The Mayor of Casterbridge

“The business of the poet and novelist is to show the sorriness underlying the grandest things, and the grandeur underlying the sorriest.” Thomas Hardy said this upon completion of the novel The Mayor of Casterbridge. Thomas Henchard, the main character in his novel, becomes the example to illustrate this idea. Henchard is at one point the most powerful person in a small town called Casterbridge. He is the wealthiest person and commands the most respect, …showed first 75 words of 737 total…

…showed last 75 words of 737 total…to find, they are still there. Though out The Mayor of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy tries to convey the sorriness in the most regal places, and the greatness in the most wretched of places. In the character Michael Henchard, the reader sees how quickly one’s judgment of Henchard changes. We applaud his conduct with the commisioners yet we are irritated by his behavior to Abel. This if nothing else shows how complex we really are.