Analysis of Protagonist in Thomas Hardy's 'The Mayor of Casterbridge'.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................. i
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. ii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study ....................................................................................... 1
Statement of the Problems .................................................................................... 3
Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................. 3
Method of Research .............................................................................................. 3
Organization of the Thesis .................................................................................... 3
CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF PROTAGONIST
IN THOMAS HARDY’S THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE .......................... 4
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION ..................................................................... 16
BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................... 20
APPENDICES
Synopsis of The Mayor of Casterbridge ............................................................. 22
Biography of the Author...................................................................................... 23
i
ABSTRACT
Dalam Tugas Akhir ini, saya membahas karakter Michael Henchard,
sosok protagonis dalam novel The Mayor of Casterbridge karya Thomas Hardy.
Thomas Hardy terkenal dengan gaya penulisannya yang pesimistis dan sifat ini
dapat dilihat pada kisah hidup Henchard yang penuh penderitaan. Semasa
hidupnya, Henchard selalu dihadapkan pada situasi-situasi yang tidak
menguntungkannya. Akan tetapi, situasi-situasi tersebut bukanlah penyebab
utama penderitaannya. Setelah membaca dan menelaah novel ini, ternyata
Henchard sendiri yang menyebabkan penderitaannya karena ia memiliki sifatsifat buruk yang selalu mempengaruhi tindakannya.
ii
APPENDICES
Synopsis of The Mayor of Casterbridge
In his drunkenness, Michael Henchard, an unemployed man, ends up
selling his wife, Susan, and his baby daughter, Elizabeth-Jane, to a sailor. The
next day, he finds that they are gone and he swears to God that he will not drink
alcohol for twenty one years. Three months after the sale, Elizabeth-Jane dies.
Shortly after that, Susan and the sailor have another baby girl, to whom Susan
gives the same name as her late daughter’s. Eighteen years later, thinking that the
sailor has died, Susan, together with Elizabeth-Jane, seeks Henchard. Susan
learns that Henchard is now the mayor of Casterbridge and later remarries him
without telling the present Elizabeth-Jane about their past.
Meanwhile, Donald Farfrae, Henchard's new business manager, is rising
in popularity. Jealous, Henchard fires him and forbids him from approaching
Elizabeth-Jane. Then, Susan falls ill and after her death Henchard finds out the
truth about Elizabeth-Jane. Henchard becomes cold towards Elizabeth-Jane, and
suddenly his long gone lover, Lucetta Templeman, arrives in town. She
immediately befriends Elizabeth-Jane and falls in love with Farfrae, then the two
soon get married. Meanwhile, Henchard loses his wealth due to his debts and
starts
drinking
since
his
twenty-one-year
22
oath
is
over.
Maranatha Christian University
Lucetta asks Henchard to give her all the letters during their affair, but the
sealed letters are read by the messenger in an inn. When the scandal surfaces,
Lucetta is shocked and falls ill, she dies shortly afterwards. The next day,
Newson, who is thought to have died, arrives at the town looking for his
daughter. Henchard lies to Newson, who leaves at once but later returns and
reunites with Elizabeth-Jane. Henchard leaves Casterbridge while Farfrae and
Elizabeth-Jane plan their marriage. At the wedding, Henchard approaches his
step-daughter and promises her that he will not trouble her any more. A month
later, Elizabeth-Jane and Farfrae look for Henchard but they find out that he is
already dead, leaving a message that tells people not to remember him.
Biography of Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy was an English poet, novelist and short story writer. He
was born on 2nd of June 1840 in Dorset, England. His father, also named Thomas,
was a stone mason and violin player and his mother, Jemima, taught him to read
and write. Hardy studied at a local national school in Lower Bockhampton in
1848, then he was sent to a non-conformist school in Greyhound Yard,
Dorchester in 1850. By sixteen, Hardy finished his formal education.
Hardy started writing poetry during his stay in London in 1860's, but he
was not able to get his works published. In 1867, he returned to Dorset and wrote
his first novel, The Poor Man and the Lady which was rejected by the publisher.
In 1874, Hardy married Emma Lavinia Gifford and in the same year, his novel
entitled Far from the Madding Crowd, won him public notice. Then in 1878, The
Return of the Native, brought him more success and it was followed by The
Mayor of Casterbridge, which is often considered as his first masterpiece.
23
Maranatha Christian University
Unfortunately in 1891 and 1895, Hardy's novel, Tess of the d’Urbervilles and
Jude the Obscure received heavy criticism. This made him stop writing prose and
returned to poetry. Hardy compiled and published his earlier poems entitled
Wessex Poems in 1898.
In 1912, Hardy's wife, Emma, died and this shocked him. However,
fourteen months after his wife's death, Hardy married Florence Dugdale, who was
his admirer. In autumn 1927, Hardy fell seriously ill and finally died on 11th of
January 1928. In his life, Thomas Hardy wrote 14 novels, more than 40 short
stories, over 900 poems and 2 dramas. He was also regarded as the most
outstanding writer of his time.
Source : “Diniejko, Andrzej”, “Fincham, Tony”
24
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Thomas Hardy was one of England's most celebrated poet and novelist in
the Victorian period. In his career, Hardy wrote some novels that gained
worldwide fame such as Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1891) and Jude the Obscure
(1895). Although considered overly pessimistic, his heavily criticized works
actually describe the ugly reality of humans life. Hardy was awarded the order of
merit for his distinguished achievement in literature.
Hardy began and ended his career with writing poetry, but it was his
novels that made him remembered nowadays. His novels, including The Mayor of
Casterbridge, are often considered to present pessimistic views of life. They are
considered as such because they “convey a strong sense of fatalism” (Allingham).
Fatalism itself is “a philosophical doctrine stressing the subjugation of all events
or actions to fate” (“Fatalism”). This view revolves around the argument that
there is a great force called fate which is responsible for everything that happens
in humans’ life, including their misfortune. However, Hardy did not strictly
follow this view. In The Mayor of Casterbridge, Hardy added his own opinion
1
Maranatha Christian University
towards fatalism, that “character is just as responsible for the foibles of mankind
as fate is” (Wright par. 5). Compared to the general view of fatalism which
regards fate as the only force that makes humans suffer, Hardy’s fatalism
emphasizes that humans’ characteristics are also responsible for the misfortunes
that happen in their life. In this novel, this argument can be proven through the
portrayal of protagonist. Protagonist itself is “the leading character or one of the
major characters in a play, film, novel, etc” (“Protagonist”). Throughout the story,
the protagonist is constantly facing bad situations. If the readers take a look at the
protagonist’s life, they might understand Hardy’s idea of fatalism and why he
created such a character.
The novel itself is a unique piece among Hardy's novels as he added the
subtitle “Life and Death of a Man of Character” to emphasize that he wrote the
novel as a study of a character, which in this novel is the protagonist, Michael
Henchard. The Mayor of Casterbridge is set in Hardy's fictional town of
Casterbridge and this setting is one of the factors causing this novel to be an
admirable work. This novel shows Hardy’s talent of using environment and
events to shape the protagonist’s life. This talent of his also makes the protagonist
look as if he represented reality, showing how he reacts in front of various
situations. Henchard is the character that makes the novel stand out. He is a
character that can make readers argue about whether he is a perpetrator or a
victim in his miserable life. Either way, Henchard is not a perfect man and this
fact makes him alive and become an appealing character to be analyzed.
2
Maranatha Christian University
Statement of the Problems
The problems in this thesis are formulated as follows:
1.
How is the protagonist portrayed ?
What is the purpose of the author in creating such a character ?
Purpose of the study
This study is conducted for the following purposes:
1.
To show how the protagonist is portrayed
To show the author's purposes in creating the character
Method of Research
In this thesis, the method I used is library research. First I read Thomas
Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge. Then, I collected information from books,
Internet sources and dictionaries to help me understand more about the novel.
After that, I analysed the novel by referring to one of the literary elements, which
was the portrayal of the protagonist. Finally, based on the analysis of the novel, I
drew the conclusion and wrote this thesis.
Organization of the Thesis
I present my thesis in three chapters, which are preceded by the Approval
page, the Table of Contents, and the Abstract. Chapter One is the Introduction,
which consists of the Background of the Study, Statement of the Problem,
Purpose of Study and Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two presents the
analysis of Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge. Chapter Three contains
the Conclusion, followed by the Bibliography and the Appendices.
3
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
After reading and analysing Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge,
I conclude that the novel is a great presentation of fatalism. Fatalism is presented
in the novel through the life of the protagonist, Michael Henchard. At first, the
readers might think that it is his fate that makes him struck by a series of
unfortunate situations, but in fact there is something else that causes his
sufferings. Throughout the story, Henchard often encounters situations which
seem disadvantageous for him. However, these situations are not the true cause of
all his misfortunes. Henchard is really the one who unknowingly turns these
situations to become disadvantages for him. Henchard is able to do such a thing
because he is driven by his characteristics, therefore his characteristics are
responsible for the cause of his sufferings. I believe that the author portrays
Henchard as such because he wants the readers to understand the idea of fatalism.
Fate exists, but it does not directly cause misfortune in humans’ life because in
the end, humans are the ones who make choices through their characteristics.
Thomas Hardy does a great work in explaining fatalism through the
portrayal of the protagonist in this novel. Based on my analysis in Chapter Two, I
16
Maranatha Christian University
argue that fate is not the only one responsible for human sufferings, and humans’
characteristics can drive them to their miseries. The author has presented fate
using environment which creates unexpected and uncontrollable situations. In the
story, these situations are the triggers that can be pulled to result in misfortune.
This misfortune will happen if the triggers are pulled by Henchard’s negative
characteristics, which are reckless, jealous, bad-tempered and anxious.
The author’s opinion towards fatalism can be seen right at the beginning
of the story through Henchard’s recklessness. Henchard loses his wife and baby
daughter because they are taken away by Newson. However, it is Henchard who
makes this misfortune happen because he decides to drink strong liquor. This rash
decision immediately brings terrible consequence, since Henchard becomes
drunk and sells his family members. Then, when Henchard is trying to surpass
Farfrae’s successful business, he makes another rash decision as he trusts a
weather-caster without considering logic. As a result, he loses much of his wealth.
Lastly, Henchard lies to Newson without considering both Newson’s and
Elizabeth-Jane’s reactions if they find out about his lie. This decision causes
Henchard’s ultimate suffering because it makes Elizabeth-Jane hate him. It is fate
that brings Newson to the place where Henchard gets drunk. Fate also creates the
good weather after Henchard buys too much grain. Further, fate makes Newson
survive the storm. Still, fate is not truly responsible for causing Henchard’s
sufferings, as Henchard, driven by his reckless nature, is the one who makes bad
decisions, which cause these situations to bring sufferings upon him.
Another example of Hardy’s fatalism can be seen when Henchard
becomes jealous. Henchard becomes jealous because his position as the most
successful businessman and the mayor of Casterbridge is replaced by Farfrae.
17
Maranatha Christian University
However, Henchard is the one who dismisses Farfrae in the first place and this
makes Farfrae decide to start his own business. It is true that fate makes Farfrae
become more popular and successful than Henchard, but it is Henchard’s jealousy
that makes him unable to accept Farfrae’s success. Because of his jealousy,
Henchard turns his closest friend into an enemy he cannot defeat.
The same view is also visible in Henchard’s bad temper. When Henchard
realizes that Lucetta is already married to Farfrae, Henchard bursts out in anger.
Also, when he is prevented from greeting the royalty by Farfrae, his temper
causes him to try to kill Farfrae. Fate is involved in both of these situations, as
fate brings Lucetta and Farfrae together and makes Farfrae become the mayor of
the town. However, these situations do not causes Henchard to suffer. In fact,
Henchard’s bad temper is the true cause of his sufferings since it drives him to
react badly towards the situations. His bad temper makes him curse Lucetta and
tear their relationship. Yet this consequence is nothing compared to the one that
strikes Henchard when his bad temper makes him nearly kill Farfrae. Even
though Henchard asks for forgiveness, Farfrae ignores him, making Henchard
unable to save Lucetta’s life when she is ill. Again, Henchard suffers because his
actions have previously been driven by his bad-temper characteristic.
Henchard’s anxiety is caused by his reckless characteristic. This also
represents Hardy’s fatalistic view as this characteristic is the result of Henchard’s
decision when he is facing a situation which is caused by fate. Newson’s survival
in the storm is fated and because he is still alive, he looks for his daughter. It is
true that Newson’s arrival in Casterbridge can make Henchard suffer, since he
might lose Elizabeth-Jane. But in the end, it is Henchard’s impetuous decision to
lie that causes him to become greatly worried, as he is not sure that his lie can last
18
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forever or not.
In my opinion, Thomas Hardy was truly a remarkable writer. He cleverly
fuses the environmental factor, which can be seen as the situations, with the idea
of fatalism. This allows the readers to understand how fate provides the trigger
for Henchard’s misfortune. Hardy also successfully manages to show his idea to
the readers. Through the portrayal of Michael Henchard, I can see that fate is not
the only factor responsible for Henchard’s misfortune. In fact, Henchard’s
characteristics are the other factor that causes his misfortunes. Every time
Henchard faces situations which are created by fate, his characteristics drive him
to do things which later cost him his happiness.
The idea of fatalism is truly a pessimistic view, but this view is the reason
that makes this novel a timeless piece of art. It is true that fatalism was used by
Hardy almost a century ago to argue about humans’ life, but I believe that
fatalism is not an outdated belief, which simply disappears as time goes by. In
fact, fatalism can still be used to argue about human’s life in the present and
perhaps, the future as well. Even though many things in the present are
completely different from those in the past, there are still a lot of things that make
humans suffer. Humans are constantly trying to find out the reason why people
are unhappy. Through The Mayor of Casterbridge, Hardy tries to answer this
question. The idea that humans’ characteristics can actually determine their
future, may explain the cause of humans’ sufferings. In my opinion, Hardy
manages to show this through the life of Michael Henchard.
19
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Texts
Hardy, Thomas. The Mayor of Casterbridge. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions
Limited, 1994. Print.
References
Allingham, Philip V. “The Novels of Thomas Hardy: An Introduction.” Victorian
Web. 2000. Web. 6 April 2014
“Anxious.” Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press, n.d. Web. 30 May
2013.
“Bad-tempered.” Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press, n.d. Web. 30
May 2013.
Diniejko, Andrzej. “Thomas Hardy. A Biographical Sketch.” Victorian Web. 7
Feb. 2010. Web. 12 Mar. 2013.
“Fatalism.” Wikipedia. N.p. n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2014.
Fincham, Tony. “About Hardy.” The Thomas Hardy Society. 2 Feb. 2011. Web.
12 Mar. 2013.
“Jealous.” Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press, n.d. Web. 30 May 2013.
Perrine, Laurence and Thomas Roscoe Arp. Perrine's Story and Structure. 6th ed.
20
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New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983. Print.
“Protagonist.” Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press, n.d. Web. 30 May
2013.
“Reckless.” Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press, n.d. Web. 30 May
2013.
Wright, Latonya. “About The Mayor of Casterbridge.” Gradesaver. GradeSaver
LLC., 12 July 2000. Web. 8 August 2014.
21
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TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................. i
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. ii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study ....................................................................................... 1
Statement of the Problems .................................................................................... 3
Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................. 3
Method of Research .............................................................................................. 3
Organization of the Thesis .................................................................................... 3
CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF PROTAGONIST
IN THOMAS HARDY’S THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE .......................... 4
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION ..................................................................... 16
BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................... 20
APPENDICES
Synopsis of The Mayor of Casterbridge ............................................................. 22
Biography of the Author...................................................................................... 23
i
ABSTRACT
Dalam Tugas Akhir ini, saya membahas karakter Michael Henchard,
sosok protagonis dalam novel The Mayor of Casterbridge karya Thomas Hardy.
Thomas Hardy terkenal dengan gaya penulisannya yang pesimistis dan sifat ini
dapat dilihat pada kisah hidup Henchard yang penuh penderitaan. Semasa
hidupnya, Henchard selalu dihadapkan pada situasi-situasi yang tidak
menguntungkannya. Akan tetapi, situasi-situasi tersebut bukanlah penyebab
utama penderitaannya. Setelah membaca dan menelaah novel ini, ternyata
Henchard sendiri yang menyebabkan penderitaannya karena ia memiliki sifatsifat buruk yang selalu mempengaruhi tindakannya.
ii
APPENDICES
Synopsis of The Mayor of Casterbridge
In his drunkenness, Michael Henchard, an unemployed man, ends up
selling his wife, Susan, and his baby daughter, Elizabeth-Jane, to a sailor. The
next day, he finds that they are gone and he swears to God that he will not drink
alcohol for twenty one years. Three months after the sale, Elizabeth-Jane dies.
Shortly after that, Susan and the sailor have another baby girl, to whom Susan
gives the same name as her late daughter’s. Eighteen years later, thinking that the
sailor has died, Susan, together with Elizabeth-Jane, seeks Henchard. Susan
learns that Henchard is now the mayor of Casterbridge and later remarries him
without telling the present Elizabeth-Jane about their past.
Meanwhile, Donald Farfrae, Henchard's new business manager, is rising
in popularity. Jealous, Henchard fires him and forbids him from approaching
Elizabeth-Jane. Then, Susan falls ill and after her death Henchard finds out the
truth about Elizabeth-Jane. Henchard becomes cold towards Elizabeth-Jane, and
suddenly his long gone lover, Lucetta Templeman, arrives in town. She
immediately befriends Elizabeth-Jane and falls in love with Farfrae, then the two
soon get married. Meanwhile, Henchard loses his wealth due to his debts and
starts
drinking
since
his
twenty-one-year
22
oath
is
over.
Maranatha Christian University
Lucetta asks Henchard to give her all the letters during their affair, but the
sealed letters are read by the messenger in an inn. When the scandal surfaces,
Lucetta is shocked and falls ill, she dies shortly afterwards. The next day,
Newson, who is thought to have died, arrives at the town looking for his
daughter. Henchard lies to Newson, who leaves at once but later returns and
reunites with Elizabeth-Jane. Henchard leaves Casterbridge while Farfrae and
Elizabeth-Jane plan their marriage. At the wedding, Henchard approaches his
step-daughter and promises her that he will not trouble her any more. A month
later, Elizabeth-Jane and Farfrae look for Henchard but they find out that he is
already dead, leaving a message that tells people not to remember him.
Biography of Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy was an English poet, novelist and short story writer. He
was born on 2nd of June 1840 in Dorset, England. His father, also named Thomas,
was a stone mason and violin player and his mother, Jemima, taught him to read
and write. Hardy studied at a local national school in Lower Bockhampton in
1848, then he was sent to a non-conformist school in Greyhound Yard,
Dorchester in 1850. By sixteen, Hardy finished his formal education.
Hardy started writing poetry during his stay in London in 1860's, but he
was not able to get his works published. In 1867, he returned to Dorset and wrote
his first novel, The Poor Man and the Lady which was rejected by the publisher.
In 1874, Hardy married Emma Lavinia Gifford and in the same year, his novel
entitled Far from the Madding Crowd, won him public notice. Then in 1878, The
Return of the Native, brought him more success and it was followed by The
Mayor of Casterbridge, which is often considered as his first masterpiece.
23
Maranatha Christian University
Unfortunately in 1891 and 1895, Hardy's novel, Tess of the d’Urbervilles and
Jude the Obscure received heavy criticism. This made him stop writing prose and
returned to poetry. Hardy compiled and published his earlier poems entitled
Wessex Poems in 1898.
In 1912, Hardy's wife, Emma, died and this shocked him. However,
fourteen months after his wife's death, Hardy married Florence Dugdale, who was
his admirer. In autumn 1927, Hardy fell seriously ill and finally died on 11th of
January 1928. In his life, Thomas Hardy wrote 14 novels, more than 40 short
stories, over 900 poems and 2 dramas. He was also regarded as the most
outstanding writer of his time.
Source : “Diniejko, Andrzej”, “Fincham, Tony”
24
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Thomas Hardy was one of England's most celebrated poet and novelist in
the Victorian period. In his career, Hardy wrote some novels that gained
worldwide fame such as Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1891) and Jude the Obscure
(1895). Although considered overly pessimistic, his heavily criticized works
actually describe the ugly reality of humans life. Hardy was awarded the order of
merit for his distinguished achievement in literature.
Hardy began and ended his career with writing poetry, but it was his
novels that made him remembered nowadays. His novels, including The Mayor of
Casterbridge, are often considered to present pessimistic views of life. They are
considered as such because they “convey a strong sense of fatalism” (Allingham).
Fatalism itself is “a philosophical doctrine stressing the subjugation of all events
or actions to fate” (“Fatalism”). This view revolves around the argument that
there is a great force called fate which is responsible for everything that happens
in humans’ life, including their misfortune. However, Hardy did not strictly
follow this view. In The Mayor of Casterbridge, Hardy added his own opinion
1
Maranatha Christian University
towards fatalism, that “character is just as responsible for the foibles of mankind
as fate is” (Wright par. 5). Compared to the general view of fatalism which
regards fate as the only force that makes humans suffer, Hardy’s fatalism
emphasizes that humans’ characteristics are also responsible for the misfortunes
that happen in their life. In this novel, this argument can be proven through the
portrayal of protagonist. Protagonist itself is “the leading character or one of the
major characters in a play, film, novel, etc” (“Protagonist”). Throughout the story,
the protagonist is constantly facing bad situations. If the readers take a look at the
protagonist’s life, they might understand Hardy’s idea of fatalism and why he
created such a character.
The novel itself is a unique piece among Hardy's novels as he added the
subtitle “Life and Death of a Man of Character” to emphasize that he wrote the
novel as a study of a character, which in this novel is the protagonist, Michael
Henchard. The Mayor of Casterbridge is set in Hardy's fictional town of
Casterbridge and this setting is one of the factors causing this novel to be an
admirable work. This novel shows Hardy’s talent of using environment and
events to shape the protagonist’s life. This talent of his also makes the protagonist
look as if he represented reality, showing how he reacts in front of various
situations. Henchard is the character that makes the novel stand out. He is a
character that can make readers argue about whether he is a perpetrator or a
victim in his miserable life. Either way, Henchard is not a perfect man and this
fact makes him alive and become an appealing character to be analyzed.
2
Maranatha Christian University
Statement of the Problems
The problems in this thesis are formulated as follows:
1.
How is the protagonist portrayed ?
What is the purpose of the author in creating such a character ?
Purpose of the study
This study is conducted for the following purposes:
1.
To show how the protagonist is portrayed
To show the author's purposes in creating the character
Method of Research
In this thesis, the method I used is library research. First I read Thomas
Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge. Then, I collected information from books,
Internet sources and dictionaries to help me understand more about the novel.
After that, I analysed the novel by referring to one of the literary elements, which
was the portrayal of the protagonist. Finally, based on the analysis of the novel, I
drew the conclusion and wrote this thesis.
Organization of the Thesis
I present my thesis in three chapters, which are preceded by the Approval
page, the Table of Contents, and the Abstract. Chapter One is the Introduction,
which consists of the Background of the Study, Statement of the Problem,
Purpose of Study and Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two presents the
analysis of Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge. Chapter Three contains
the Conclusion, followed by the Bibliography and the Appendices.
3
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
After reading and analysing Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge,
I conclude that the novel is a great presentation of fatalism. Fatalism is presented
in the novel through the life of the protagonist, Michael Henchard. At first, the
readers might think that it is his fate that makes him struck by a series of
unfortunate situations, but in fact there is something else that causes his
sufferings. Throughout the story, Henchard often encounters situations which
seem disadvantageous for him. However, these situations are not the true cause of
all his misfortunes. Henchard is really the one who unknowingly turns these
situations to become disadvantages for him. Henchard is able to do such a thing
because he is driven by his characteristics, therefore his characteristics are
responsible for the cause of his sufferings. I believe that the author portrays
Henchard as such because he wants the readers to understand the idea of fatalism.
Fate exists, but it does not directly cause misfortune in humans’ life because in
the end, humans are the ones who make choices through their characteristics.
Thomas Hardy does a great work in explaining fatalism through the
portrayal of the protagonist in this novel. Based on my analysis in Chapter Two, I
16
Maranatha Christian University
argue that fate is not the only one responsible for human sufferings, and humans’
characteristics can drive them to their miseries. The author has presented fate
using environment which creates unexpected and uncontrollable situations. In the
story, these situations are the triggers that can be pulled to result in misfortune.
This misfortune will happen if the triggers are pulled by Henchard’s negative
characteristics, which are reckless, jealous, bad-tempered and anxious.
The author’s opinion towards fatalism can be seen right at the beginning
of the story through Henchard’s recklessness. Henchard loses his wife and baby
daughter because they are taken away by Newson. However, it is Henchard who
makes this misfortune happen because he decides to drink strong liquor. This rash
decision immediately brings terrible consequence, since Henchard becomes
drunk and sells his family members. Then, when Henchard is trying to surpass
Farfrae’s successful business, he makes another rash decision as he trusts a
weather-caster without considering logic. As a result, he loses much of his wealth.
Lastly, Henchard lies to Newson without considering both Newson’s and
Elizabeth-Jane’s reactions if they find out about his lie. This decision causes
Henchard’s ultimate suffering because it makes Elizabeth-Jane hate him. It is fate
that brings Newson to the place where Henchard gets drunk. Fate also creates the
good weather after Henchard buys too much grain. Further, fate makes Newson
survive the storm. Still, fate is not truly responsible for causing Henchard’s
sufferings, as Henchard, driven by his reckless nature, is the one who makes bad
decisions, which cause these situations to bring sufferings upon him.
Another example of Hardy’s fatalism can be seen when Henchard
becomes jealous. Henchard becomes jealous because his position as the most
successful businessman and the mayor of Casterbridge is replaced by Farfrae.
17
Maranatha Christian University
However, Henchard is the one who dismisses Farfrae in the first place and this
makes Farfrae decide to start his own business. It is true that fate makes Farfrae
become more popular and successful than Henchard, but it is Henchard’s jealousy
that makes him unable to accept Farfrae’s success. Because of his jealousy,
Henchard turns his closest friend into an enemy he cannot defeat.
The same view is also visible in Henchard’s bad temper. When Henchard
realizes that Lucetta is already married to Farfrae, Henchard bursts out in anger.
Also, when he is prevented from greeting the royalty by Farfrae, his temper
causes him to try to kill Farfrae. Fate is involved in both of these situations, as
fate brings Lucetta and Farfrae together and makes Farfrae become the mayor of
the town. However, these situations do not causes Henchard to suffer. In fact,
Henchard’s bad temper is the true cause of his sufferings since it drives him to
react badly towards the situations. His bad temper makes him curse Lucetta and
tear their relationship. Yet this consequence is nothing compared to the one that
strikes Henchard when his bad temper makes him nearly kill Farfrae. Even
though Henchard asks for forgiveness, Farfrae ignores him, making Henchard
unable to save Lucetta’s life when she is ill. Again, Henchard suffers because his
actions have previously been driven by his bad-temper characteristic.
Henchard’s anxiety is caused by his reckless characteristic. This also
represents Hardy’s fatalistic view as this characteristic is the result of Henchard’s
decision when he is facing a situation which is caused by fate. Newson’s survival
in the storm is fated and because he is still alive, he looks for his daughter. It is
true that Newson’s arrival in Casterbridge can make Henchard suffer, since he
might lose Elizabeth-Jane. But in the end, it is Henchard’s impetuous decision to
lie that causes him to become greatly worried, as he is not sure that his lie can last
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forever or not.
In my opinion, Thomas Hardy was truly a remarkable writer. He cleverly
fuses the environmental factor, which can be seen as the situations, with the idea
of fatalism. This allows the readers to understand how fate provides the trigger
for Henchard’s misfortune. Hardy also successfully manages to show his idea to
the readers. Through the portrayal of Michael Henchard, I can see that fate is not
the only factor responsible for Henchard’s misfortune. In fact, Henchard’s
characteristics are the other factor that causes his misfortunes. Every time
Henchard faces situations which are created by fate, his characteristics drive him
to do things which later cost him his happiness.
The idea of fatalism is truly a pessimistic view, but this view is the reason
that makes this novel a timeless piece of art. It is true that fatalism was used by
Hardy almost a century ago to argue about humans’ life, but I believe that
fatalism is not an outdated belief, which simply disappears as time goes by. In
fact, fatalism can still be used to argue about human’s life in the present and
perhaps, the future as well. Even though many things in the present are
completely different from those in the past, there are still a lot of things that make
humans suffer. Humans are constantly trying to find out the reason why people
are unhappy. Through The Mayor of Casterbridge, Hardy tries to answer this
question. The idea that humans’ characteristics can actually determine their
future, may explain the cause of humans’ sufferings. In my opinion, Hardy
manages to show this through the life of Michael Henchard.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Texts
Hardy, Thomas. The Mayor of Casterbridge. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions
Limited, 1994. Print.
References
Allingham, Philip V. “The Novels of Thomas Hardy: An Introduction.” Victorian
Web. 2000. Web. 6 April 2014
“Anxious.” Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press, n.d. Web. 30 May
2013.
“Bad-tempered.” Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press, n.d. Web. 30
May 2013.
Diniejko, Andrzej. “Thomas Hardy. A Biographical Sketch.” Victorian Web. 7
Feb. 2010. Web. 12 Mar. 2013.
“Fatalism.” Wikipedia. N.p. n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2014.
Fincham, Tony. “About Hardy.” The Thomas Hardy Society. 2 Feb. 2011. Web.
12 Mar. 2013.
“Jealous.” Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press, n.d. Web. 30 May 2013.
Perrine, Laurence and Thomas Roscoe Arp. Perrine's Story and Structure. 6th ed.
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New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983. Print.
“Protagonist.” Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press, n.d. Web. 30 May
2013.
“Reckless.” Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press, n.d. Web. 30 May
2013.
Wright, Latonya. “About The Mayor of Casterbridge.” Gradesaver. GradeSaver
LLC., 12 July 2000. Web. 8 August 2014.
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