Henchard is a complex and multifaceted character in Thomas Hardy's novel "The Mayor of Casterbridge." At the beginning of the novel, Henchard is introduced as a young hay-trusser who has recently married Susan. However, in a fit of drunken anger, he sells his wife and daughter to a sailor at a fair, believing that he will never see them again. This action haunts Henchard for the rest of his life and shapes his character in significant ways.
Despite his initial actions, Henchard is a man who is driven by a strong sense of morality and a desire to do the right thing. He is deeply ashamed of his past actions and spends much of his life trying to atone for them. He becomes a successful businessman and eventually becomes the mayor of Casterbridge, a position he holds with great pride and responsibility.
However, Henchard's past continues to haunt him and his pride and stubbornness often get in the way of his good intentions. He has a tendency to make rash and impulsive decisions, which often have negative consequences for those around him. This is particularly evident in his relationships with Susan and Elizabeth-Jane, his wife and daughter whom he has been reunited with. Henchard is unable to fully forgive Susan for her past infidelities and their relationship is strained. He also struggles to connect with Elizabeth-Jane, who he initially treats with coldness and distance.
Despite these flaws, Henchard is a deeply flawed and complex character who is ultimately driven by a desire to do the right thing. His mistakes and flaws make him human and relatable, and his struggles and triumphs throughout the novel serve as a powerful reminder of the transformative power of redemption.
Henchard and farfrae contrast
Then again, Henchard impulsively dismisses him only because of his blind jealousy of the man. They are very much alike: inclined to strong, irrational passions, characterized by willful, independent natures, and compelled by love as well as ambition. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more. His workers were afraid of him. However, it seems that was not enough because when he turned back to mend his worst mistake, he ended up making more.
Character Sketch of Michael Henchard in The Mayor of Casterbridge
The amount was significant; it may tacitly have said to her that he bought her back again. Then Henchard tried to destroy Farfrae in a threatening way. So, his death looks pathetic and he seems a man whose tragedy is a result of the factors he cannot influence. When he is drunk in the beginning of the novel, he has no qualms with regards to selling his only child Elizabeth-Jane. Before he died, he wrote this chilling will: That Elizabeth-Jane Farfrae former girlfriend be not told of my death, or made to grieve on account of me. The leaden gloom of one who has lost all that can make life interesting or even tolerable; No hero or heroine, in the entire range of Hardy's tragic art haunts us and then inspires us so terribly yet so profoundly as Henchard does. Moreover, he owes it to his own self-esteem to prove to people that he can carry on very well without his prodigy of a manager.
Conflict between Henchard and Farfrae as the Central Thematic Element
A diplomatic person would have seen in the marriage of his daughter with his opponent an opportunity for reconciliation and mutual benefit. Again life is not a fairy tale and Henchard has started losing himself. If he hated anybody, his hatred was fierce. Even when Henchard had become the mayor and was supposed to have matured and sobered, there was still the same unruly volcanic stuff in his nature as at the time when he had sold his wife. Recognizing him, she said, "Because they may knock as loud as they will; she will never hear it any more. There is also a spacious modern family bathroom with shower over the bath.
Henchard
Henchard: A true tragic hero In conclusion, we might say that Henchard rises to the height of a true tragic hero. But Henchard was devoid of diplomacy of this type. Farfrae also found that Henchand was a man who knew no moderation in his requests and impulses. Finally, in this inner game of destroying Farfrae Henchard destroyed himself. This is a highly effective way to kick-start your exit planning. He has a commanding voice, thus, his workers are all afraid of him. In each of these steps Henchard's activities produce the reverse consequence.
Character Analysis Of Henchard In The Mayor Of...
As every man and hero, Henchard knows many weaknesses that will lead him to his own down fall. It was an odd way, a humiliating way to teach a lesson through that sort of punishment. It takes him to a height and then drops him from there. But Farfrae was rising at every step, whereas Henchard was sliding from the popularity. These sequence of misfortunes begins at the very beginning of the novel, as Henchard sold his wife because the furmity-woman mixed his drink with rum. When within a few yards of Farfrae's he saw the door gently opened, and a servant raise her hand to the knocker, to untie the piece of cloth which had muffled it.
Henchard Name Meaning & Henchard Family History at childhealthpolicy.vumc.org®
He finds that Farfrae is more popular, that people have transferred to his manager the admiration which they had formerly felt for himself, that, in general, men have come to lose their awe of his abilities and that they now consider that Henchard cannot hold a candle to the young Scotsman. He has lost all the relationships he had in past. Commenting on this quality of Henchard, the author says, "Misery taught him nothing more than defiant endurance of it. But this celebration ended in fiasco failure. We are offering you a business review session to owners who are at least two years from an exit.
Michael Henchard Character Analysis in The Mayor of Casterbridge
He walks with a certain doggedness and determination and looks harsh and stern. Such a wrecking of hearts appalled even him. As we read the story of Henchard, we form the impression that Henchard was energetic, strong, vigorous and unyielding. Eventually, Farfrae is fired and a rivalry is established. After having lavished love and affection upon Elizabeth, he suddenly became indifferent to her on finding that she was not his daughter.
