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: 3rd thread: Chapters 18 - 27
Great analysis, Bridget! You highlighted many interesting points in this chapter.Here, the carrefour seems to be the stage of a theatre, with crowds of bit-part players and the main actors: Lucetta, Elizabeth-Jane, Henchard and Farfrae, interacting in their own drama.
We see this configuration in Thomas Hardy's novels: a market-place, the corn exchange, a crowd of people and some main protagonists standing out.
"The carrefour was like the regulation Open Place in spectacular dramas, where the incidents that occur always happen to bear on the lives of the adjoining residents. (...) It was the node of all orbits."
When Lucetta chooses the cherry dress and the fitting accessories, she indeed chooses to be seen and admired. The cherry dress has also connotations of seduction and sensuality that corroborate her Venus attitude in chapter 22. Moreover she behaves like an actress choosing her outfit for her apparition on stage before an audience. Her words are also revealing something of her dual personality, torn between a quest for honourable and appropriate appearances, and a need for seduction. This is confirmed later in her conversation with Elizabeth-Jane on her dilemma when she is hesitant as to which outfit to wear.
“But settling upon new clothes is so trying,” said Lucetta. “You are that person” (pointing to one of the arrangements), “or you are that totally different person” (pointing to the other), “for the whole of the coming spring and one of the two, you don’t know which, may turn out to be very objectionable.”
It was finally decided by Miss Templeman that she would be the cherry-coloured person at all hazards."
We see how much (poor) Elizabeth-Jane is gradually unseen by Farfrae and entitled to be frustrated, which she certainly is, but also firm, wise and prudent in her response to Lucetta's questions.
Bridget and Claudia Yes. There are some very intriguing elements to this chapter. Ironically, perhaps, one concerns dresses, another focusses on a machine and a third revolves around a two-levelled conversation.Lucetta’s comments about the two dresses and how a dress can define a person is very rich in both suggestion and meaning. Do we dare think about what is signified when Lucetta wears the cheery-coloured (red) dress?
The new farm implement throws the townspeople into a tizzy. The coming of a machine that will replace much human labour has dark implications for the area. Much like the coming of the cotton machines, the arrival of mechanical farm implements signals a new order. It is interesting that the rich colour of the farm implement is compared to Lucetta’s dress.
Thirdly, we have the emotional/love story that Lucetta tells Elizabeth-Jane.How close to, if not exactly, is this recounting of Lucetta the story of her relationship with Henchard? There are two levels of plot going on here.
All of these major events in the chapter are wrapped up into the broad-based reality of the centuries old traditions of the town. We learn of the rhythm of the market days, the coming of the people, their activities, and their fading away as night comes. There is a universal rhythm in the town that is soon to be shaken by the coming of farm machinery, and series of looming emotional tensions that are brewing with our major characters.
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Well said, Peter. For me the most powerful images in this chapter are of the juxtaposition of the old ways of the town/people and the new machinery. The descriptions of both are wonderfully written. Lucetta and the machine are not the same at all, but visually they both stick out. They are both vibrantly colored, while everything around them would have the calmer colors of nature.
In my head I picture the scene in the carrefour just as Claudia describes, like a stage. And Lucetta is so excited and happy to be the lead actress in this little drama. She is costumed in cherry red.
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The "malignant star" made me think of the "blighted star" scene in Tess of the D’Urbervilles, but I hope fate deals kindlier with Elizabeth-Jane than it did with Tess.
I also thought of Tess as Lucetta was telling her story/confession: "Oh, no,' said Lucetta quickly. 'I was thinking of -- what happens sometimes when women get themselves in strange positions in the eyes of the world from no fault of their own'"
I'm not sure Lucetta is not at fault for her dalliance with Henchard. At least not compared to Tess. Lucetta is not anything like Tess, except for this indiscretion of reputation that they both share. But this is typical for Hardy, women pushing the norms of sensuality in their society.
Interesting comments. I didn't know what to think about this last chapter — I thought the first sentence in the chapter was pretty ominous. I'll ponder a while on all that has been said.
Bridget, you're doing such an excellent job on the summaries of these last two chapters, and bringing out the highlights. And everyone continues to make excellent points. I loved the Titian details, Erich.As others have said, I was not terribly happy with Chapter 23. I wasn't convinced that Farfrae would fall so quickly for Lucetta, being someone we saw previously as very cool and cautious. But it reminded me of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, when (view spoiler). I realized real-life people have surprised me in a similar fashion!
I very much enjoyed this chapter 24, however. Doesn't it feel like Elizabeth-Jane is maturing and becoming wise? It even shows in her expression in the illustration.
The machine reminded me of the threshing machine in Tess of the D’Urbervilles, which there is described as something like a fire-breathing monster that must be constantly fed, mechanization and loss of traditional values, oppressive industrial labor.The seed-drill in our chapter seems more benign. It is compared to a colorful insect or a musical instrument. Women and men crowd around curiously, and children play on and in it. According to Farfrae, it will "revolutionize sowing hereabout." As with his other innovations in preserving grain, measuring, keeping accounts, it is a welcome and efficient advance in his view.
Henchard, once again, is both traditional/outmoded and resistant to anything associated with Farfrae, the "jumped-up jackanapes."
Elizabeth-Jane regrets that "the romance of the sower is gone for good," and Farfrae in spite of his enthusiasm is able to understand that point of view.
Lucetta has no principled opinion. She is at first curious about the "sort of agricultural piano," but then after speaking to Henchard she calls it "a stupid thing." Elizabeth-Jane's biblical allusion flies over her head, which emphasizes her shallowness.
The machine is sexually suggestive, containing "rows of trumpet-shaped tubes one within the other" and "little scoops, like revolving salt-spoons, which tossed the seed into the upper ends of the tubes that conducted it to the ground." Farfrae is "pushing his head into the internal works to master their simple secrets," humming a song about Kitty, "the fairest flower / that ever bloom'd in Gowrie;" in the ballad, the singer woos and eventually marries Kitty. While they are discussing the machine, Farfrae explains that "each grain will go straight to its intended place" with "No more sowers flinging their seed about broadcast, so that some falls by the wayside and some among thorns."
Here is a link to lyrics for one version of the ballad: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Bo...
Although the lyrics differ slightly, I located a recording as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFAqO...
Kathleen: "I wasn't convinced that Farfrae would fall so quickly for Lucetta, being someone we saw previously as very cool and cautious."That surprised me as well, Kathleen, and it did seem out of character. But thinking back, while Henchard is impulsive, Farfrae is passionate:
When we meet him, he does not have a specific destination but is a bit of a rolling stone. In the inn, he is a "hale fellow well-met," singing ballads and making the ladies sigh. He is nostalgic about Scotland even though he doesn't want to be there. Henchard convinces him to stay by confessing how lonely he is. His empathy with Abel prompts him to public opposition to his employer. He purchases a business when the opportunity suddenly arises, without considering that he is making an arch enemy in Henchard. He hires a worker and his father to avoid their separation (this may be to impress Lucetta, but it also shows that he is motivated by feeling).
Also, while Elizabeth-Jane has her eye on him, and Susan pulls strings to throw them together, Farfrae seems to have fallen into that relationship more than to have pursued it. He is honorable enough to Elizabeth-Jane to visit her once he has been given permission, but his head is turned very quickly!
Erich C wrote: "Kathleen: "I wasn't convinced that Farfrae would fall so quickly for Lucetta, being someone we saw previously as very cool and cautious."That surprised me as well, Kathleen, and it did seem out o..."
Great points, Erich! I especially missed this one: "He purchases a business when the opportunity suddenly arises, without considering that he is making an arch enemy in Henchard."
He certainly can be impulsive, or at least willing to be driven by passion, as you say.
Kathleen wrote: "Bridget, you're doing such an excellent job on the summaries of these last two chapters, and bringing out the highlights. And everyone continues to make excellent points. I loved the Titian details..."I fully agree with you on the Mansfield Park comparison, Kathleen! Equally frustrating at first sight!
Erich wrote: He purchases a business when the opportunity suddenly arises, without considering that he is making an arch enemy in Henchard."Indeed! Is Farfrae not, beyond the passionate character you pertinently mentioned, also a little bit opportunistic, or, say, adaptable?
However, just like Henchard who makes bold and unconsidered decisions without anticipating consequences, Farfrae was acting in this particular instance without fully anticipating some damage that might occur.
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Erich - thanks for directing us to the "Sleeping Venus", which I always thought was by Giorgione, and merely completed by Titian, 🤔but now see the attribution has changed. Lucetta's artful position also reminded me of "The Rokeby Venus" in our National Gallery, also known as "The Toilet of Venus" a painting by the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez, and created between 1647 and 1651:
It depicts Venus, the Roman goddess of love, reclining on a bed with her back to the viewer. The painting is famous for its erotic charge, its depiction of a reclining nude, and its controversial history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rokeby_... To me, this gaze at the reflection of herself is key with Lucetta, who is almost narcissistically keen to present herself as youthful and vivacious.
In ch 24 she even quizzes Elizabeth Jane about her looks. In Robert Barnes' illustration though, (thanks Bridget) his realistic comparison of the two perfectly captures Lucatta's older face and expression. Plus Thomas Hardy reminds us again in ch 24 that Lucetta is older, more experienced and adds that she knows how to talk to men to get what she wants. She is flirtatious for sure!
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The Clothed Maya (Spanish: La maja vestida)
The Naked Maja (Spanish: La maja desnuda)
Both are by Francisco Goya, another Spanish painter, and painted between 1797 and 1800. Lucetta will have known these works well, and I suspect is deliberately suggesting the second, (perhaps as a subliminal idea, if her viewer e.g. Henchard was not as educated in the Arts).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_maja...
And now we also have the red dress 😲! What a choice - it suggests a scarlet woman! (I seem to remember this filtered into America society too eg. Gone With the Wind). Even in the early 20th century, English people would looks askance at a respectable female wearing a red dress.
Plus the act of ordering Paris - or Paris-type - fashions is the habit of a fashion-conscious, stylish woman. Most English females of this era bought fabric, and either made it up themselves if they were not well off, (Elizabeth-Jane would have done this) or had a favourite dressmaker to make it up for them, if they were genteel. Lucetta though is even bolder in making good use of her money to attract admirers! Her frank conversation with Elizabeth-Jane shows her thoughts, in this case, that she "would become" the person suggested by the gown.
Gosh, so many signals of what type of woman Lucetta is!
Erich and Jean Thank you both for the commentary on the paintings. I never thought about how our reclining Lucetta could be so artfully connected to some of the great European painters. The fact that she chooses a red dress completes -excuse my pun - the picture.
Jean wrote: Even in the early 20th century, English people would looks askance at a respectable female wearing a red dress.I suppose that Lucetta prefers reading the ancestor of Harlequin "Passion reds" (a subcategory of some collections of romance) and not the Bible, but I incidentally found this in Isaiah 1:28: "... though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (KJV).
This may partly explain people's mistrust towards red outfits. The red colour had also something devilish about it, hence people's mistrust. Perhaps Elizabeth-Jane sensed that in chapter 21: "There might be some devilry about her presence"
It's also shocking that Lucetta would be wearing a red dress since her aunt recently died and left her an inheritance. Even if she was out of full mourning, she should be still wearing somber colors. The cherry-colored dress is also at odds with trying to hide her past indiscretions in Jersey. It draws attention to her seductive nature.
Bridget, thank you for your insights in your chapter summaries.
Erich, I enjoyed the youtube recording of the ballad.
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This is an excellent point, Jean about Lucetta being educated in Europe and therefore knowing about these paintings. I had not thought of that, and I think that's true. Lucetta copies these poses in paintings in the same way that a modern young women might watch a movie and copy a flirtatious actress. Thank you for providing more examples of painted nudes, and more details. The link to the Velazquez painting was very interesting.
And I love the connections Jean, Claudia and Connie about making about the red dress. I completely forgot that Lucetta was still in mourning until Connie reminded us.
Thank you everyone for your comments. So much is happening, but it's time to post the next chapter . . . .
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Summary
Farfrae calls upon Lucetta, and while Lucetta insists that Elizabeth-Jane join them, Elizabeth-Jane is fully aware that she is excluded even while in the room. She thinks that Farfrae seems a different man from the one who danced with her. She, observing him, realizes that he must be the second man in Lucetta’s story.
Henchard, meanwhile, has found his affections for Lucetta increasing due to her inaccessibility and her growing beauty. Having realized that ignoring her is not working to increase her interest, Henchard calls on Lucetta while Elizabeth-Jane is not at home. Henchard tells her that she has his full consent to their being married, as they had planned before Susan’s return. Lucetta replies that it is still early for any such plans. He says he is happy to see her come into so much wealth, though it makes him feel awkward.
" 'Still, I wouldn't call in a hurry, because -- well you can guess how this money you've come intor made me feel.' His voice slowly fell; he was conscious that in this room his accents and manner wore a roughness not observable in the street."
Then he comments upon the fineness of her furniture, which she had brought from Bath.
Henchard says his proposal of their marriage will silence the gossip in Lucetta’s home town of Jersey, and Lucetta angrily replies that she did nothing wrong in Jersey, despite the talk of her connection with Henchard. She says that they should let things be for the present, and act as acquaintances.
A wagon of Farfrae’s, accompanied by the man himself, passes by the window, and if Henchard had been looking at Lucetta’s face at that moment, he would have seen the love shining there. Henchard, however, does not see this and points out that Lucetta came to Casterbridge for his sake and now will not give him the time of day.
After Henchard leaves, Lucetta passionately exclaims that she will not be a slave to the past by binding herself to Henchard, but instead that she will love Farfrae.
Elizabeth-Jane observes both Farfrae and Henchard’s love for Lucetta and her own invisibleness in comparison. She feels that such a situation is reasonable in Farfrae’s case, for who is she, she believes, next to Lucetta? But she feels some pain over being neglected by her own father. Elizabeth-Jane’s life has taught her to be good at renouncing her own emotions and interests. Life has given her things she did not want and kept away those things she did.
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Elizabeth-Jane has been established as an intuitive and observant character, further evidenced by her observation of Farfrae’s dramatic change, and her discernment of the truth of Lucetta’s story.
Henchard is more interested in Lucetta now that she is uninterested in him. As he attempted to keep near Elizabeth-Jane once he realized he would actually lose her, he again seems only to see the value of others when he is losing them.
When he proposes to Lucetta, there is no mention of love. Henchard is clearly interested in Lucetta’s wealth, as well as her beauty. It is a passionless proposal. It is made more as an obligation, or a business proposal, than as an act of love. And that is no longer what Lucetta wants, since she met Farfrae. .
Lucetta’s evasion of Henchard’s plan for their marriage shows her changed heart. It also shows her boldly sticking up for herself:
" 'my only crime was the indulging in a foolish girl's passion for you with too little regard for appearances, and that I was what I call innocent all the time they called me guilty, you ought not to be so cutting! "
A key sentence in the novel, Lucetta’s decision has a dramatic impact on multiple characters. Henchard, meanwhile, has been a slave to the past, with equally terrible consequences.
Lucetta would once have stopped at nothing to silence gossip about herself, whether or not she was in the wrong, but now that she has met Farfrae, she attempts to defend her actions in Jersey.
Henchard isn’t able to understand why Lucetta no longer seems interested. That he would have understood the expression on her face had he only seen it shows that he is not clueless about affairs of the heart.
Elizabeth-Jane's situation is painful because both her father (she thinks) and her love interest clearly prefer her companion to herself. Neither man attempts to still be kind or attentive to Elizabeth-Jane. Henchard is guided by his selfish interest in only his own feelings. Elizabeth-Jane, however, is used to the feeling of isolation.
I don't know if it is up to us, Bridget but I see it is late in Seattle, therefore I am posting (I can delete and repost if necessary)This chapter shows a juxtaposition of two misunderstandings.
Henchard does not understand why Lucetta's attitude has changed on the subject of their marriage. She wrote to him repeatedly, and seemed to want to "catch up" with him. She was even stretched on her couch in a languorous pose before he was expected to visit.
A tiny bit of Fate invited itself during Henchard's visit: Henchard did not see Farfrae's waggon passing by, nor did he notice Lucetta's look at that moment, only because he did not look up.
Elizabeth-Jane does not understand why her father is so cold and indifferent to her. In such cases anyone is quickly led to suppose, or trying to find a reason linked to them. She does not dare to ask him - even if he nearly revealed something (chapter 21). We remember that she asked "What have I done?", but Henchard answered that he would tell her if she stayed on as her daughter with him. Instead of telling the plain truth, he is trapping her in a mortiferous misunderstanding.
There is also an interesting duality between Lucetta, whose name means "little light" in Italian (Latin Lux, lucis means light and inspired names like Lucy, Lucette, Luz, and all the international variants), and accordingly attracts Farfrae's and Henchard's favours, while the altruistic Elizabeth-Jane, a woman with integrity, is kept in the shadows but intuitively understands more than the three others.
Lucetta is aptly pictured as Protean, which suggests a changeable, elusive person just like Proteus, a mythical character (we see him in The Odyssey) a shapeshifter who was able to transform himself into anything and could escape from those who wanted to grasp him, in contrast to the more stable and reliable Elizabeth-Jane. This is particularly evidenced in Lucetta's ability to change her attire from mourning clothes and a veil concealing her face, walking in a churchyard to a cherry coloured dress and accessories to match, and showing herself on the market-place near the new machine, which is equally attracting many curious onlookers.
Henchard is indeed a man of business. Even his proposal is more an anticipation of a business deal than an act of love. What a phrase from Henchard: ‘to give you my name in return for your devotion.’ In this chapter my thoughts swung to Elizabeth-Jane. Long suffering, it appears that both her father and her hoped for courtship with Farfrae have dissolved. Her mother is dead and she is living in the home of the woman who has become the centre of an emotional tug of war, where neither Farfrae nor Henchard have any interest in winning her love and affection.
I see the concept of loss becoming more and more prevalent. Elizabeth-Jane has lost her mother, her father’s care and Farfrae’s love attention. Henchard has lost his wife Susan, has given away his needed attention to Elizabeth-Jane, and apparently now lost the attention and love of Lucetta. As Lucetta gazed out her window and saw Farfrae with a loaded wagon I think that might well be a portend of Henchard also losing any advantage of a businessman to Farfrae as well. Henchard was first attracted to Farfrae’s skill as a manager of crops. Then Farfrae set himself up as a competitor in business, then Farfrae introduced the new technology of the machine to the town. Step by step, chapter by chapter, Henchard is slipping, losing his position as a businessman, a father, and a lover. I doubt if this decent is over yet.
I loved the Goyas, Jean, and your thoughts about what may have been in Lucetta's mind. She is certainly a protean and in stark contrast to Elizabeth-Jane, as Claudia points out. My thoughts went to Elizabeth-Jane too in this chapter. She has suffered many blows, however they seem to be driving her to strength and self-sufficiency (unlike Henchard and Lucceta, who turn to scheming after a disappointment). At this point, I feel she will land on her feet, regardless of what happens.
There is something theatrical about Lucetta's attitudes:...she dropped upon the sofa and jumped up again in a fit of desperation. “I will love him!” she cried passionately; “as for him—he’s hot-tempered and stern, and it would be madness to bind myself to him knowing that. I won’t be a slave to the past—I’ll love where I choose!”
Another revealing quote, which shows her versatility ("that is the way the wind blows") or a kind of adaptability:
"But Lucetta reasoned nothing: she feared hard words from the people with whom she had been earlier associated; she had no relatives left; and with native lightness of heart took kindly to what fate offered."
In perfect opposition to Elizabeth-Jane's poised reactions and analytical mind. I agree with you Kathleen, she is growing stronger and more self-sufficient amidst all the blows she has got so far, and admits to herself that Donald Farfrae was after all "her undeclared lover".
Peter wrote: "Henchard is indeed a man of business. Even his proposal is more an anticipation of a business deal than an act of love. What a phrase from Henchard: ‘to give you my name in return for your devotion..."Excellent points, Peter!
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Not a problem at all, Claudia!! I try to post as late as possible, so that you and Jean (and perhaps others) will have the posts when you wake up in the morning. I'm so glad you posted.
I agree with your comments about the juxtaposition and the duality. So much of that in this novel. First Henchard and Newsom, then Henchard and Farfrae. Now Elizabeth and Lucetta. Its quite clever writing, IMO
I'm growing to like Elizabeth more and more. I really liked the last paragraph of this chapter where she stays so positive in the midst of emotional pain and wonders what substitution Heaven might send her now that Farfrae's attentions are elsewhere.
I liked too how Peter talked about the theme of loss that is developing in this story. It strikes me that all of Henchard's losses come from his own actions. For instance, if he had just let Farfrae court Elizabeth then this romance between Lucetta and Farfrae probably would never have happened, and Henchard could be wooing her without competition.
Whereas the losses Elizabeth suffers, seem to come about through no action of her own. And yet she keeps her positive outlook on life. Like Kathleen says Elizabeth seems driven to self-sufficiency. Henchard just becomes more entrenched in himself and his gloomy, difficult ways. Very different reactions to loss. Oh, that is yet another duality ;-)
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Summary
One spring morning, Henchard and Farfrae pass each other on the street. Despite their cold relationship, Henchard stops to ask Farfrae a question, explaining how the second woman from his story, who he had planned to marry should he ever lose Susan, no longer wishes to marry him. Farfrae’s advice is that Henchard no longer owes her anything. Because Henchard looks up from reading a letter before asking about this woman, and because of Lucetta’s dramatically altered situation, Farfrae does not suspect them to be one and the same. And while Henchard suspects a rival for Lucetta’s affections, he does not realize it is Farfrae.
Henchard seeks another meeting with Lucetta and at this visit he intentionally mentions Farfrae’s name in order to see her reaction. During Henchard’s visit, Farfrae himself arrives, and during the tense visit, Henchard attempts to discern whether Farfrae is his rival. Despite Lucetta’s nervous behavior, he cannot be certain. Elizabeth-Jane, on the other hand, present, but outside of the game, observes everything. She can tell that Lucetta likes Farfrae and is unable to keep her eyes off him at certain points, which Henchard does not observe.
Henchard decides to hire the man who he had originally considered for the position of his business manager before meeting Farfrae, Joshua Jopp. Jopp remained in Casterbridge living in poor circumstances and readily accepts the job. Jopp is the only other person who knows Lucetta’s origin in Jersey, having lived there when Henchard did business in that area.
Henchard tells Jopp that they must drive Farfrae out of business by fair competition. Jopp dislikes Farfrae for having previously claimed his position as manager and is happy to go along with this plan. Elizabeth-Jane is troubled by Henchard’s choice of a new manager, but Henchard will not listen to her advice.
The bad weather seems to indicate a poor wheat crop that year, which favors Henchard and Jopp’s plan for driving Farfrae out of business. The farmers and the villagers of Casterbridge and the surrounding area depend entirely upon the weather, and its effect on the growth of wheat, for their livelihood and way or life.
Henchard decides to seek confirmation of the future bad weather from a hermit living outside the town who is famous for his weather predictions. Those who seek out this weather prophet’s advice always pretend that they will not take him seriously, and yet his services are sought, nonetheless. Henchard visits this man who predicts that the last fortnight in August will be rainy.
In answer to the knock Fall came to the door, candle in hand., Robert Barnes, 20 March 1886 (Part Twelve)
On the security of this information, Henchard buys a large amount of grain, planning to sell at great profit, once the bad weather means a poor harvest and not enough wheat and corn available. After this purchase, the weather suddenly becomes sunny and the price of grain drops. Henchard is forced to sell his grain before it rots when the price is much lower than the price he paid.
Farfrae sees Henchard in the marketplace and expresses his concern over Henchard’s business situation, hoping that his losses are not too bad. Despite his cheerful response to Farfrae at the time, Henchard had to go to the Casterbridge bank later that day. Leaving the bank, he sees Jopp who he shoves up against the wall, blaming the manager for bad advice and for his current situation. Jopp swears that Henchard will be sorry for this accusation.
” ‘You shall be sorry for this, sir; sorry as a man can be!’ “
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Henchard and Farfrae’s passing encounter on the street reveals that the friendship that once existed between the two men has not been completely lost. Farfrae does not realize that that advice he gives Henchard—to give up on the woman who is no longer interested in him—benefits his own situation. Henchard’s discernment about Lucetta’s character only acknowledges that her lack of interest in him must be because she is interested in someone else.
When the principle players in this confusing love triangle are all in the same room, Elizabeth-Jane is more discerning than Henchard. She realizes the truth, whereas Henchard cannot be sure. Henchard is both less subtle than Elizabeth-Jane and more blinded by his own interests in the situation.
Henchard’s decision to hire Jopp reintroduces him into the story, despite his presence in Casterbridge all along. The detail about Jopp’s knowledge of Lucetta’s past in Jersey foreshadows his connection to the secret between Lucetta and Henchard, and his ability to reveal the truth.
Henchard, although wishing to defeat Farfrae, plans to do so through fair competition. He believes himself the superior businessman. Elizabeth-Jane, once again, has an intuitive sense of the problems arising.
The weather and nature form a backdrop for this novel, an infrequent, but recurring reminder of the town’s dependency on the harvest for their basic survival needs. The weather hermit is both scoffed at and believed by the local people.
”He was sometimes astonished that men could profess so little and believe so much at his house when at church they professed to much and believed so little.”
The way his visitors pretend they will not take him seriously reflects a surface-level distrust of superstitious information. However, these people are, at heart, deeply superstitious.
Henchard’s purchasing and selling of grain is exactly what he ought not to have done given the weather. By trying to predict the weather, his business is hurt more dramatically, which shows that the weather is a force beyond human control.
Although Henchard pretends his losses are not too dramatic in front of Farfrae, they are, in fact, very significant. Henchard blames Jopp for the failure, showing his inability to recognize and admit his own faults in the face of Farfrae’s continued success.
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When Henchard and Farfrae are together at Lucetta’s house, Hardy writes
”They sat stiffly side by side at the darkening table, like some Tuscan painting of the two disciples supping at Emmaus”.
This is a reference to Luke 24:13-35. In this passage, two of Christ’s followers, are joined by a stranger while travelling to Emmaus. On arrival, he dines with them and reveals himself as the risen Christ. In Hardy’s invocation of the scene, Lucetta, “the third figure”, is made ironically analogous to Christ.
Given Hardy’s frequent visits to the National Gallery during his time in London he may well have had in mind the version there of The Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio. Although this is not a “Tuscan painting”, it is the most famous rendering of the scene and a shadow cast by a serving man creates a dark haloed effect around the head of Christ, and in a previous version of the novel Lucetta is "the third and haloed figure".
Here is the painting.
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Mixen Lane - where Jopp has ended up, is likely Mill Street, Dorchester. It’s location is much as Hardy describes it, though the poor cottages no longer exist.
Like Saul at his reception by Samuel - (See 1 Samuel 9) The story Hardy is referring to goes like this. Unable to find his father’s lost asses, Saul goes to consult Samuel, whom God has already prepared for Saul’s arrival. When Samuel tells Saul that the asses are already found, he intimates God’s further purpose for him, and invites him to dine on food already prepared in anticipation of his arrival, Saul is deeply puzzled
Cure the evil - when Mr. Fall talks about “curing the evil”, he is really talking about scrofula, or tuberculosis, formerly known as “this king’s evil,” because it was supposedly curable by the touch of a king. Fall’s toad cures for the same complaint were well known to Hardy, as an 1876 diary entry shows:
”Toad Fair’ And old man, a wizard, used to bring toads’ legs in little bas to Bagber Bridge . . . where he was met by crowds of people who came in vehicles and on foot, and bought them as charms to cure scrofula by wearing them round the neck. These legs were supposed to twitch occasionally in the bag, and probably did, when it gave the wearer’s blood a “turn”, and changed the course of the disease”.
Over to you . . . I feel this was a densely packed chapter. So many things happened. It almost feels like it should have been two chapters.
Elizabeth-Jane, being out of the game, and out of the group, could observe all from afar, like the evangelist who had to write it down: that there were long spaces of taciturnity, when all exterior circumstances were subdued to the touch of spoons and china, the click of a heel on the pavement under the window, the passing of a wheelbarrow or cart, the whistling of the carter, the gush of water into householders’ buckets at the town-pump opposite, the exchange of greetings among their neighbours, and the rattle of the yokes by which they carried off their evening supply.Sorry for this long quotation, but I found the skilful enumeration, even dissection, of the various sounds Elizabeth-Jane-the-observer perceived so fantastic! It definitely corresponds to the reality.
Great background information, Bridget!
I found the scene so interesting. It is compared to the picture you mentioned. The Emmaus scene was definitely a favourite subject for painters and the walk of the disciples on the road to Emmaus and the partaking of the bread there it is one of the passages I prefer in the whole Bible.
More profanely, the halo around Lucetta corroborates the meaning of her name and the fact that she attracts light and everyone's attention while Elizabeth-Jane stays "outside of the circle" and in the shadows.
Elizabeth-Jane is in her role as an observer but also in the position of Luke the evangelist who described the scene at Emmaus in his Gospel. Luke was also a good writer who knew how to keep his readers alert. He is said to be the author of the Acts too.
In my opinion, Elizabeth-Jane is sometimes, even often appearing as the omniscient narrator who is stepping "outside of the circle" - the plot - and observes the alchemy of the protagonists and makes decisions in his mind on "What next?"
At the beginning of the novel she was very instrumental in supporting her mother and even leading her into action, and even making action possible, (going to the Mariner's Inn after she had overheard the stranger with a carpet bag going there, etc), just like the narrator who is leading us through the story.
And Jopp? He is the ticking bomb par excellence. He has been staying in Casterbridge all the time and he is in possession of information others are not. Moreover his words suggest an underlying and strong determination for nuisance and vengeance against Henchard.Like in Les Misérables, he is now revealing himself as the main character's nemesis, a mixture of (view spoiler).
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This is a great observation Bridget, perfectly contrasting the two. And Peter and other's concern for Elizabeth-Jane, who functions as an observer in these scenes (as Claudia rightly pointed out) matches mine. Poor Elizabeth-Jane - and how skilful of Thomas Hardy to convey so effectively the emotions and attitude of someone who is an observer, and not centre stage at all!
(Sorry for the backtrack! I was in Thomas Hardy's "Port Bredy" (Bridport) yesterday, 14 miles from "Casterbridge" at a folk festival in Bucky Doo Square (in the town centre). Some of the traditional sets really did make me think of Thomas Hardy leafing through his family's pile of sheet music and humming to himself 🙂)
On to today ...
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(Is this OK Bridget?)
A "mixen" is literally a place to lay dung!
As you say, Mixen Lane was a real place in Dorchester - actually in Fordingham ("Durnover") - described later as "a squalid area of slum dwellings where the only things that flourished were vice and crime". Most of the cottages had been pulled down by the time of the novel in 1884-5.
When Lucetta suggested that Elizabeth-Jane visit the museum:
It is an old house in a back street" she meant 3 Trinity St., a fine 18th century town house in Dorchester, functioning as the County Museum after 1851. Trinity St was then known as South Back Street:
(attributed to cmyk)
Thomas Hardy was one of the founders. Little did he know that so much of it would be devoted to him later! 🙂
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorset_...
The episode today in ch 26, where Henchard and Farfrae meet by accident:
"in the chestnut-walk which ran along the south end of the town"
as you probably guessed, refers again to the Roman Wall. South Walk follows the course of the Roman Wall from The Junction at the end of South St to Icen Way.
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I like the way that Thomas Hardy keeps both the farming year and the Corn laws central to the action:
"The time was in the years immediately before foreign competition had revolutionized the trade in grain; when still, as from the earliest ages, the wheat quotations from month to month depended entirely upon the home harvest."
So the fates of two main characters - at least within this chapter - seem determined by this "progress" in society, allied with the old superstitions of the weather-prophet. Henchard of course is angry with himself for believing something he knows is unreliable. But if he had not been so resentful of Farfrae, he would not have invested such a risky amount.
So this is twice recently that country folk and their traditions have impacted the main characters' actions. The other time was when Farfrae kindly employed a man who would otherwise have been separated from his sweetheart, just because Lucetta asked him to, as they watched the scene from her drawing room.
But Thomas Hardy also used that occasion to remind us of the dual aspect of Farfrae's nature: at the same time both romantic and businesslike. Farfrae admits that if he had not needed the worker, he would not have taken him on.
The other thing that occurs to me is that ironically, neither Henchard nor Farfrae are aware of the other's motivations, whereas all-seeing Elizabeth-Jane is.
Jopp was promised a place, had it taken away, lived in poverty, was hired as a second choice, blamed for Henchard's losing gamble, and then dismissed. He has a lot to revenge as well as information about Lucetta's background and her past with Henchard. Not only that, but he "had regularly watched Henchard in the market-place, measured him, and learnt him, by virtue of the power which the still man has in his stillness of knowing the busy one better than he knows himself." It is likely that he also knows about the love triangle. A very dangerous character!I loved the scene when Lucetta offered bread to the two men and they grabbed the same piece!
Caravaggio and Barnes. Well, this might be a stretch but let’s see if my thoughts go anywhere. When I think of Caravaggio my mind goes directly to his use of light and darkness. Many of his paintings depict religious themes, and within this impression the words that come to my mind are sight and insight. What a viewer sees is a picture, a portrayal of an event, a rendering of a Biblical passage, an appeal by Caravaggio to look beneath the surface of the painting. With the Barnes illustration of this chapter (but most of this preceding one’s as well) we experience an artist who depends on the contrast of light and dark to create his image. Now, Barnes’s illustrations are illustrations using black and white and, so naturally, contrast becomes an important part of portraying his work. But let’s look a bit deeper at his illustration for this chapter.
In the forefront left we have Henchard. His body is bathed in very dark grey or black. He is in the act of covering his face with his coat. He wants to remain incognito, to be black. His body occupies the entire left side of the illustration. His body takes on a powerful, dark, and exaggerated presence in the illustration.
In the right side of the illustration we have Fall. My what a cratylic name that is, and it anticipates what will occur in the last part of the chapter. Irony exists in his figure as he holds a candle. It is he who is depicted as the person bathed in light. He is not however, a man of light or knowledge. The path to his home, his reputation amongst the surrounding area, and his presence in front of his door all portend chance, confusion. Consider how Henchard gets to Fall’s door. The way in is a circuitous route. Henchard must pass through a portal of the known world and enter into the unknown world of Fall.
Light is most often used to suggest sight and insight. Fall’s candle illuminates his character but the trick of light is a false sign. Henchard does not gain either sight or insight from Fall.
Isn’t it eerie that Fall was waiting for Henchard? Fall had prepared a meal for Henchard. These two bits of information could take us farther down an interpretive rabbit hole. For now, however, let’s just enjoy the Barnes illustration. That, and thank Caravaggio for his genius.
Wow! So much important detail in these last two chapters. Thank you all for your interesting perspectives. I too think that Elizabeth-Jane is gaining not only perspective on those around her but an added maturity to the waxing and waning of love. It is indeed exciting to see her realizing what is happening between the threesome.Thanks, too, for the images and an explanation of the details and relationships reflected in them.
I'm still ruminating on Chap 25 and Elizabeth-Jane's situation. I'm not seeing the strength that many of you have. First, I think the tension in the room with the four of them must have been palpable, yet Farfrae seems to be oblivious.How awful for EJ to feel invisible during this visit, The pain she experienced from the almost absolute obliviousness to her existence Despite that feeling, she does also sees the humor in the fawning of the two men over Lucetta but she could not help asking what she had done to be neglected so. She then seems to accept her fate, but I don't think the phrase what unwished-for thing heaven might send her is particularly hopeful or optimistic about her future.
Loved the comments comparing the various paintings to the scene with all of them together.
In addition to the general third-person narration, Hardy gives special attention to Elizabeth-Jane's thoughts as a way to tell us the truth about the other characters. Elizabeth-Jane is quiet, but very observant. Unlike some of the other characters, she is not devious so the reader feels like her observations are reliable. She can see everyone making their moves in the love triangle of Lucetta, Farfrae, and Henchard.I've enjoyed everyone's observations about the paintings and the illustrations.
Peter wrote: "Caravaggio and Barnes. Well, this might be a stretch but let’s see if my thoughts go anywhere. When I think of Caravaggio my mind goes directly to his use of light and darkness. Many of his paintin..."Yes. Exciting interpretation, Peter.
The name of the local weather forecaster, the way to his house and the description of his abode, the laurels and ivy and the heavy rain, the fact that Fall had prepared an apparently engaging meal and set the table and invited Henchard sounds as ominous as an oracle. It reminded me of Croesus's downfall after having misinterpreted the message from the Oracle at Delphi.
The way Jopp is watching Henchard go sounds as ominous: "Jopp, standing pale, and looking after the corn-merchant as he disappeared in the crowd of market-men hard by."
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Claudia, I too loved that quote, and I'm so glad you copied it in full. The way Hardy describes all the sounds that Elizabeth observes, made me feel as if I was in the room with her, observing by her side.
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This is a great observation Bridget,..."
Jean, that sounds like a lovely day. Going to a folk festival sounds almost like going to a fair during Hardy's era. Thank you for sharing that with us. I feel more and more connected to Hardy's Wessex, every time you tell us more about the area in the present day. Like the picture of the museum Elizabeth went to, I would never have guessed it was some that grand if you hadn't shown us.
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Peter, your interpretations and analysis of the many illustrations and paintings so far have been excellent. Thank you. You really got me thinking about how Fall had a meal laid out for Henchard when he arrived, perhaps he's a real teller of the future and not fake at all.
I totally agree with everyone who pointed out that Jopp is eerie, and one to be watched! Serious foreshadowing there!!
And now onto the next chapter
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Summary
The low prices of grain cause Farfrae to buy after Henchard has resold his grain and lost a significant amount of money. After three days of fair weather, at the end of August bad weather arrives and the harvest is poor. Farfrae who purchased at low prices before the harvest is able to make a large profit as prices rise. Henchard feels as if someone must have been making a voodoo doll of him to bring him such bad luck.
Henchard frets that Farfrae will soon be mayor, stepping up to fill the leadership position in town that Henchard once filled. Soon their workers take on the dispute between Henchard and Farfrae. One September evening, Elizabeth-Jane and Lucetta hear angry voices outside and discover a collision between two wagons in the narrow street, one driven by one of Henchard’s men, and the other wagon belonging to Farfrae. Henchard’s wagon spills and the two workers come to blows.
Henchard arrives and, seeing the state of his wagon, yells at Farfrae’s man. Elizabeth-Jane and Lucetta run down into the street, and Lucetta and Elizabeth both say that they saw it all, and that Henchard’s man was most in the wrong. Henchard’s man fires up that the women aren’t trustworthy in what they saw, as all women favor Farfrae. Lucetta and Elizabeth-Jane retreat inside before Henchard is able to speak with them and clear up his employee’s accusation about women.
As Henchard stands in the street, the constable arrives and asks him to fill in for the mayor, who is out of town, for a trial of an old woman to be held the next day. After agreeing to this, Henchard knocks at Lucetta’s door only to be told that she cannot see him that evening, as she has a prior engagement. Henchard hides nearby and watches her door, and at nine o’clock he sees Farfrae arrive and leave on a moonlit walk with Lucetta.
Henchard follows them, but to avoid meeting them face-to-face hides in the field where they are walking and overhears their conversation. He hears them express their love for one another. Lucetta says she ”should wish to have my own way in some things” and that she may not always want to live in Casterbridge. Henchard returns to Lucetta’s house and in his agitation opens her door, walks in, and waits for her return in her drawing room.
Lucetta returns and Henchard presses her about her connection to him, alluding to their past in Jersey. He says that it is wrong of her to “throw him over”. She says she only came to Casterbridge because she believed she ought to marry Henchard, not because she liked him any longer. While she does not explain this, it is clear that her duty and conscience ruled until new love intervened. Henchard says that unless she agrees to marry him, he will reveal their history, out of fairness to other men. Lucetta bitterly agrees. The narrator notes had she settled upon any man other than Farfrae, Henchard might have taken pity upon her in that moment.
Elizabeth-Jane is sent for to serve as a witness. Lucetta swears to marry Henchard and then faints. Elizabeth-Jane implores her father not to force Lucetta to do anything that so clearly pains her: ”Don’t compel her to do anything against her will. I have lived with her and know that she cannot bear much”. Henchard points out that this course of action will leave “him” free for Elizabeth-Jane, but Elizabeth-Jane insists that there is no one to whom the “him” could refer.
After Henchard leaves, Elizabeth-Jane asks Lucetta how Henchard can have this much power over her, and why she calls him Michael, as if she knows him very well. Lucetta will not confess, but Elizabeth-Jane says she will try to reason with her father, until Lucetta says only, “no, no, let it all be.”
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Farfrae times his purchases and sales perfectly with the weather and thrives. Henchard attributes his own bad luck and Farfrae’s good luck to luck or forces outside of their control (like a voodoo doll) rather than attribute the difference to their different business styles.
Henchard and Farfrae’s workers show surprising loyalty to both their masters. Perhaps this loyalty is based on their desires to maintain their respective master’s business and their own jobs.
When Henchard yells at Farfrae’s man, Lucetta supports the worker’s actions. Henchard’s worker interprets this as favoritism rather than honesty. Of course it’s wrong to assume all women behave in a certain way, but the generalization also reinforces Farfrae’s popularity among many people in Casterbridge.
The detail of Henchard filling in on a trial the next day seems curious. He is no longer mayor, but perhaps he still has some authority in the town.
Henchard spies on Lucetta and Farfrae, demonstrating how far he is willing to go, at this point, to discover their connection. A connection which seems so obvious to Elizabeth, who doesn’t have to go to extreme spying to come to the same conclusion.
Henchard overhearing Farfrae and Lucetta’s conversation functions as a literary device for the reader to overhear the conversation as well. Henchard’s agitation and reaction frames the conversation, but the reader is also able to witness the connection between the two younger people.
Henchard confronts Lucetta and attempts to control her actions through his threat of revealing their past together, in the typical bullying fashion we’ve seen him use before with others. His reaction to overhearing her conversation with Farfrae is not sadness, but anger, and he tries to control her when he can no longer win her love. Even though, we’ve really not seen Henchard offer Lucetta love at any point. That might have been a successful avenue, if only he had those feelings to lead him down that path. Lucetta’s change of heart shows the power duty has over her feeling of love.
Elizabeth-Jane must serve as the witness to Lucetta and Henchard’s promise to marry, which means she is the only other character fully aware of the truth of the situation. (more secrets!) Lucetta’s faint demonstrates her emotional distress and leads to an interesting observation from Elizabeth about Lucetta – her outward appearance is a strong woman, but she easily crumbles.
Lucetta will not confess her secret to Elizabeth-Jane despite the other woman’s involvement in the situation, demonstrating her inability to speak the secret aloud.
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Then we have the awful encounter between Lucetta and Henchard, which just feels like entrapment with absolutely no love. I was so impressed with Lucetta when she said this of her past with Henchard:
”It came to nothing; and through you. Then why not leave me the freedom that I gained with such sorrow! Had I found you proposed to marry me for pure love I might have felt bound now. But I soon learnt that you had planned it out of mere charity – almost as an unpleasant duty . . . After that I did not care for you so deeply as before”
This sounds like the speech of a strong, determined woman, and I was really rooting for her to win the argument. But in the end the sense of duty was too much for her and she gave in. Ah, but for a moment, I was hopeful she wouldn’t.
Over to you . . .
Remember Tuesday is a free day. We will resume with Chapter 28 on Wednesday, and it will be with a new Thread #4.
Interesting juxtaposition of two opposite scenes (love vs coercion and duty), Bridget! The cart accident was a mirror image of Farfrae's and Henchard's antagonisms. Farfrae's mostly calm, composed attitude, sincerity vs Henchard's haste, impulsiveness and bullying. Henchard is indeed incriminating "some power working against him" and thinks more of sorcery or voodoo (a miniature doll with pins representing him), not of his impulsiveness, his lack of patience or an error of judgement, all connected together. However, he had already a similar thought earlier in chapter 19, when he discovered that Elizabeth-Jane was not his daughter and saw "the scheme of some sinister intelligence bent on punishing him."
There are three lines by the constable about a woman to appear in a court in the Town Hall and Henchard is to substitute the Mayor. Just a tiny fact? I am always attentive to tiny facts in Thomas Hardy's novels.
Thank you Jean particularly for the picture showing the Museum where Lucetta sent Elizabeth-Jane to. She mentioned among other objects to be worth seeing "skeletons and teeth". There are definitely many skeletons in some cupboards here and probably also teeth lurking in the darkness.
Bridget and Claudia Excellent summary and observations. I continue to be amazed how much content Hardy can pack into a single chapter. Henchard’s musings about his poor luck which he ascribes to the possibility of someone having a voodoo doll was humourous. At one point he says ‘I don’t believe in such power’ and yet it was himself who chose to go see Fall, somewhat like Macbeth freely choosing to visit the witches. Perhaps, like Macbeth, Henchard produces his own voodoo on himself.
There is a strong sense of duty in this chapter. For all her earlier apparent strengths, Lucetta’s acceptance of Henchard's proposal shows how strong the rules of propriety were in the 19C. Elizabeth-Jane is much more aware of Lucetta’s depth of character than either Henchard or Farfrae.
There are indeed skeletons and teeth that seem to hover over all the characters in the novel. What are the skeletons and secrets of the past yet to revealed and what will be the angry teeth that will harm everyone in the future we can only anticipate.
A last thought. The fact that Henchard entered Lucetta’s house without being invited I found to be a very interesting and revealing characteristic that anticipated the events that occurred after Lucetta returned to her own house. To me, it was an act of aggression, of brutality, of domination. There is even an anticipation of Freud all wrapped up in that one action. It is interesting that Henchard sought Fall’s prognostications but refused to enter his home; with Lucetta, however, he enters without an invitation to bully and control her mind and self esteem.
Peter wrote:[Henchard entering Lucetta's house without being invited] was an act of aggression, of brutality, of domination. There is even an anticipation of Freud all wrapped up in that one action. It is interesting that Henchard sought Fall’s prognostications but refused to enter his home; with Lucetta, however, he enters without an invitation to bully and control her mind and self esteem.Absolutely right, Peter!
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In the beginning, neither Lucetta nor Elizabeth-Jane realizes that they are interested in the same man because the two women, despite their companionship, confess very little to each other. They never seem to have a strong friendship.
Lucetta’s gaudy dress stands in sharp contrast to Elizabeth-Jane’s more modest way of dressing. Lucetta, unlike Elizabeth-Jane, wishes to draw attention to herself, as evidenced by her showy dress.
Then there is a new machine arriving in Casterbridge. What will the farming community make of the modern addition to their trade? Henchard dismisses it as inconsequential. But Farfrae is intrigued by it.
I found it interesting that there is a new dress, and a new machine introduced to us in this chapter. It gave me the impression of certain characters embracing more modern ways, like Farfrea and Lucetta. In fact, Lucetta is compared to the machine. Hardy says the only appropriate possessor of the new machine seemed to be Lucetta, because she alone rivalled it in color". Henchard dismisses the machine as inconsequential, indicating his unwillingness to embrace the future. Or at least a future that includes change!
Elizabeth-Jane and Lucetta each have their own set of worries: Elizabeth-Jane for her lost connection with her “father,” Lucetta for her reputation. Elizabeth-Jane makes it clear that she holds the standards of propriety as highly important.
Elizabeth-Jane confronts Lucetta about seeing Farfrae, an act of boldness surprising for her character. This boldness may be due to Elizabeth-Jane’s repressed jealousy. Lucetta presents her “confession” as a story about another woman. She is wary of admitting any fault of her own, or exposes her secret, even to Elizabeth-Jane.
Elizabeth-Jane is able to see through Lucetta’s pretense, which shows both her intuition and Lucetta’s difficulty concealing her emotions. Lucetta does not trust Elizabeth-Jane or see her as a true friend. She has only used her presence to her advantage.
Over to you. . . .and remember tomorrow (Friday) is a free day. We will resume with Chapter 25 on Saturday.