Michael Henchard the Mayor of Casterbridge

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The untimely demise of Michael Henchard the Mayor of Casterbridge. Henchard can never escape the events of his past. What do you think drives Henchard to his end? All page references are for the new windmill classics version. -------------------------------------------------------------- There are many factors which lead to the untimely demise of Michael Henchard "the Mayor of Casterbridge". Some of these factors are partly down to bad luck whereas some of the more important ones are down to the bad decisions that he makes. To find out why Henchard actually does make such devastating mistakes one has to look closely at his character. Henchard is a proud man with a short temper. This is probably the worst combination of traits possible in any man. This is because once he makes a decision he cannot possibly go back on it as this will impinge, or so he thinks, on his majestic reputation. This unforgiving nature also leads to the finalising of the deal to sell Susan and Elizabeth-Jane for five guineas. Even when Susan gives him the chance to back down when she says "Before you go further Michael, listen to me. If you touch that money, I and this girl go with the man. Mind, it is a joke no longer." (page 12) Henchard refuses to back down. I think that this is because he is in front of the crowd and greatly emboldened by the illicit rum that he drank in the furmity even though he will greatly regret it later. Another of Henchard's traits also leads to his downfall. This is his objective way of looking at things. He always takes things at face value and never thinks to look beyond the cover of a situation. One example of just such a situation is the twenty-one year vow that he takes to never touch alcohol when he realises that he has sold his wife and child to Newson. When the vow expires, instead of only drinking in moderation, as he would have done before he took the vow, he waits until the very day that the vow times out and immediately goes out and gets as drunk as possible in the three mariners. All of these characteristics lead to Henchard being very poor at making friends but very good in the business world due to his inability to back down and the way that he can make a decision very quickly without first thinking about the consequences. This characteristic works not only for but against him also. When we first hear of Henchard being the mayor of Casterbridge it is when the women in the square talk of "the corn-factor-he's the man that all our millers and bakers deal

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