Many years later when Susan arrived in Casterbridge she saw him at… ‘the great public dinner for gentle people’… where next to each person was a beer glass, apart from Michael whose tumbler contained water. This was how Susan discovered a hint about his vow.
Michael never really had any true friends in Casterbridge and this may explain why he vigorously befriended Donald Farfrae when he arrived. Some may think that one of the disasters that Michael made was how he confided in Farfrae, even though he was a stranger. However, I do not think that we can fault him for sharing his innermost secrets, as he had had to cope with so many problems alone, for so long. Does this event mark him down as overly trusting or just naïve?
Another disaster came when he handed the Lucetta’s ‘love letters’ to Jopp, believing that he would follow his instructions and take them to her, so their secret would remain intact. However this was not to be the case. Jopp read some of the letters to the people of the town in the pub, Peter’s Finger. This lead to Henchard and Lucetta being publicly humiliated as everyone became aware of their previous sexual relationship. This resulted in the death of Lucetta. Another example of something important that only rates a passing mention. No context. No quotation. No analysis. Little credit. This was not Michael’s intention; he was simply unlucky that Jopp betrayed his trust. Why did he not avoid this problem by delivering the letters himself? Jopp resented Henchard (say why) so where was the sense in giving emotional dynamite to a man who would be glad of the weapon to use against Henchard? Remember, Jopp did not like Lucetta either (say why).
When Mrs Goodenough, the owner of the furmity tent where Henchard sold Susan, arrived in the town, she chose to repeat the tale of that day in Henchard’s past. It took place in court in front of many people, some of whom were respected. Detail the circumstances. Use quotation. How did Henchard handle this? This meant Henchard lost the respect of many, which meant he lost his position as magistrate. This is what started the downward spiral in his life.
There were other times when things did not go Michael’s way. An example of this was when he put on a grand fair and it rained and so the entire thing was ruined. Comment on his judgement – an outdoor event with no shelter in England! This meant that the entire town ended up going to Donald Farfrae’s fair, as his was sheltered from the storm. Another unfortunate deal for Henchard was when he brought a lot of corn, then had to sell it at a hard loss, as the bad harvest he had predicted did not come as soon as he had expected. This situation needs to be analysed. It tells us much of his character and allows us to judge him.
Out of almost every loss Henchard has had Farfrae and had success so it could be said that Donald Farfrae himself was a disaster in Michael Henchard’s life. Not in his life, but certainly in Henchard’s eyes. You need to look a lot harder at his judgements of Farfrae’s role in his fate. Michael is told of how people say that he… ‘can’t hold a candle to Farfrae’. I believe that this is not fair. The town’s people seem to have forgotten Henchard’s success before Farfrae’s arrival.
I believe that the statement in the title, ‘Henchard’s life was a series of disasters,’ is true, but he does deserve sympathy.
We feel sorry for him because he went from nothing, to achieving so much and then back to having nothing at all. The unfortunate changes in Henchard’s life make us feel sympathy for him.
When the furmity woman tells his story he could have said it was false and be believed but he did not he came clean to release the weight he had been carrying on his shoulders for so long. This shows that he is a decent man and I can show respect and sympathy for him.
Many critical incidents were missed: his treatment of Elizabeth-Jane; lying to Newson; blackmailing Lucetta into marriage. There are more that need to be found, Laura. You have not made enough use of the text. What you’ve done lacks analysis and you haven’t done enough.