The Mayor Of Casterbridge Essay -- essays research papers

Literature: The Mayor of Casterbridge   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Can it be said that Henchard's downfall is all due to 'some great error?' Some may believe that it is a penance for selling Susan, but this would be to take Newson out of the equation, who, it must be said, is just as guilty of this act as Henchard. I believe that Henchard is totally blameless for his downfall, to use a bad pun that will become apparent later, it is in his nature. It is my belief that Henchard is a personification of nature. It is obvious that his life has completed a revolution but when you look closely, you can see that Henchard's life resembles the seasons.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Our first image of Henchard is one of winter, his clothing is described as '…a short jacket of brown corduroy…white horn buttons…and a straw hat overlaid with black glazed canvas.'; Black, brown and white conjure images of the countryside in the heart of winter for me. Hechard's life is in a rather bad point but things start looking up when he sells Susan, it is at this point that he moves into spring. We are told little of what happens between Susan's sale and when she comes looking for him but I would say that during this period Henchard passes through spring as he gives up liquor and moves into summer when he becomes mayor. When we next see Henchard he is on the brink of autumn, his progression down through the social strata is very autumnal as his creeps, inch by inch, t...