Mayor of
Casterbridge
by Thomas Hardy
(Summary)
The Henchard family arrives on foot at the village of Weydon-Priors. Michael Henchard and his wife Susan, with their small daughter Elizabeth-Jane, stop for food at the furmity tent at the local fair. Henchard takes alcohol from the
furmity-woman, and, as he becomes drunk, he
decides to auction off his wife to any other man. A sailor named Richard Newson
offers five guineas for Susan and Elizabeth-Jane. Susan leaves with the sailor saying
to Henchard, that she will try for happiness with a different man. Henchard
falls asleep in the furmity tent.
The next day, Henchard attempts to track down his wife and daughter, but eventually give up the search. He vows not to drink again for twenty-years. He travels south to the town of Casterbridge and settles there.
After
eighteen years later, Susan Henchard arrives in Weydon-Priors at the time of
the annual fair. She is with her daughter, Elizabeth-Jane, who is unaware of
her parents’ history. Elizabeth-Jane has grown up with Richard Newson as her
father, and only his death at sea has caused Susan to decide to attempt to find
her long-lost first husband, Henchard. At the fair, Susan finds the
furmity-woman who had once run the tent at the fair. The poor, old woman
directs Susan to Casterbridge.
Susan and Elizabeth-Jane arrive in Casterbridge and find a group of the local residents gathered outside The Golden Crown Hotel where they see Henchard occupied inside at a grand meal. Susan is reluctant to approach her husband, and she and Elizabeth-Jane spend the night at another hotel in
town: The King
of Prussia. A young Scotsman named Donald Farfrae is also there. Henchard
arrives to meet Farfrae, and Susan and Elizabeth-Jane listen in on their
conversation. Farfrae has a method for restoring wheat, saving Henchard money.
The next day, Henchard convinces Farfrae to stay in Casterbridge and to work as his manager at his wheat and corn business. Susan contacts Henchard via a note sent through Elizabeth-Jane. Henchard and Susan meet that night at a secret location and Henchard agrees to remarry Susan. Eventually, they remarry. Henchard confesses to Farfrae that he had once formed an attachment to a woman named Lucetta, but Henchard had told her of his missing wife and his inability to marry Lucetta for that reason.
A
pair of mysterious notes sent to Farfrae and Elizabeth-Jane, and they meet at
the granary. There, they begin a conversation and get to know each other. Henchard
and Farfrae disagree over Henchard’s treatment of a man named Abel Whittle who
is perpetually late for work. Farfrae’s good temperament cause all the workers
and villagers to like him and his company. In an event Henchard jealously
observes Farfrae dancing with Elizabeth-Jane. He and Farfrae part ways, but
Farfrae remains in town and begins his own competing wheat and corn managing
business. Henchard insists that Farfrae keep his distance from Elizabeth-Jane.
Soon, Susan dies after her remarriage with Henchard. After her death, Henchard confesses the truth of Elizabeth-Jane’s parentage to his daughter. Directly after this confession, Henchard finds a letter left by his dead wife and labeled, “not to be opened till Elizabeth-Jane’s wedding-day.” Ignoring this cautionary note, Henchard opens the letter to discover Susan’s confession: this Elizabeth-Jane is not, in fact, his biological daughter, but a second child born to Susan and Richard Newson after the first baby died. Elizabeth-Jane accepts Henchard as her father, but Henchard is completely disturbed by his awareness of the truth. He does not share with Elizabeth-Jane.
While
Henchard does not confess the contents of Susan’s letter to Elizabeth-Jane, his
behavior towards the young woman changes. He is no longer kind to her. One day,
Elizabeth-Jane visits her mother’s grave and there she meets Lucetta. She has
recently moved to Casterbridge. She listens to Elizabeth-Jane’s story and
invites the young woman to move in with her. Lucetta has moved to Casterbridge
after hearing of Susan’s death. By inviting Elizabeth-Jane into her home she
hopes to encourage her father to visit, as well.
Lucetta
wants to renew her attachment to Henchard, but one day, she meets Farfrae in an
encounter and that affects them both profoundly. Henchard feels he ought to
remarry Lucetta and begins courting her, only to realize that Farfrae is his
rival for her affections. Farfrae is unaware of this rivalry. Lucetta confesses
the confusing situation to Elizabeth-Jane without explicitly telling her who
each of the characters in the story are in real life. Elizabeth-Jane feels that
Lucetta owes her loyalty to the first man she was interested in, who she
realizes eventually is her father.
That season Farfrae makes a great profit and Henchard’s business suffers greatly.
Henchard
comes to Lucetta’s home and blackmails her into agreeing to marry him. He has a
collection of letters written by Lucetta to himself and he vows to make their
past relationship public unless she promises to marry him.
The
next day, Henchard presides over a local trial and the woman brought to court
is the furmity-woman. She recognizes him and reveals, that he, once, sold his
own wife and child. Henchard’s reputation in Casterbridge suffers, and his
business also collapses.
One day, Henchard rescues Lucetta and Elizabeth-Jane from a loose bull. He escorts Lucetta home where she confesses that she has secretly married Farfrae that week in another town. She cannot marry Henchard after hearing about how he once treated Susan and his own daughter. She begs Henchard to not reveal the truth at this point and so ruin her happy marriage with Farfrae. Despite Henchard’s anger, he does not expose the secret. Elizabeth-Jane is also hurt and angry to learn of Lucetta’s marriage to Farfrae, and she moves out of Lucetta’s house.
Henchard
loses his business, his home, and all his personal possessions to his creditors
and finally, when his twenty years are up, he begins to drink heavily again.
Henchard returns the letters to Lucetta, so she can keep her secret.
In a
hayloft, Henchard plans to kill Farfrae. The two struggles, but Farfrae rides
out of town, and is therefore absent that evening as the parade occurs. In the parade,
effigies of Lucetta and Henchard, tied back-to-back, is led through the
streets. Elizabeth-Jane attempts to stop Lucetta from seeing the parade, but
she does and collapses. Farfrae returns, but Lucetta passes away that morning.
Henchard
and Elizabeth-Jane renew their connection, despite his knowledge that she is
not his biological daughter. Richard Newson, who all had believed dead, arrives
in Casterbridge and visits Henchard. He has arrived in Casterbridge to find his
daughter. Henchard tells Newson that Elizabeth-Jane is dead, in order to keep
her love and attention for himself.
Henchard
plans to commit suicide, but does not, when he sees his own effigy from the
skimmington floating in the river. This sign, or vision of a possible future,
saves Henchard’s life. In his depressed state, Henchard realizes the burden he
is on Elizabeth-Jane’s happiness and leaves Casterbridge, wandering the
countryside for his remaining days. Richard Newson returns to Casterbridge and
is reacquainted with his daughter. Elizabeth-Jane and Farfrae are married, and
her father dances joyfully at their wedding. Elizabeth-Jane and Farfrae seek out
Henchard, only to learn from Abel Whittle that he has passed away. Henchard has
left behind a will, a final expression of his bitterness and loneliness in the
world.
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