After Michael Henchard sells his wife and baby to a sailor while inebriated, he regrets it deeply. A thorough search for them proves futile, so he swears to abstain from alcohol for the next 21 years and settles in Casterbridge, where he becomes a respected and wealthy citizen. 18 years later his wife and daughter come to the same town looking for him and Henchard’s downfall takes its course.
The storyline is nothing special here, it essentially reads like a soap opera. Almost every character seems to have a secret from the past hanging over his or her head, that of course rears its ugly head in due course. There are romantic entanglements, unfortunate coincidences and lucky happenings, and a whole lot of heartache. However, the book excels in the examination of the nature of its protagonists, especially Henchard’s.
He is a dislikeable man that commits a shocking act of cruelty when he sells his family to the highest bidder, and it happens because of his pride, selfishness, and a temper that causes him to do things he immediately regrets time after time. Basically, he is his own worst enemy and while some of his character traits helped him to become a successful businessman and finally mayor, they hinder him in his personal relationships. When his family returns to him, only he himself is the reason for the dwindling of his fortunes, and although he is aware of this he is nonetheless powerless against it. While all this doesn’t absolve him from the suffering he has caused his family, it does make him painfully human.
The characters that are worth rooting for are definitely the women, especially the daughter Elizabeth-Jane. Her struggles in finding her place in the world amid the constraints of society and her tumultuous relations to Henchard made her relatable and engaging to me and I really wanted a happy end for her. On top of Hardy’s keen observations of human nature, his use of language is just beautiful and makes this book an enjoyable and entertaining read.