In Chapter V, an upset mob of peasants demands an explanation from Henchard, who is now the mayor, about the bad wheat crop. He responds,
“If anybody will tell me how to turn grown wheat into wholesome wheat I’ll take it back with pleasure. But it can’t be done.”
This statement shows that Henchard, at least briefly, understands that the past cannot be righted by present actions. But for whatever reason, he obviously does not internalize this, because he repeatedly tries to atone for his prior mistakes. There are many examples of this. After he drunkenly sells his wife and child, he makes an oath not to drink alcohol for twenty-one years, the same number of years that he has been alive. Then, soon after he is reacquainted with Susan, he decides to remarry her, a woman he never really loved, as a way to make amends with the injustice he did her nearly twenty years earlier. In Chapter XXVIII, while Henchard sits at his job as magistrate, the furmity woman recognizes him as the man who sold his wife and asks how such a man can judge her. While the people in the courtroom believe this to be a fabrication, Henchard admits it to be the truth and leaves. He could have easily laughed her off as a crazy old woman with everyone else. All of these examples leave us to wonder, why does he set himself up for misery, guilt, and self-depreciation? Henchard truly believes that by feeling the heavy burden of guilt, he will somehow be forgiven for his injuries. In turn, the reader is forced to look upon him in a softer, more forgiving light, because he is willing these pains upon himself in an effort to make things right, which is commonly believed to be part of human decency. However, while the reader is feeling sorry for Henchard, she momentarily forgets that he got himself into this distressing position. It is probably not until a later discussion or analysis of the novel that this discrepancy in reaction becomes a point of interest.
When I tried to answer this question myself, I found it nearly impossible to remove one aspect from the other. Yes, Henchard did set himself up for failure. Yes, he is doing what he believes will correct the problem. But which is more important, the fact that he made terrible decisions or the fact that he is willing to accept that they were made and try to fix them? I believe that Henchard’s ability and willingness to bear the suffering and resist suicide are the most important side of the novel. It is only through punishing himself that he becomes somewhat of a hero. This cycle of misery is what his entire character is based on. Without it, he would push his pain onto other characters and we would see him as a despicable man, bitter at the world and unwilling to see his faults. However, Henchard does wish to better himself, and therefore should be seen as a sympathetic character.
