes with the hero when he says, "Thus they conversed; and there was nobody to set before Elizabeth any extenuation of the absent one's deceit. Even had he been present, Henchard might scarce have pleaded it, so little did he value himself or his good name" (310). At this juncture, the hero's downfall is complete. The loss of home, family, and friends a second time proves devastating, but even worse is the loss of his self-worth and reputation. He no longer cares for life. Hardy illustrates Newson's indifference toward Henchard in his comment as the old man leaves them, "Well, well—never mind—it is all over and past . . . Now about this wedding again" (310). Henchard's final choice is self-exile. Like Frankenstein and his desire for a mate, the hero realizes that with Elizabeth he could withstand any misfortune, but in her absence, his life was meaningless. Thinking to himself, Henchard exclaims, "If I had only got her with me—if I only had! Hard work would be nothing to me then! But that was not to be. I—Cain—go alone as I deserve—an outcast and a vagabond. But my punishment is not greater than I can bear! " (307). Despite his adversity, Henchard refuses to succumb to the forces of fate, and like Conrad's Lord Jim, he determines his own form of existential destiny. Strong and independent, even in his final deeds, the hero chooses his manner of death, and a procedure in which he alone participates (326). In a world of ironies and inconsistencies, no man then could recall the evil or good of his life. No longer would the eyes of men stare in derision upon his forlorn presence.

                                     Works Cited for Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge

Hardy, Thomas. The Mayor of Casterbridge. New York: New American Library, 1962.