Works of Thomas Hardy discussion
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The Mayor of Casterbridge
The Mayor of Casterbridge
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The Mayor of Casterbridge: 1st thread: Chapters 1 - 9
So true about Campbell, and the universality of the hero's journey. We relate to it on such a basic level, and while the arc is much the same from one story to the next, it's the details, as Laura says, that we relish in and that can surprise us. But it is so easy to slip a future detail into a comment that can become a spoiler for someone if they aren't there yet, so I'm very glad we're careful with that here.
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This worried me, as we are very strict about spoilers here. But as you go on to say, the variation is in the detail. There is something very satisfying about predicting what might happen - because it so often does - and then seeing what transpires; in which ways it conforms, and in which ways it presents something unexpected.
That is what readers have already begun to comment on in detail, here 🙂
This is why I did not breathe a word on Les Misérables until now. Jean Valjean may be a hero with a thousand faces or even only five hundred but this novel is still a masterpiece of world literature. Cosette or Les Thénardier are often mentioned by many journalists as common metaphorical platitudes - even if they have never read the book. Another such hero, a very different one, may be The Count of Monte Cristo
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Yes, thank you Katheen! If it ever happens I just save the post (so that the poster can edit it) and delete it. It's surprising it doesn't happen more often. But it would have been accidental, so no harm done 🙂The trickiest thing sometimes, is not to over-emphasise something as foreshadowing.
After all, we do try to recapture some of what the original readers experienced.
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Eighteen years have passed since Michael Henchard sold his wife and child at the Weydon fair. On this early Autumn day, a much-changed Susan and Elizabeth-Jane take the little-changed road to Weydon-Priors. Susan is dressed in black as a widow, and Elizabeth-Jane is a fully grown young woman. The mother and daughter walk hand in hand.
The Weydon Fair has changed, as the entertainments show marks of advancing inventions and improvements, and the sale of livestock and products has reduced by half. The new great markets in neighbouring towns have interfered with the business of the fair.
Elizabeth-Jane questions her mother as to why they are stopping at the fair. Susan says she first met Newson at this very fair, and Elizabeth sighs over the death of Richard Newson, recently drowned at sea. She is unaware that Newson is not her biological father. Hesitantly, Susan also admits that at this fair she last saw the relative she and her daughter are seeking: Michael Henchard. When questioned further by Elizabeth-Jane about their relation to Henchard, Susan says he is a distant relative by marriage:
“I suppose he never knew me?” the girl innocently continued.
Mrs. Henchard paused for a moment, and answered uneasily, “Of course not, Elizabeth-Jane. But come this way.”
At the fair, Susan spots the same furmity-woman, now grown old and poor. Her furmity pot is outside, not inside the grand tent it once had, and she is selling only to the poorest of customers. Elizabeth-Jane stays back when her mother goes to the speak with the old woman, cautioning her mother that it isn’t respectable for her to speak to such a poor woman.
“The hag opened a little basket behind the fire, and, looking up slyly, whispered, ”Just a thought ’o run in it?” - Robert Barnes - 9th January 1886
Susan purchases a small bowl of furmity and the woman offers to add rum to it, which Susan refuses, recalling how this very rum and furmity lead her husband to auction her off. Susan questions the woman about her past and her better days at the fair. She asks if the woman can remember a man who sold his wife in her tent eighteen years ago today.
Eventually the furmity-woman does remember Henchard, but only because, she says, he returned to the fair the following year. He had told the furmity-seller that if a woman ever enquired about him to say that he had gone to Casterbridge. Susan returns to her daughter to report that she has heard about their long-lost relative, and that they will now head to the distant town of Casterbridge.
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So now we know the sailor’s name, Richard Newson and that Susan goes by his name. Despite this jump forward in time, the setting is the same. Susan and Elizabeth-Jane are placed on the same road toward Weydon Priors (Weyhill). In the text the pair hold hands, showing their close mother-daughter connection, and in the illustration we are able to see the physical change that eighteen years has produced.
As Robert Barnes has drawn her, Susan still seems a youthful beauty. She was “pretty, even handsome” as she looked down at her infant in Barnes’s first plate, and seems to have aged little in this second one, although now she is approaching forty. She is clad in widow’s weeds, which do not look shabby enough for the two to have walked far. Over her shoulder is her mirror image: the face of her grown-up daughter.
We are told that Newson was lost at sea, and realise by the depiction of the furmity-vendor and Susan in conversation, that Henchard, having failed to find his wife and baby with the sailor all those years before, has now himself become the object of Susan’s search.
The death of Richard Newson is clearly a sad memory for both women, reflecting his kindness to them both. However, his death is also the reason that Susan is seeking Henchard. We understand that Susan has concealed the truth from Elizabeth-Jane, which reflects the still-painful nature of the situation. It also shows Susan’s natural tendency to conceal problematic truths if possible.
The illustration shows a detail of the annual fair at Weydon Priors (Weyhill), rather than on the high road, as in the previous plate. We see swirling crowds, fanciful banners, and possibly even a “machine for testing rustic strength and weight”, and a place to shoot nuts, to convey local colour. This gaiety reinforces the irony of the scene, which from the women’s point of view must have been a somber one.
We understand the “Vanity Fair” aspect of the backdrop for this second meeting. Published in 1847, Thomas Hardy would know William Makepeace Thackeray's novel well. Only in his text do we see a wider view: his pervasive melancholy as he describes the economic decline resulting in the absence of tradesmen’s stalls and vehicles. Thomas Hardy writes of the reduction of animal auctions at the fair, which may also reflect the changing roles of women, whom Henchard once equated with property.
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The rum offered by the furmity-woman reminds Susan of Henchard’s past actions. It provides a further link between drinking and Michael Henchard’s self-destructive nature: when he is drinking, he and others suffer, when he abstains, he is able to excel.
The only clue that the viewer has as to how long ago that was is the pretty adolescent in the picture. Robert Barnes was skilled at representing juvenile figures, and our glimpse of Elizabeth-Jane in the background shows her as fetching in both face and figure as her mother was in the first plate, just as Hardy describes. Also, when the hag opens a little basket behind the fire, and looks up slily to whisper, “Just a thought o’ rum in it?”, we see a curious, thoughtful, and sympathetic still young woman, not one with a bitter smile of recognition at the “old trick” that led to her separation from her first husband. At first glance, we might have taken this self-confident beauty for Elizabeth-Jane, but it is not. In contrast however, Philip V. Allingham says:
“The crook-backed, troll-like furmity-vendor is portrayed with detailed accuracy: her apron stained and ripped, her face and hands as gnarled as her basket from which, Caliban-like, she draws her liquor bottle. She is a witch who has lost her power, as is suggested by the lack of flame beneath her cauldron in the foreground; she has neither tent, nor benches, nor other customers as formerly, during the wife-sale. Her grizzled, bent condition is contrasted by the upright posture and clear features of the young woman, and by the vigorous life surrounding her.”
The furmity-woman points Susan toward Casterbridge, saying that Henchard himself requested that she should. We see that Michael Henchard’s message to the furmity-woman reflects some faith or hope that he might one day be reunited with Susan, or some belief that Susan might seek him out.
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We now have a free day, with chance to read the earlier information posts, and the poem thread if you missed anything. We will read chapter 4 on Saturday 21st June
A great short chapter: Susan and her daughter are going exactly the same way as eighteen years earlier. The general atmosphere of decay and decline of the fair, down to the smallest detail shows how much it is not as it used to be. The description of the furmity woman, "a witch who has lost her power, as is suggested by the lack of flame beneath her cauldron" said Philip Allingham, mirrors everything. She talks of a past splendour. Clearly, that fair had many visitors and business was up, but is she not overrating her customers from times past just a little bit? The whole place is now almost eerie. The lady wears rags. Even the furmity is not tasty any longer! The illustration reminded me of the witch in Snow White. Elizabeth- Jane's face clearly shown behind is excellent - as was your idea of sharing the illustration with us, Jean!
Thank you, Jean, for bringing out the details in the illustration. It makes the world come alive, and I completely missed Elizabeth Jane when I first looked. Not knowing anything about the story before we started, I was surprised at this jump in time, but am intrigued. Like Hardy, I tend to notice and lament the loss of things past, so I have to say I relish it when he writes things like “the real business of the fair had considerably dwindled,” and “The stalls of tailors, hosiers, coopers, linen-drapers, and other such trades had almost disappeared.” It actually makes me feel better about the changes I see and regret, knowing Hardy went through the same emotions so many years ago. :-)
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Oh yes, so it does! The contrast between the two, one still attractive and one even more hideous is what hits us, isn't it. Funnily enough this scene feels very Dickensian to me, as he was fond of picturing old crones as hags or witches, and this one reminded me of "Good Mrs Brown" who (view spoiler) in Dombey and Son.
But there are lots of others of course! It's buying into the fairy tale trope, and making us shudder, and feel even more sympathy with Susan and Elizabeth Jane.
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Yes, it's so clever to have the history within the novel rather than as a preamble I think. If it had been separate, we would have been alerted to it. This way, the two first chapters are a discrete entity, but still a surprise.
We had wondered which of the two story strands Thomas Hardy might follow: Susan's or Michael's. Now Susan and Elizabeth-Jane are following Mrs. Goodenough's directions, we wonder if they will meet up.
"Like Hardy, I tend to notice and lament the loss of things past"
Oh yes, I know what you mean, and as you say he is a master of detail. Thomas Hardy was just a few months shy of 46 when he wrote these chapters, so perhaps he was feeling middle-aged!
This was an interesting chapter. I, too, was surprised at the time jump. It's good to know that Susan and Elizabeth-Jane led a happy, peaceful life after their ordeal. It makes me wonder how Michael fared. He's 18 years into his 21 year oath. Did he keep it? What happened to him?
I feel it's a bit ominous that Elizabeth-Jane doesn't know that they are looking for her father. That's a secret that tends to blow up at the least wanted moment.
It was a bit surprising to find that the old woman's tent has shrunk so much over the time. Fashion and habit change but drinking is usually popular at any time. One would think that a Fair, even if the attractions change over time, would be popular with the drink.
Perhaps Hardy was, in his way, punishing the woman for playing a part in what happened in her tent? She supplied Michael with abundant alcohol and, in her way, caused the situation to escalate as it did.
I'm totally enjoying the writing. Hardy's books are like that. I've enjoyed his observations, descriptions and characters in all of the few books of his that I've read. His stories are a delight to read.
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Oh yes! The natural thing is to wonder why her mother didn't tell her ... but perhaps she hoped it wouldn't be necessary. I'm reminded of cases where a child is adopted, and not told (or don't discover it) until they are adults, and the fallout there sometimes is from this. The situation here is a great source of tension.
"Perhaps Hardy was, in his way, punishing the [furmity] woman for playing a part in what happened in her tent?"
This never even occurred to me! Interesting ... and would it be conscious on his part I wonder?
I too found the time jump to be a fascinating plot element. Also, as mentioned by Jean, that while there was a time jump, Hardy brought his readers back to the same fair, and we met again the same furmity-seller, selling the same offering, and still offering to punch up the meal with her witch’s brew. What we have is a repeat of the plot, and yet the plot has already turned on its head. The present place bares little relationship to its past.Years ago Susan entered the town with her husband and child. She left it hand-in-hand with a sailor, only to re-enter it again, now a widow, with her now grown daughter, in search of her former husband. We learn that Elizabeth-Jane is unaware of who her real father is. Brilliant!
When I consider Hardy conjured up such a chapter and then we add the power of the illustration along with its analysis by Philip Allingham, this early chapter is simply stunningly good.
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I agree with everyone who said the secret of Elizabeth-Jane's real father is a great tension point. I feel it's a bit ominous that Elizabeth-Jane doesn't know that they are looking for her father. That's a secret that tends to blow up at the least wanted moment. Spot on Petra!
I think its also interesting that Elizabeth-Jane is uncomfortable around the people at the fair, are they too common for her? After seeing the illustration of the furmity-seller, I understand more why Elizabeth-Jane would be leery of her mother talking with that woman, she looks like a witch! Like Claudia, I also thought of the witch in Snow White. Does that make Elizabeth-Jane a princess in this fairy tale?
At any rate, it seems apparent that Susan has protected Elizabeth-Jane from harsh truths, whether they are secrets or just how real people live.
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We do feel Elizabeth-Jane's uneasiness. This could be because she is shy, but I think you might have put your finger on it here: "are they too common for her? because she virtually says as much about the furmity woman.
"Like Claudia, I also thought of the witch in Snow White. Does that make Elizabeth-Jane a princess in this fairy tale?"
What a brilliant observation! I like this a lot 🙂
I echo so much that has already been said about this chapter. Enough to say that I enjoyed seeing what time has brought to one of the major characters from the beginning. I'm of two minds about the daughter; she is too quick to see things as only something beneath her. Does it mean nothing to her that this place was a crucial part of her life, as it was her mother's and indeed, the man who she believes is her father. What will she think when she finds out the truth — she she will find out.
Claudia wrote: "Chris wrote: "I don't have anything to add to the chap 2 discussion. When Michael ended up in Casterbridge and thinking of the title of the novel, it made me hark back to the journey of Jean Valjea..."Yes! The similarity between Thomas Hardy's character and Jean Valjean, who through great effort desires to recreate his entire identity and life purpose as Monsieur les Mayor (or Monsieur Madeline) jumped out at me also! I will go back and read Claudia's essay on this. Surely Hardy was completely familiar with Les Miserables when he began The Mayor of Casterbridge!
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Thomas Hardy repeatedly addresses the time passage for the characters when the card edged in black is introduced. " in affectionate memory of Richard Newson, mariner . . . lost at sea . . aged 41 years". The other specific time clue was finding her companion " . . . a well-formed young woman of eighteen."I'm not sure what to make of it, but I notice that Time (capitalized by Hardy marking it Jean's "pathetic fallacy") is described as an attribute of Nature (also capitalized).
I agree with Petra who noticed that Elizabeth-Jane was not aware of the truth. Therefore, Susan is a woman with a secret, just as Michael Henchard, no matter his position in life and society now, is a man with a secret, the same secret, too. A ticking bomb?I found both funny and odd that Thomas Hardy chose the phrase "the soi-disant widow". The exact meaning of soi-disant, according to Larousse (always interesting to look up into dictionaries even if you know the meaning) is "who claims to be, who calls himself or herself such and such". Looking for appropriate translations on Linguee, I found "alleged" or "so-called". I suppose that soi-disant refers to the fact that Susan was not married to Mr Newson, hence she could legally not be his widow even if she was mourning him but that phrase also has a flavour of pretending to be someone she is not, just as she pretended to be visiting that fair on the very anniversary of her first meeting with Mr Newson and told her daughter that Mr Henchard is a "connection by marriage".
Interestingly, Thomas Hardy has chosen a French phrase - still very popular in France - while there are enough possible equivalents in English.
Yes Lee, I am convinced that Thomas Hardy had read Les Misérables! It was first translated and published the same year, 1862, at Hurst and Blackett Publishers' in three volumes.
I am also on board the train of curiosity about Susan keeping the secret of Elizabeth-Jane's biological father. Since she is looking for him, why not tell Elizabeth-Jane why this man is important to seek out? And why is she seeking him out? Does she think that he has been successful in life and she now needs support in her "widowhood"? It keeps the reader guessing doesn't it & eager for the next issue of the serialization of the story?I'm happy to find out that Susan stayed with Mr. Newsom and appears to have had a good life.
Chris wrote: "Since she is looking for him, why not tell Elizabeth-Jane why this man is important to seek out? And why is she seeking him out?"If she did not marry Newson, perhaps she is looking for legitimacy. She may have been living a pretense all these years, and may have some fears for her daughter? Possible legal complications? Maybe she's hoping to reunite and then tell Elizabeth-Jane?
Kathleen wrote: "Chris wrote: "Since she is looking for him, why not tell Elizabeth-Jane why this man is important to seek out? And why is she seeking him out?"If she did not marry Newson, perhaps she is looking ..."
Looking for legitimacy may be reason enough,
Kathleen! The novel is set in a Victorian background in the 1840ies. Some things were considered inappropriate.
Talking with Mrs Goodenough (great comparison to good Mrs Brown, Jean) is not considered appropriate by Elizabeth-Jane.
Indeed, being thrilled by the (well done) time jump is the privilege of those who are reading this novel for the first time.
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Susan has never told Elizabeth-Jane the truth about Michael Henchard and the events at the Weydon Priors fair. Susan has also innocently believed her sale to Richard Newson to be binding. A friend in whom she had confided the truth corrected her belief, and Susan was torn between her loyalty to her true husband and her connection to Newson.
The news of Newson’s loss at sea relieved Susan’s conscience and made her free to seek out her husband, Michael Henchard. Susan tells Elizabeth-Jane that they are seeking a relative to ask for his support in their state of poverty after Newson’s loss.
On a September evening, the mother and daughter arrive at Casterbridge, an old-fashioned borough with houses crowded together and surrounded by a square of trees as it merges into the countryside. Two men pass them on the road, talking, and Elizabeth-Jane overhears them use the name “Henchard.” Susan wishes to make more private enquiries than to ask the men about Henchard and his role in the town.
The trees surrounding Casterbridge are part of the town’s ancient defences. The houses are built within a wall within the line of trees on a bank before a ditch. The well-lit town is clearly separate from the dark countryside. Sounds of a brass band can be heard as the two women walk down the High Street. The farming tools and products available in the shop windows reflect the pastoral character of the town.
In the square before the church, a few women taste pieces of bread. Susan enquires after the nearest bakery, and they learn about the shortage of bread in town due to the sale of a crop of bad wheat. One woman notes their unfamiliarity with Casterbridge, but Susan withdraws, not wishing to be to be too closely observed before she learns of Henchard’s situation and whereabouts.
Mod
The Corn Laws
In his 1895 Preface Thomas Hardy said that The Mayor of Casterbridge was suggested by 3 historical events, and one of them was “the uncertain harvests which immediately preceded the repeal of the Corn Laws”.
The Corn Laws of 1815 were a set of British regulations designed to protect farmers and landowners from competition with cheaper foreign grain, particularly after the Napoleonic Wars. There were fears that this would flood the market, and drive down prices generally. Tariffs were therefore placed on imported grain, making it more expensive to bring it in from countries abroad, especially America.
The aim of the Corn laws was originally to protect the landowning classes - the aristocracy - from variable harvests, but they had far-reaching consequences. As the century went on, they increasingly restricted the impact of foreign competition from America. Ultimately though this led to higher bread prices and widespread public discontent. These tariffs had made it so expensive to import grain that foreign supplies were often unavailable, even when domestic supplies were scarce. In 1819 crowds gathered at St Peter’s Fields in Manchester, to protest against the laws. They were charged by the militia, leaving 11 people dead and 400 wounded. This became known as the “Peterloo massacre”.
In the following years the laws were adapted, and a sliding scale of import duties was introduced, but the laws remained deeply unpopular. In 1839 the Anti-Corn Law league was established in Manchester, calling for their abolition. They campaigned for free trade and an end to protectionism. Although strongest in the North, the campaign extended into Dorset.
We can see this happening with the Casterbridge businessmen here, who would be able to predict:
Higher Bread Prices: Because grain prices were artificially high, so was the price of bread, a staple food, making it more difficult for many people to afford.
Social Unrest: The high cost of bread and the perceived unfairness of the laws led to riots and protests, especially in areas with a high dependence on wheat.
Economic Disadvantage: The laws were criticised for stifling economic growth by limiting trade and raising the cost of living.
The Corn Laws remained in place until 1846, when they were repealed by Sir Robert Peel, despite strong opposition from his own party. This decision was influenced by a bad harvest in 1845 and the Great Irish Famine, as well as the growing movement to abolish the laws.
The leaders of the Anti-Corn Laws league had begun to extend their campaign into a wider movement intended to shift power in the county away from the aristocracy and the landed gentry, and towards the manufacturing middle classes.
This is the backdrop to what was happening in Dorset at the time of The Mayor of Casterbridge. Thomas Hardy is therefore describing a situation which was developing before he was born, and resolved when he was 6 years old! But he recalled agitation about the Corn Laws as some of his strongest childhood memories, and their consequences were far-reaching.
Afterwards fundamental questions continued to be raised about:
“the place of agriculture in society, the relationship between consumers and producers, the composition of Parliament, the competing claims of landlords and industrialists, and the proper role of government” - Asa Briggs “The Age of Improvement 1783-1867”.
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Locations
“It was on a Friday evening, near the middle of September and just before dusk, that they reached the summit of a hill within a mile of the place they sought.”
Susan and Elizabeth-Jane approach Casterbridge, and pause to look at the town from Mellstock (Stinsford) Hill. This view of Dorchester from Stinsford Hill is still one of the best, as the old part of the town can be seen rather than the suburban areas to the south and west. Thomas Hardy. born in Higher Bockhampton, Stinsford, loved this countryside and the town of Dorchester, and we can see this in his lush descriptions.
“The travellers returned into the High Street, where there were timber houses with overhanging storeys, whose small-paned lattices were screened by dimity curtains on a drawing-string, and under whose bargeboards old cobwebs waved in the breeze.”
This is 6 and 7 West Street: early 17th century timbered frame houses. Number 6 is best known for having been Judge Jeffreys’ lodgings during the Bloody Assizes of 1685. With a curious twist the assizes were turned into a charming traditional tearoom in the 20th century, and you mount via steep rickety stairs into the large hall where he condemned so many to their death by hanging.
Here are interesting articles: https://www.dorchesterdorset.com/blog...
https://www.almolodorchester.co.uk/hi...
“The Newfoundland trade” Newson was involved in means fishing.
There are quite a few regional words here such as the “cornland and coomb” surrounding Casterbridge. “Coomb” means a deep hollow or valley. Local dialect can be even more tricky. You might expect for instance that ”swipes” means handkerchiefs but in fact it means poor or low-quality beer. Do please ask if there’s anything of this nature which foxes you, and I’ll do my best!
“The curfew was still rung in Casterbridge, and it was utilised by the inhabitants as a signal for closing their shops.”
We’ve come across the curfew before in Thomas Hardy's novels. In medieval times, a bell was rung to signal that household fires should be extinguished. The detailed reference to the Sicilian Mariner’s Hymn will be taken up by Connie when she leads the poem relating to this. For now, I’ll just add that Hardy added a note, to say:
"These chimes, like those of other country churches, have been silenced for many years.“
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Susan’s belief that her sale to Newson was binding reflects her innocent acceptance of events in her life. Susan is naturally passive, but she is also strongly driven by loyalty and duty. Upon learning the truth, she feels torn between her sense of duty to both men.
I found it interesting that in this chapter Thomas Hardy uses 3 titles for Susan: Mrs. Henchard-Newson, Mrs. Henchard and Mrs. Newson. He’s leaving the question as to whether the couple went through an official form of marriage in Canada open. Chris and Kathleen both wondered about the implications of this, as do we all! The social status of living as man and wife in 1840s Canada may not exactly mirror that in England, although it was a sovereign state. Also, although marriage in England was considered essential for a woman’s respectability living with a man in towns and cities, country people often had a more philosophical view, as they did when babies came along out of wedlock. Perhaps a Canadian sailor’s family was more akin to this? Claudia said “Looking for legitimacy may be reason enough, Kathleen!” which obviously could be true now Susan is back in England, although I’m not sure about Canada.
Claudia picked up on the French word “soi-disant” in ch 3. Thomas Hardy uses this wisely. In English we use it to mean “self-styled”. This tells us that Susan calls herself a widow, but not the reason. It could be as Claudia says, “I suppose that soi-disant refers to the fact that Susan was not married to Mr Newson, hence she could legally not be his widow even if she was mourning him”.
Or it could also be a legal technicality which would still apply even if they were married. Thomas Hardy tells us that Newson was “Lost at sea in November 184-” so because no body had been yet found, she would not be legally declared as a widow until a certain period of time had elapsed. This is another thing which Hardy deliberately leaves ambiguous.
Claudia also points out that the term “has a flavour of pretending to be someone she is not, just as she … told her daughter that Mr Henchard is a ”connection by marriage“.” Susan is concealing the truth here, and although it is actually true that she was “visiting that fair on the very anniversary of her first meeting with Mr Newson”, she misleads by implying that she visited it with him, and not with Henchard. To say we are told that Susan is such a simple woman, to twist the truth like this seems (to me personally) remarkably devious, although perhaps it fits with Thomas Hardy's views of all "women's wiles".
Susan wishes to keep her dealings with Henchard private, which again reflects her interest in secrecy and discretion. Several have pointed out that keeping such a secret might prove to be disastrous, however, and Elizabeth-Jane is a very different sort of person from her mother.
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Thomas Hardy, in common with other Victorian authors, tended to use death as a convenient plot device: as a means of relieving other characters from responsibilities and duties, particularly those of marriage or family commitment.
The mention of Henchard’s name before Susan and Elizabeth-Jane actually arrive in Casterbridge reinforces our sense of Henchard’s importance and prominence in the town. It’s foreshadowing, but since the events move so quickly in this novel, only by a few paragraphs!
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The physical layout of the town makes Casterbridge seem like an old-fashioned fortress, separate from the surrounding countryside, but the shops and tools demonstrate the town’s dependence on farming. I'll write more of its history in a later post, but for now we can see that the success or failure of farming must inevitably drive major events in the novel.
The bad wheat and the shortage of bread reflect a problem in Casterbridge, something that needs to be fixed. Another thing that needs to be restored is the broken marriage between Susan and Henchard. We will have to see if either of these improve.
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Edit: The Chimes (poem)
There are also links to the poems in the schedule (first post in the thread), Connie's announcement and the poetry index.
We will read chapter 5 on Monday 23rd June
I love this chapter, which really deserves a close reading, and especially as it is enlightened by your background and foreground explanations, Jean!You enhanced very well the ambiguity and indecisive ways, or changing opinions we often see in Hardyesque women characters. (view spoiler)
The town description in twilight is great: "a town with no suburbs (...). Country and town met at a mathematical line."
Even the inventory of all the items that could be bought in those times is, as you pointed out, utterly interesting in terms of significance of farming back then, abundance or scarcity of harvesting.
I found particularly intriguing the avenue by which our two pedestrians enter the town. Once again they arrived in the evening hours, just as Michael Henchard and his family arrived at the fair in Weighdon Priors eighteen years ago, or Susan and Elizabeth-Jane a few days ago at the same fair.
Having sufficiently rested they proceeded on their way at evenfall. The dense trees of the avenue rendered the road dark as a tunnel, though the open land on each side was still under a faint daylight, in other words, they passed down a midnight between two gloamings.
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And don't you just love that word "gloaming" for twilight? 🥰
Hardy is again using birds to foreshadowing upcoming events. Casterbridge is presented as an old stockade with a rectangle of trees and a ditch surrounding it. There is a sense of entrapment in the description of the town where Michael resides. The birds can view the town from above, unlike Susan and her daughter who are walking. The mention of the birds starts with this quote:"To birds of the more soaring kind Casterbridge must have appeared on this fine evening as a mosaic-work of subdued reds, browns, greys, and crystals, held together by a rectangular frame of deep green. To the level eye of humanity it stood as an indistinct mass behind a dense stockade of limes and chestnuts, set in the midst of miles of rotund down and concave field. "
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Well spotted Connie!
Bionic Jean wrote: "To say we are told that Susan is such a simple woman, to twist the truth like this this (to me personally) seems remarkably devious, although perhaps it fits with Thomas Hardy's views of all "women's wiles"."I was thinking this same thing, Jean. And like Claudia, I too have noticed this in Hardy before, and it has sometimes made me dislike a character. It's fun to compare the female characters as Hardy describes them with what may feel more true to our own impressions, so I'm glad you pointed this out early on. So far, I suspect Susan is less "simple" than described, and I'm curious to see how she navigates the tricky path she's embarked on.
I loved the writing in this chapter, and particularly the description of the town and surroundings, which beautifully set the scene. I really appreciate that view of the timbered frame houses, Jean!
Once again, so much to identify and puzzle over within a rather short chapter. Jean’s detained commentary and everyone’s incisive analysis add much to our reading experience.Being Canadian, I always enjoy (often with a bemused smile) when characters leave Great Britain for some reason and end up in Canada rather than Australia where Dickens usually sent his characters. Recently, we have seen Gaskell sending people to Canada and here we learn that Susan Henchard, Elizabeth-Jane and Newson emigrated to Canada. Evidently, Newson is lost as sea and Susan and Elizabeth-Jane return to England. Now, a sailor reportedly lost at sea. Is there a literary trope at work here? One we have seen in our most recent read?
I note that the chapter begins with the word’s ‘Henchard’s wife …’ I found that curious. Why focus on the word ‘wife’ rather than use her Christian name Susan? It seems Hardy wants to focus on Henchard and not Susan. We are then told that Susan had ‘A Hundred times … been upon the point of telling her daughter Elizabeth-Jane the true story of her life.’ There is so much mystery being spun by Hardy within these words.
Hardy then tells us that it was Susan’s ‘simplicity — the original ground of Henchard s contempt for her.’ Building on Hardy’s comments on Susan he mentions that it was ‘vague news of (Newson’s) loss at sea (that) solved a problem which had become a torture to her meek conscience.’
There is so much ambiguity in the early paragraphs of the novel. So many directions that Hardy may take.
What also intrigues me is how Hardy makes us very aware of the defensive presence of Casterbridge. It is a place that is well defended both through its physical build and its natural surroundings. And yes, indeed, the bird’s eye view of Casterbridge is a masterful bit of writing.
Casterbridge is a place where the mayor has upset some of the city’s inhabitants as well as a person who once sold his wife and daughter; now his wife and child are set to enter the protected city and confront its mayor.
Every chapter of this book seems to have a momentous event in it! Thank you so much for all the rich details and explanations, everyone. I haven't had much of an education in reading classic literature, so I appreciate all the more the details, especially the historic aspects regarding the corn laws, the age of the buildings (in America we seems to only rarely appreciate houses that are 100s of years old unless someone famous lived there).I also loved the phrasing and the use of the term gloaming, as in "The dense trees of the avenue rendered the road dark as a tunnel, though the open land on each side was still under a faint daylight; in other words, they passed down a midnight between two gloamings.... It is such a vivid description in a single sentence. I give Hardy much credit because after reading this chapter I can almost visualize the village!
And I did a bit of exploration on the term 'brick-nogging,' which I hadn't heard before. And pray, what is a seed-lip — one of the faming item's listed? The only reference I can find says its non-alcoholic distilled spirits ... so is it a container of some sort?
The bird's eye perspective is clever and Connie's quote was a good catch, as well as the defensive presence of Casterbridge Peter mentioned! As you said and showed, Peter, there is so much in this chapter!I almost forgot about Hardy's earlier work as an architect, Jean! Even if there are not many towns in his novels, his town descriptions are so thorough and accurate, e.g. Christminster in Jude the Obscure.
We indeed know a few sailors lost at sea (or presumably lost) in Dombey and Son or Sylvia's Lovers. Beyond the use of this in Victorian literature, it creates a traumatic experience and a chilling uncertainty for the families and friends, well pictured in Sylvia's Lovers. Sea is indeed a perfect background for disappearance. Relatives may be oscillating between sadness, mourning and yet a thin irrational hope.
Susan - great remark on choice of names and periphrases, Peter! - has obviously chosen the mourning clothes and seems to be set free and moving on.
"The Chimes," the poem to accompany Chapter 4, has been posted:https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Mod
Yes! This novel is really fast and action-packed. 😊The Victorian readers must have loved all the twists and turns.
"what is a seed-lip ... is it a container of some sort?"
Yes, you're pretty much there Pam. A seed-lip is a basket used to carry seed, when hoeing by hand. Thanks for asking - I wasn't sure how many definitions to put in!
Mod
Just to add for anyone baffled, the reason that Peter and Claudia are comparing this with Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell, is because they have come straight from an in-depth read of it in another group many of us have in common.
Thanks for directing us to the poem, Connie.
Mod
Yes, I think you are right there, Laura. However Michael resented her simple soul, possibly because of his drive and ambition. He could well have picked on anything to resent about a wife at this age however; we have a clear picture of his self-centredness in chapter 1.
"Weak" isn't a word anyone has used, I don't think. Thomas Hardy tells us she is "placid", which is different. Today that may have negative connotations, so perhaps you would prefer "well-measured"? (I would have said calm, but she did throw her ring at him ...)
"We pay too much attention to the individuals .."
Reading Thomas Hardy in this group does attempt to reveal what lies behind their behaviour, and the causes. I hope you'll stick with it! I'll try to give examples from the 4 chapters we have covered here.
Susan is described variously under the names I said, and Peter added another one that she is referred to, as "Henchard's wife". So her relation to others, is what we are directed to focus on. This is revealing as to the position of women in Victorian society. Our "paying attention to individuals" in this case is social studies, attitudes and conventions, plus the author's manipulation. Hopefully we will see "Susan" used more often, to give her her own identity.
As Kathleen has said, there is a difference between how Susan is presented, our modern interpretation of her behaviour, and Thomas Hardy's own voice. (i.e. three ways). He rarely writes as a truly omniscient narrator, and often allows his own perceptions and views to intervene. Whenever women's behaviour is mentioned in the other novels we have read in this group, we have found his voice to be particularly invasive (e.g. Far From the Madding Crowd, which seemed drenched in his mother Jemima's warnings about "women's wiles" (quote!), which we all began to find a bit tiresome, despite the book being a superb classic.)
Your description is spot on for a modern interpretation. And indeed
"forces, systems economic and religious and cultural can wreak havoc on an individual life".
Yes! This is at the core of our reading. There is nobody better to show us that, than Thomas Hardy, although we may prefer not to stress chance and fate as much as he does! The characters in his novels are all puppets, subject to this, but as readers we hope to look at a wide view.
Already it is important to take account of the Corn Laws (see my information post) for the history, economy and social aspects. Religious? Well there are many biblical refences in the text in each chapter so far. Do pick them out as you notice them, if you like. I pick out a few but know there are members who are better at Biblical detail here, so hope others will add the references sometimes. (On the other hand, I can usually interpret the local dialect when needed.) Thomas Hardy considered being a parson and his knowledge of the Holy Bible was prodigious.
The Mariners Hymn, and the oath Michael swore are unmistakeable allusions. Biblical quotations and allusions are scattered throughout, in odd phrases such as the "seven sleepers" of chapter 2: seven young Christians who fell asleep in a cave in Ephesus during the persecution on Decius (250 C.E.) and woke up 2 centuries later to find Christianity the accepted religion.
We have already commented additionally that the country people of this time are influenced partly by their traditions, folklore and superstitions, and partly by the Sunday school Christianity they have been taught. It's good to see that you acknowledge that the writing of Thomas Hardy is not restricted to archetypes.
Mod
Please read the beginning of the thread again and follow the links. We read a chapter every day, with a break after 3, plus interpolated poems in their own threads. Today has a separate poetry thread, linked to there, and in 3 other places.
Hi AllI'm a little late joining, but am looking forward to the discussions and enlightening insights (as we had with Tess a couple of years ago).
I will be listening on audiobook, which is always my preferred medium. It's being narrated by Tony Britton.
From the time we read Tess, I have been enraptured by Hardy's lush descriptions of the countryside and towns in his novels. This chapter certainly shows that off in spades. I definitely felt I was seeing the town and environs through Susan & Elizabeth-Jane's eyes as they traveled and then beheld Casterbridge. Then the description of the town itself as they wandered through, I felt I was walking with them. I loved it!I am still puzzled by Susan's decisions about not telling Elizabeth-Jane about the true relationship with Henchard as they come into town. Her thinking to leave it to him to tell if they found him. She finally resolved to undertake the search without confiding to the girl her former relations with Henchard, leaving it to him if they found him to take the steps he might choose to that end. Hmmm....I'm not sure I would want a stranger telling me versus the person who raised and knows me. Not to say I wouldn't be angry no matter whoever reveals that my "father" wasn't my father and having to deal with that knowledge.
Mod
Yes, we are approaching this the same way, so scoot back to the beginning of the thread to see the schedule and links. I hope Tony Britton is a good reader. The chapters are quite short, so hopefully you should be fine to catch up and read all our discussions and information posts so far. And don't miss the occasional interpolated poems! They relate to specific events or references in the book, and add extra depth.
Works of Thomas Hardy
Books mentioned in this topic
Daniel Deronda (other topics)Tess of the D’Urbervilles (other topics)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (other topics)
James (other topics)
Far From the Madding Crowd (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
John Drinkwater (other topics)Thomas Hardy (other topics)
George Eliot (other topics)
Thomas Hardy (other topics)
Fyodor Dostoevsky (other topics)
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Oh do write a review Peter! You know I'd love to read it. I remember you were the one who first alerted me to The Hero With a Thousand Faces 🙂