Thomas Hardy

About the author Thomas Hardy was born(p) in 1840 in Dorset, a hoidenish county in the south-west of England. His father was a st unrivalledmason and the family were non well glum. Hardy showed an early bear on in intensitys, however, and when he was sixteen, he began t raining as an architect in Dorchester. In 1862, he went to meet in London, where he was able to comp ar city life with the customs and timeless ways of the clgetish village where he grew up. He began writing in his spare time.In 1870, he met and fell in go to sleep with Emma Gifford, merely they could not afford to get married. His fourth novel, Far From the Madding Crowd, published in 1874, was a big success. This vacateed him to drop dead a full-time writer and to marry. Hardy wrote several more novels, among them The Mayor of Casterbridge, published in 1886. He and Emma lived in Dorset, but they spent mortala of every year in London, where they mixed with literary bulk and Hardy was much admired. Al though Hardys books were very popular, when Jude the Obscure appeared in 1896, mint hated it.They thought it was an attack on marriage, and ound it shocking and immoral. Hardy turned to poetry and never wrote an una homogeneous novel. He died in 1928. Some biographers pose him as snobbish, mean and hateful towards women. Others believe he was a sensitive man who cared deeply active the human condition. Summary Young, poor Michael Henchard feels trapped by his wife and child and one night gets drunkard at a fair and sells them to a stranger called Newson. Horrified by what he has done, he swears not to touch alcohol for twenty historic period. Eighteen years later he is the mayor of Casterbridge and a successtul businessman.Believing Newson is dead, is wife, Susan, and daughter, Elizabeth-Jane, draw in in c Pearson Education Limited 2008 Casterbridge to find Henchard because she has no money. He marries her again and they have a short happy life together. Farfrae, a young man with modern business ideas, arrives at the alike time and sustains Henchards farm manager. Susan dies, and Henchard learns that Elizabeth-Jane is really Newsons daughter. Henchard falls out with Farfrae, who sets up a rival business, and soon outdoes him. A woman from Henchards past, Lucetta, comes to Casterbridge. Henchard at once wants to marry her, but she and Farfrae fall in love.Henchards business fails and he loses his house so he arisings drinking again. Lucetta dies of shock after the local people make fun of her and Henchard in overt. He turn backs that he allow now lose his daughter as well as everything else. He leaves Casterbridge on foot. He is penniless and has lost his family Just as at the beginning of the story. ElizabethJane remains loyal to Henchard, but he dies before she can find him. Chapter 1 Henchard, a farm fetcher aged twenty, has a family, no Job and no home. He gets drunk and sells his wife and child for five guineas to a sailor leand Newson t a fair.Devastated at what he has done, he looks for them without success. Henchard makes a solemn harbinger not to touch alcohol for twenty years. Chapter 2 Susan, widowed and poor, and her 18year-old daughter, Elizabeth- Jane arrive in Casterbridge to find Henchard. She is relieved to find he is now the Mayor and a businessman who needs a corn manager for his growing business. Chapter 3 Henchard employs Farfrae, a handsome innovative Scotsman as corn manager and the business improves. He also meets Susan and devises a course of study so that the townspeople do not find their marriage strange.He draws closer to Farfrae and tells him about his past including a woman in Jersey he promised to marry. Chapter 4 Henchard marries Susan, but she is reluctant to have her daughters last name changed. He and Farfrae disagree publicly over a processer. Henchard is Jealous and organises a rival entertainment daytime to Farfraes, but it fails. Farfrae leaves him and sets up a rival business. Susan dies but leaves a letter with the truth about her daughter. Chapter 5 Hencnard tells Elizabeth-Jane what happened at the fair twenty years ago but reads in Susans letter that she is really Newsons daughter.He begins to pass over her coldly, and even encourages Farfrae to see her. ElizabethJane meets a woman at her mothers grave who is friendly and offers her to division her house. The Mayor of Casterbridge Teachers notes of 5 Chapter 6 Lucetta, the woman from Jersey, has inherited property in Casterbridge and has employed Elizabeth-Jane as a house financial supporter. Henchard tries to see her but they fail to meet. Farfrae calls in to see Elizabeth-Jane, who is out. He likes Lucetta and she loses interest in Henchard. Chapter 7 Henchard goes bankrupt because of the weather and his own impatience while Farfraes business ucceeds.Henchard realises he and Farfrae compete for Lucettas love, so he threatens her with making their past public so that she accepts his proposal of m arriage. Chapter 8 Henchard agrees to postpone their wedding if Lucetta helps him buy some time to repay a debt to Grower. She cant because she has hiddenly married Farfrae and Grower acted as witness. Chapter 9 Henchard claims the letters from his safe, and reads them out to Farfrae without disclosing the sender. He promises Lucetta to accept tham back to her and asks Jopp to deliver them.Chapter 10 Jopp asks Lucetta to help him become her usbands manager but she refuses. In a pub, he reads out the letters to two women and they plan a skimmity-ride in town to scorn Lucetta and Henchard. Chapter 1 1 A member of the Royal family visits the town but Henchard is not allowed to greet him. Hurt, Henchard fghts Farfrae in a atomic number 5 but cannot bring himself to kill him. Chapter 12 Henchard is back in town to see the ride. Farfrae does not see the ride because he is lured away from town but Lucetta dies of the shock. Chapter 13 Henchard and Elizabeth-Jane live together happily.El izabeth-Jane and Farfrae renew their birth and get married Newson returns and te s daughter the truth, which makes her very happy. Henchard leaves the town. Chapter 14 Elizabeth-Jane marries Farfrae and tries to find her father to place care of him but he dies before she can find him. The original text The novel first of all appeared orderedly, in twenty instalments, in 1886 in The Graphic, an English periodical and simultaneously in the United States. The book appeared as soon as the serial publication was complete but it differs a lot from the serial novel. It has been adapted for TV as a miniseries.Background and estimations Where the story came from Hardy claims the story as inspired by three actual events the sale of a wife by her husband reported in a local newspaper, the uncertain harvests and the visit of Prince Albert, Queen Victorias husband, to Dorchester, the town upon which Casterbridge is based, in 1849. Fight with self The main theme of the book is Henchards figh t against two things his own character and chance. As he fghts with himself, his actions and decisions affect other peoples lives, ordinarily badly. He often allows negative feelings to overwhelm him at the beginning when things seem so bad he sells his wife.He is lways honest in business, but not always kind he is often impatient and firm to anger, but he is capable of great love and great loneliness. His complex character creates uncertainty in the reader should we feel sorry for him or does he deserve everything that happens to him? Chance Chance dictations an important part throughout the story the chance appearance of Newson in the tent when Henchard is trying to sell his wife the rain that spoils Henchards fair the August weather that ruins Henchards business the chance meeting amongst Farfrae and Lucetta when they fall in love.Hardy believes that although Henchard is a powerful character, he is never fully in control of his life. Alcohol also has a routine here. Hencha rds life improves when he stops drinking as he de right to votes himself to work, builds a successful business and in the end becomes mayor. Once ne starts again, ne loses his pride and his Judgement. Traditional versus modern The two men re pay tell apart ways of life in the area. Henchard is traditional and old-fashioned. Farfrae is young and modern. Hardy was always fascinated by country customs and ways.He often includes strange country rituals like the skimmity-ride in his novels. They make useful plot devices and allow him to paint pictures of colourful but less important characters. He also uses them to reveal the conservative brass of society, which can be very cruel to people who fall outside its strict rules of moral behaviour. Lucetta dies because of the skimmity Joke. This severance of the moral code becomes a very important theme in Hardys later novels, which shocked the read public and ended Hardys novel-writing career. questionion activities Before reading 1 a ssembly work Students work in free radicals.Each group chooses an important person in their local community, e. g. factory owner, the mayor, the chief of police, a magistrate. They then fall on a terrible secret in the past of their character. They converse the details of the secret without other students overhearing. The class then questions each group in turn to try and find out what the secret is. Groups have to answer as truthfully as they can. 2 Read carefully Read the macrocosm on pages Evii. Make a chart of the events of Thomas Hardys life. Use these dates 1840 1871 1886 1895 1913 1914 1928 Example 1840 Thomas Hardy is born in Dorset.Chapter 1 While reading Pair work (atter page 4) Michael is ottering his wite or a lowly money at the fair. conduct students in pairs to make a list of the things they could say to persuade Michael to keep quiet. 4 Discuss (page 6) Michael makes a formal promise not to drink alcohol for twenty years. posit students to discuss the following How hard will this be for Michael? Have you ever made a promise that was hard to keep? After reading 9 Pair work Henchard wants to persuade Farfrae to stay and work with him. How can he do this? entreat students in pairs to write down reasons why Farfrae should stay in Casterbridge. accordingly they prepare a short speech and give it to the rest of the class. Finally, have a class vote for the most convincing speech. 10 Discuss shoot students to discuss the following How do you think people in Casterbridge would react if they knew that the mayor had sold his wife twenty years before? How has this changed in present days? Are citizens decisions influenced by the private life of their authorities? Chapters 3-4 11 Discuss take students to discuss the following What about Farfrae has attracted Henchard? Why would he be interested in him? pronounce Tell students that eighteen years have passed after Henchards promise not to drink for twenty years. aim students to guess what has bec ome of Henchards life. Will he ever find his family again? 12 Write (after Chapter 3) After he learns about Lucetta and Henchard, Farfrae advises him to write a letter to the young woman explaining to her why he is no longer useable to keep his word and marry her. He even helps him do so. demand students in pairs to write the letter from Henchard to Lucetta. 13 usance play (page 21) Ask students to pretend they are ordinary townspeople at Henchard and Susans wedding.They are very surprised by the wedding. Ask them to role play the conversation in pairs. 4 extrapolate (page 23) Farfrae and Elizabeth-Jane receive notes for a secret meeting in a barn. Neither of them has written the note for the other. Ask students to guess who may have wanted them to meet and therefore written the notes. What motive cleverness that person have? 15 Discuss (page 24) Henchard and Farfrae argue over how to treat a worker. Ask students to discuss how different their approaches to vigilance are. How c an they be described? If they were a worker, who would they prefer as a manager? Role play Susan leaves the fair with the sailor. How do they feel? What do they say to each other as they alk on the road? Ask students to role play the conversation between them. Chapter 2 7 Discuss (page 9) Ask students to discuss how Susans life might have been different if she had not left with the sailor eighteen years before. Would her life have been better? 8 Role play (after reading loudly the first divide on page 15) Casterbridge was a very quiet town in Hardys day. Communications with big cities like London and Portsmouth were slow and difficult. So when Farfrae arrives, a visitor from Scotland, it is a big event.Farfrae is in the bar at the King of Prussia. One student is Farfrae. Other students are customers. What do they ask him? Ask them to role play the conversation in subaltern groups. 16 Group work Put students in small groups. Ask them to discuss how these sets of kinds change in t his section of the book Susan and Henchard Hencnard and Fartrae Elizabeth-Jane and Fartrae Elizabeth-Jane and Henchard. After their discussions, groups report back to the class. Chapters 5-6 17 Discuss Ask students to discuss these questions with a partner. (a) Who is the Woman in black? b) The next chapter is called Love at source Sight. Which two characters will fall n love at first sight? 18 Group work (page 33) Henchard has Just been told that he will not be offered the position of mayor again. Farfrae has been chosen instead. Ask students in groups to discuss which candidate would be a better mayor and to give reasons for their choice. and so they share their ideas with the class. 19 Role play (page 35) Elizabeth-Jane is sitting by her mothers grave, reading. A woman she has never met before approaches and they start talking. She tells her about her life before and after Casterbridge.Ask students in pairs to role play this conversation. Remind them the woman ends up hiring he r as a housekeeper. 20 Discuss (page 40) Will the new planting machine be undecomposed for the people of Casterbridge or bad? Ask students to take a minute and write arguments for and against new machinery. Then they share their ideas with other students. 27 Group work Wealth (or the absence of it) plays an important role in the novel. For example, Hencnards interest in Lucetta grows now that she is wealthy and independent. Ask students to work in groups. Assign each group a character (Henchard, Susan, Lucetta, Elizabeth-Jane, Farfrae).Students discuss how money nd wealth have changed their character. Are they better off with money? Are they happier? Then they share their views. 21 Discuss Elizabeth-Jane wonders why Lucetta did not trust her with the truth. Ask students in pairs or small groups to try to respond to this question. Then they compare their views with other students. Chapters 7-8 22 Guess Ask students to discuss who the title of the chapter may refer to, when it comes to love. Who are the women involved? 23 Group work (page 44) Ask students in small groups to list the mistakes or miscalculations Henchard made as regards his business.What did he do victimize? What shouldnt he have done? What should he have done instead? Encourage them to give reasons for their answers. Then they share their lists with the rest of the class. Do they have similar ideas? 24 Discuss Invite students to read aloud the incident on page 45 between the two drivers. Discuss with students how this incident reflects the wider situation between Henchard and Farfrae. Record ideas on the board. 25 Discuss (page 47) Ask students to discuss the following questions How does Henchard force Lucetta to agree to marry him? Was she right in accepting the proposal?Did she have any other way out? How will Farfrae feel about this? 26 Discuss (page 53) Ask students to discuss the following questions in pairs or small groups What emotions does Henchard feel when he learns of Lucettas marria ge to Farfrae? Will he keep quiet about their past relationship? Then they snare their ideas wit n the rest ot the class. Chapters 9-10 28 Guess Ask students to guess how Henchard might react to Lucettas rejection. 29 Pair work (page 55) Ask students in pairs to discuss the following questions How do Henchards and Farfraes management styles differ?What kind of manager would you like to have if you were an employee? 30 Role play (page 59) Elizabeth-Jane stops Farfrae in the street and warns him about Henchards feelings but he does not take her seriously. Ask students to role play this conversation. 31 Discuss (page 66) Mrs Cuxsom and Nance Mockridge plan the skimmity-ride after they listen to Jopp read out the letters. They want to teach Mrs Farfrae a lesson using an old tradition. Ask students to discuss the following How would people in your country shame others instantly? 2 Group work Students compare events in the lives f Henchard and Farfrae by making a uncorrupted/bad list fo r each of the two men. Divide the class into four groups. Each group takes and completes one section of the list. Groups report back to the class, writing their ideas in list form on the board. As a follow-up, students write a paragraph comparing the fortunes of the two men. Chapters 11-12 33 Discuss Farfrae has Just been offered the position of mayor. Ask students to discuss these questions Do you think he will agree? Why/why not? 34 Role play Ask students to imagine that they are standing in the crowd watching the majestic visit.