Why did Michael Henchard fail?

Why did Michael Henchard fail?

The Mayor of Casterbridge is a novel about the rise and fall of a

mercurial man called Michael Henchard. The book takes us through his

life when he is twenty-one and outlines his ascent and descent in

society.

Michael Henchard is a man of many characteristics. Amongst his

characteristics he has a kind, honest and determined personality along

with a cold, ruthless, and stubborn personality. Henchard's

impulsiveness, aggressive attitude, self-centredness made failure

inevitable in his life.

We first meet Henchard a disconsolate twenty-one year old hay-trusser,

he is married with a young daughter. We see Henchard sell his wife and

daughter in a drunken rage in furmity tent at a county fair. At first

it was a bit of a joke, a friendly banter but then it turned nasty.

The two main reasons for Henchard not backing down from his offer of a

wife and daughter this was alcohol and his pride. Alcohol played a big

part in Henchard's mistakes in life. He often regrets things after he

does them, and suffers the consequences like the fact that he sold his

wife and daughter to a sailor whom he had not known, a complete

stranger for five guineas. It stays on his conscience and haunts him.

Henchard was young and naive and felt that his wife and daughter were

a burden upon him, and he felt he needed a new start. The sale of his

wife and daughter suggests Henchard is childish and stubborn. It is

almost as if when Henchard is under the influence of alcohol he turns

into a aggressive child saying ''No I said I will sell my wife and

daughter, I don't care what happens I said i will and I will!''

The next morning Henchard knows that he has committed a terrible sin,

but the fact that Hencha...

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...hard is now declared bankrupt and in front of the creditors throws

down his gold watch rather childishly. He would do this because he is

a very proud man and he wants nothing.

''He had used his one talent of energy to create a position of

affluence out of absolutely nothing.''

One thing about Michael Henchard is that you have to admire him for

what he has achieved in his life, his energy, aspirations and

determination allowed him to do this. But the only problem is that

Henchard is too impulsive and acts n emotions, and does not think

before he acts. That is why he failed in life. I also believe that

fate played a big part in his failure. For example the weather

forecast, he acted on impulsion and he did not think about the

accuracy of the reading.

So overall I think that Michael Henchard's character contributed to

his failure along with pure fate.