Jane Austen is a novelist that's always in the news and her books are often retold on screen but a novelist I'd really like to see adapted for the big screen more often is Thomas Hardy. The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886) is one of Hardy's best novels and many of us must be familiar with the plot. Its main protagonist Michael Henchard is one of the most riveting characters in English Literature. No wonder then that Hardy himself calls him 'a man of character' in the byline to the title (The Life and Death of The Mayor of Casterbridge: A story of a man of character).
The story begins with a drunken Henchard selling his wife Susan and infant daughter Elizabeth-Jane at an auction to a sailor called Newman for five guineas. Once he realizes his mistake, it's too late. They've left town and he loses them. He was 21 years old at the time and vows not to touch liquor for another 21 years. Henchard goes on to become a successful businessman and, eventually, the Mayor of Casterbridge (a fictional town believed to have been modeled on Dorset, England). As the novel progresses, we see Henchard as a man of contradictions: he possesses raw energy and he's capable of hard work but he also has a cruel and self-destructive streak that makes him push people away. His character has a distinctly Aristotelian feel to it: he's the typical tragic hero with classic flaws- hubris (pride) and hamartia (error of judgement). Why, then, do we keep reading?
Personally, it's the very fact that Henchard is flawed that makes him seem real to me. Equally important is the sheer power of Hardy's narrative style. Sample this: it's said of Elizabeth-Jane when she grows up and her fortunes improve:
When Henchard declares in the end, having lost everything: "My punishment is not more than I can bear" one almost wants to applaud his defiance of fate and the powers that be.
It's always- always- worth it to go back to the classics.
The story begins with a drunken Henchard selling his wife Susan and infant daughter Elizabeth-Jane at an auction to a sailor called Newman for five guineas. Once he realizes his mistake, it's too late. They've left town and he loses them. He was 21 years old at the time and vows not to touch liquor for another 21 years. Henchard goes on to become a successful businessman and, eventually, the Mayor of Casterbridge (a fictional town believed to have been modeled on Dorset, England). As the novel progresses, we see Henchard as a man of contradictions: he possesses raw energy and he's capable of hard work but he also has a cruel and self-destructive streak that makes him push people away. His character has a distinctly Aristotelian feel to it: he's the typical tragic hero with classic flaws- hubris (pride) and hamartia (error of judgement). Why, then, do we keep reading?
Personally, it's the very fact that Henchard is flawed that makes him seem real to me. Equally important is the sheer power of Hardy's narrative style. Sample this: it's said of Elizabeth-Jane when she grows up and her fortunes improve:
"Her triumph was tempered by circumspection. She had still that field mouse fear of the coulter of destiny, despite fair promise, which is common among those who have suffered early from poverty and oppression."Gosh, I wish I could write like that!
When Henchard declares in the end, having lost everything: "My punishment is not more than I can bear" one almost wants to applaud his defiance of fate and the powers that be.
It's always- always- worth it to go back to the classics.
No comments:
Post a Comment