The Mayor of Casterbridge

The Mayor of Casterbridge: The Life and Death of a Man of Character (1886) is a novel by Thomas Hardy. Taking place in a fictional town in rural England sometime in the 1840s, the story follows young hay trusser Michael Henchard as he traverses English social life and struggles to improve his standing. One of the foremost authors of the Victorian period, Hardy is known for his psychologically and morally complex portrayals of rural English life during the Industrial Revolution. The Mayor of Casterbridge has been adapted for film, television, radio, and opera.

This guide uses the Hook and Hairline Press edition, based on the original 1886 text.

Plot Summary

The Mayor of Casterbridge begins at a country fair in Wessex, a fictional English county. Drunk on rum, 21-year-old Michael Henchard feuds with his wife, Susan. In a drunken rage, he impulsively auctions her and their baby daughter for five guineas. The buyer is Richard Newson, a sailor passing through town. After sobering up the next day, Henchard regrets his actions, but Newson has already departed with his family. Henchard vows to not drink for the next 21 years.

The narrative jumps forward 18 years. Henchard is now a successful merchant of grain and the Mayor of Casterbridge. He is known for his insistence on the virtues of sobriety. He has never told anyone about the shame of losing his wife and child; people believe that he must be a widower. One day, Henchard takes a business trip to Jersey and begins to feel sick. Henchard meets Lucetta Le Sueur, a young woman who gives him medical help. He falls in love with her, but still never reveals the circumstances of his past marriage. Instead, he tells her that Susan ran away and is now probably dead. Though Lucetta is dubious, she is too infatuated to reject him. Henchard returns to Casterbridge, leaving Lucetta behind for the time being. He feels anxious about his past and the fact that he is still technically married.

Lucetta believes that she should marry Henchard to get back into polite society after her involvement with him compromised her reputation, but she is concerned that people will look down on her if she marries someone whose wife still may be alive. Henchard sends a message to Lucetta to ask for her hand in marriage. Unexpectedly, Susan suddenly reappears with their daughter, Elizabeth-Jane. Henchard learns that the man who purchased her, Newson, was lost at sea. As a result, Susan was forced to search for Henchard to support herself and her child, Elizabeth-Jane, who does not know the true nature of her relationship with Henchard.

Susan is adamant that her marriage to Newson is still valid and she questions the legitimacy of her marriage to Henchard. However, they agree to publicly court one another and marry as a way to reaffirm their marriage and protect their daughter from disgrace. Also arriving in Casterbridge around the same time is a Scottish man, Donald Farfrae, who works in agricultural science. He becomes Henchard’s friend and is hired by him. Henchard puts up Susan in a different house, pretending to have just met her. He does not tell Susan about Lucetta and he informs Lucetta by post that their engagement is canceled.

Farfrae becomes a very popular individual in the town, stirring Henchard’s jealousy. The two men argue, mostly due to Henchard’s temper and deceit. Henchard makes several bad financial decisions that result in the loss of much of his status. He speaks out in opposition to the news that Farfrae and Elizabeth-Jane are engaged. After Susan dies, Henchard learns from her sealed letter that he is not Elizabeth-Jane’s biological father. His daughter died while an infant, and she gave her second daughter the same name. Henchard no longer resists the marriage. However, he grows cruel to Elizabeth-Jane, never revealing that he is not her father.

Having inherited a large sum of money from a relative, Lucetta appears in Jersey and buys a house in Casterbridge. She tries to renew her relationship with Henchard but he resists, as it would be improper to remarry so soon. She takes in Elizabeth-Jane, hoping to compel Henchard to visit. Meanwhile, Farfrae meets Lucetta and falls in love with her, oblivious to the fact that she is in town to court Henchard. Lucetta reciprocates his love and questions Henchard’s integrity when news breaks that he sold his first wife. Henchard resolves to marry Lucetta to improve his standing. Because she is now in love with Farfrae, she stalls. She marries Farfrae in secret. Henchard’s credit plummets, forcing him to sell his possessions. He begins to drink again and causes embarrassing scenes in the town. To help him, Farfrae buys his old businesses. Henchard hates him.

Lucetta’s prior relationship with Henchard is exposed. Lucetta, pregnant at the time, has an epileptic seizure from the stress and dies. After her funeral, Elizabeth-Jane and Farfrae fall in love again. Henchard fears that Farfrae will take her away from him. Newson returns from sea. Henchard tells him that Susan is dead. Ashamed of himself, he leaves town. Farfrae and Elizabeth-Jane are married. Henchard cannot stay at the wedding and they find him a month later, dead.