Analysis of Protagonist in Thomas Hardy's 'The Mayor of Casterbridge'.

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ABSTRACT

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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Statement of the Problems

The problems in this thesis are formulated as follows: 1. How is

Analysis of Protagonist in Thomas Hardy's 'The Mayor of Casterbridge'.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT

APPENDICES

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION