However, the novel still ends with a hope for humanity. The next day, realizing his loss, he swears not to touch liquor again for as many years as he has lived so far. The Mayor of Casterbridge opens with a shocking and haunting scene: In a drunken rage, Michael Henchard sells his wife and daughter to a visiting sailor at a local fair. The Mayor of Casterbridge c Pearson Education Limited 2008 The Mayor of Casterbridge - Teacher’s notes of 5 Teacher’s notes LEVEL 5 PENGUIN READERS Teacher Support Programme About the author Thomas Hardy was born in 1840 in Dorset, a rural county in the south-west of England. “An agitation which had half The Mayor of Casterbridge is a 1978 BBC seven-part serial based on the eponymous 1886 book by the British novelist Thomas Hardy. His father was a stonemason and the family were not well off. When Henchard's successor as mayor dies suddenly, Farfrae becomes mayor. Irritated and drunken, an itinerant farm-worker sells his wife and child to a stranger. Henchard's ruin is almost completed when the "furmity woman" is arrested as a vagrant in Casterbridge and reveals the transaction two … Word Count: 1030. With Ciarán Hinds, Juliet Aubrey, Jodhi May, James Purefoy. At a country fair, young hay-trusser Michael Henchard quarrels with his wife Susan, and in a drunken fit decides to auction off his wife and baby to a sailor for five guineas. Hardy’s use of literary tools is a key part of understanding this complex relationship. The Mayor of Casterbridge is a tragedy, in the tradition of the Greek tragedies and the plays Othello and King Lear. This excerpt from “The Mayor of Casterbridge” portrays a clear complex relationship between a Father and a daughter. When they return to Casterbridge some nineteen years later, Henchard having gained power and success as the mayor finds he cannot erase the past or the guilt that consumes him. The Mayor of Casterbridge, published in 1886, was considered pivotal in Hardy's career, as its male main character was more fully developed than those in previous novels. About The Mayor of Casterbridge. This Modern Library Paperback Classic reprints the authoritative 1912 Wessex edition, as well as Hardy’s map of Wessex. One day, when drunk, he sells his wife (Susan) and baby daughter (Elizabeth-Jane) to a stranger. The belief that fate is to blame is a tool of the past, of the superstitious farmers such as the townspeople. The story centers on Michael Henchard, Mayor of Casterbridge. The six-hour drama was written by television dramatist Dennis Potter and directed by David Giles with Alan Bates as the title character. Last Updated on May 5, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. Henchard's fortunes continue their decline while Farfrae's advance. Directed by David Thacker. Hardy uses diction as one of the main components of this piece. 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