The story in one page
Michael Henchard evolves from a destitute hay-trusser to the Mayor of Casterbridge, having previously auctioned off his wife and child at a country fair. Years later, Susan returns with her daughter, Elizabeth-Jane. Henchard maneuvers to conceal his history by courting and marrying Susan publicly as the widow Mrs. Newson. His subsequent professional clashes with Donald Farfrae, a methodical Scotsman he once employed, accelerate his downfall. As his business collapses and his deceptions regarding his past and the true paternity of Elizabeth-Jane come to light, Henchard is systematically stripped of his status and authority. His stubborn refusal to accept his own decline leaves him isolated, ultimately dying in poverty after alienating those he sought to control.
Who's who
- Michael Henchard
A swarthy, impulsive mayor ruined by his own long-buried secrets.
- Donald Farfrae
A methodical, hyperborean Scotsman whose efficiency triggers Henchard's decline.
- Elizabeth-Jane
The daughter of Newson, who eventually marries Donald Farfrae and settles into a stable life in Casterbridge.
- Lucetta
A wealthy woman from Bath with a history involving Henchard.
What it's really about
- Atonement
- Attempts to rewrite the past fail.
- Social mobility
- Status shifts hinge on secrets.
Why it's memorable
- A man selling his wife and child for five guineas in a drunken haze.
- A hand-pencilled will asking that no man remember the deceased.
The ending, explained
Spoilers — show the ending
Henchard dies in obscurity, leaving a list of bitter demands that he be buried in unmarked ground and forgotten by all. Elizabeth-Jane respects his final wishes, finding serenity in the knowledge that happiness is merely a temporary reprieve from a life of general pain.
For your book club
- Does professional competence ever truly excuse a man's personal cruelty?
- Can the past ever be fully buried in a small town?