The Mayor of Casterbridge

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Kate Alexander                                The Mayor of Casterbridge Essay

        The novel is set in about 1830 “before the nineteenth century had reached one third of its span.” The events I am studying take place in the large village of Weydon-Priors in Upper Wessex in a tent at the fair; where furmity is sold. There are two main characters called Michael and Susan Henchard, they have a baby daughter called Elizabeth Jane who is about six months old.

        Michael Henchard is a poor man; you can tell this because him and his family are walking everywhere and they’re plainly dressed in working clothes “They were plainly but not ill clad.”  His relationship with his wife, Susan, appears to be a quiet one, with neither of them showing obvious signs of affection towards each other “Sometimes the man’s bent elbow almost touched her shoulder, for she kept as close to his side as possible without actual contact.” There seems to be complete silence between the couple, the only noise from the family was the whisper of Susan to her daughter “If any word at all were uttered it was an occasional whisper of the woman to the child.”

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        Once at the fair Michael Henchard and his family go into a tent where furmity is sold. It is whilst in this tent that Michael sells his wife. The family have furmity, Michael has his furmity laced with rum to add flavour to the mixture “He winked to her, and passed up his basin in reply to her nod; when she took a bottle from under the table, slyly measured out a quantity of its contents, and tipped the same into the man’s furmity.  The liquor poured in was rum.”  After a few more measure of rum, Michael is intoxicated ...

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