Mayor of Casterbridge
by
Thomas Hardy
(Character of Henchard)
The character of Henchard has been powerfully portrayed in the novel ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge. He is the hero of the novel because he grows and meets his decay like a great hero. He is a man of character because he develops both good and bad qualities in him.
When we see him first, Henchard is a man of fine figure and stern in aspect. He is a hay trusser. His way of walking and working show a cynical attitude. Though he is not a habitual drunker he gives to bout and he drinks heavily and under that influence of alcohol, he commits a terrible blunder of selling his wife Susan in just five guineas. When he realizes his crime, he vows solemnly to avoid all strong liquors for the period of next 21 years.
Henchard knows that he has committed a crime and he vows solemnly after that. After wandering vainly for several months, he reaches the town of Casterbridge and under self-control, he becomes the Mayor and Church Warden. When Susan and Elizabeth came to Casterbridge, they find Henchard presiding over the meeting of the municipal committee. Henchard being an attractive man attracts everybody’s attention. He speaks Susan in a low, halting and apologetic voice, “I don’t drink, you hear Susan?”
Henchard
is a man of character. He is in love with another woman but now he thinks his
first duty is to Susan. He wants to make amends by remarrying her. He is now as
kind to her as a man is and as a mayor can be. He is basically a lonely man. He
tells Farfrae about the gloomy fits, he sometimes suffers from. He says to him,
“I am a lonely man; I have nobody to speak to”. He is a man of strong impulses
and he always needs some human object for pouring out his heart. He has
affections for Farfrae and he likes him but he soon gets jealous of his
popularity. He is unable to understand why people like Farfrae.
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