Usually it is fate - or the arbitrary forces of the universe - that wins. Hardy's philosophy dramatizes the human condition as a struggle between man and man, and between man and his fate. It is Hardy's naturalness in handling this particular environment, which he called 'Wessex,' that puts us at our ease and infuses the work with a life and a reality all its own. There are also long, well-wrought, descriptive passages of the surrounding countryside, the buildings, the roads, the commerce, and the amusements that make up the environment of Casterbridge. Yet these characters are at all times real, for they are based on people he had grown up with, people he had heard about in legends and ballads, people whose tragic histories he had unearthed during his early architectural apprenticeship. His characters are often primitive - as is the case in The Mayor of Casterbridge - and exhibit all the passions, hates, loves, and jealousies that rustic life seems to inspire. On every page of Hardy's Wessex novels is displayed the influence of Hardy's upbringing, regional background, and architectural studies. Full Glossary for The Mayor of Casterbridge.Point of View and Style in The Mayor of Casterbridge.Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library. HarperPerennialClassics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. A version of The Mayor of Casterbridge called The Claim, starring Sarah Polley, Wes Bentley and Milla Jovovich, was filmed in 2000 with the setting changed to the prospecting northwest of the nineteenth century. It is regarded as Hardy’s greatest “Novel of Character and Environment.” As in his other novels, Hardy’s characters struggle to console their passions with their social circumstances.

The Mayor of Casterbridge, like Jude the Obscure and Far From the Maddening Crowd, is set in Hardy’s fictional county of Wessex. Burdened by guilt and stripped of his status and money, Henchard succumbs once again to drink. As his life begins to collapse, Henchard realizes that it is his treatment of others has been his greatest downfall.

Nineteen years later the two women return to Casterbridge and the now-sober Michael, who has gained power and influence in his role as the mayor, must confront his past. Late one night at a local fair, Michael Henchard, blinded by alcohol and foolish bravado, trades away his wife and daughter to a visiting sailor.

The mayor of casterbridge pages