there wasn't a need for me to complete the 372 pages to have this visceral love for hardy.

three decades ago, i first attempted the mayor of casterbridge as an optional study for my tenth year school exams. after the insufferable compulsory study of shakespeare's richard II at that time, i could not go beyond `as distinct from the desultory shamble of the general labourer.....a dogged and cynical indifference...showing itself even in the regularly interchanging fustian folds...' which was just the first page of the mayor of casterbridge. i stopped reading at the folds, and not a single year had passed by, since then, without me thinking of just one endeavour at it.

the mayor came to me on my birthday in the year 2010, as a gift from didon and he sat there on my shelf until last week, when i asked didon on the choice between the mayor and mein kampf for a first read, ...both books being on my mind as long as i have remembered them. she immediately said..hardy. and so i read him.

my journey with hardy was soulful and passionate. i read him with the entire of my entrails and was so totally soaked, i am still unable to dry myself off it.

the story in brief : michael henchard travels with his wife, susan and baby daughter, elizabeth jane looking for work as a hay trusser. he stops at a country fair, gets drunk, sells susan and the baby for five guineas to a sailor, newson.

when morning comes, on realisation, he laments his actions, enters a church vows to abstain from liquor for the next 21 years, and sets out to look for them. while continuing his journey, he lands at casterbridge. over the course of the following years, he establishes himself as prosperous pillar of the community and becomes mayor. but as hardy would have it, the shameful secret of his past does catch up with henchard.
after the supposed death of newson, susan seeks henchard, the secret being kept from elizabeth jane to spare her any disgrace or shame. henchard meets susan, courts her and remarries her.

meanwhile, henchard meets donald farfrae, a young scotchman who is passing the town. recognising farfrae's ability and talent, he persuades farfrae to stay and hires him as the manager of his corn business. farfrae outdoes henchard in every aspect. he fires farfrae and does not allow him to court elizabeth jane.

susan falls ill, and dies but not before leaving him a note saying their daughter died a little after he sold them years ago, and this elizabeth jane was newson's daughter. he becomes cold with the thought of knowing he neither has a wife nor a child now. he alienates himself from elizabeth jane.
she leaves him to live with lucetta templeton, a woman henchard was involved with in susan's absence. having learnt of susan's death, lucetta decides to come to henchard, but before she meets him, she sets eyes on farfrae who by then has his own corn business and was becoming popular. they court and marry. henchard is heart broken but meets lucetta's request of returning all her earlier love letters. jopp, the delivery man of those letters, decides to use the letters against lucetta who was not very nice to him, humiliates her through a parade and eventually she falls ill and dies of shame.

henchard grows to like elizabeth jane. but unfortunate to him, newson is alive and comes looking for her. he lies to newson saying his daughter is dead as he is afraid of losing her. newson learns of henchard's deceit and is reunited with his daughter before she marries farfrae.

i will leave the end for those who want to read the book but i want to add henchard's will here so as to remind myself the emotions that deeply seeped through me while reading those words. such feelings are evoked rarely in most books that i have read.

Michael Henchard's Will

That Elizabeth-Jane Farfrae be not told of my death, or made to grieve on account of me.
& that I be not bury'd in consecrated ground.
& that no sexton be asked to toll the bell.
& that nobody is wished to see my dead body.
& that no murners walk behind me at my funeral.
& that no flours be planted on my grave.
& that no man remember me.
To this I put my name.
"Michael Henchard"

allow me to deliberate on henchard. the ultimate ecstasy in any literature i pursue is rendering a feeling of sympathy for a near-villainous character, whether deserving or not.

hardy is a gifted author, one that you rarely come across. he brings every word alive. clear and detailed descriptions of his settings make you forget the world you are in. you float and before long you are there standing next to henchard. you see the flaws, the weaknesses and you learn to empathize with whatever choices taken.

i saw the morning sun streaming through the crevices of the canvas, felt the warm glow pervading the atmosphere of the marquee and i heard the single big blue fly buzzing musically around.

i was there.

i was there when henchard was drawn to his concoction. i saw farfrae's first gaze fall on elizabeth, i was watching farfrae pull his chair round to the fire place to speak to henchard, i was a witness in the town hall when henchard, as a justice of peace was insulted by the furmity woman of weydon fair who finally revealed his long kept secret, i heard the retreating footsteps of newson upon the sanded floor, and had dust in my eyes on the travelled road. silently i stood there watching, hearing and feeling everything that came upon henchard's life..until i finally saw him with abel whittle whereupon he wrote his will.

i am neither an analyst of stories nor a reviewer. i write what i feel. and i felt for henchard, more for hardy. one cant deny the genius in hardy. though the story was intelligently and masterfully woven, it is not the plot that filled my soul. it was hardy's mastery with expressions and language,his panache for the written word, his flair with literature and portrayals of characters. also most particularly his ability of taking me to the scene. it is beyond any appreciation that i can discuss. the effect on me was not readily discernible but it was much more insidious than i would have myself believe. does hardy subvert the concept of redemption in this book? i do not know his intention but like i said i am not here to analyze it, i am here to say that few books have stayed with me, like the book thief and the life of pi. mayor however dribbles me like no other.

i understand that the mayor has a depressing closure and most would expect a joyful ending after the turn and twists in the plots. it is, i am sure, almost disappointing to everyone that hardy cannot respect man's hand in creating happiness for himself. most will conceive that his work reinforces his perception of man as a puppet in the hands of destiny. why can it not end with the man having the power over destiny and what harm will it create to end the book in high spirits?

converse to that thought, i think a book such as this would end horrifyingly with a blissful ending and we shall lose the emotion that was worth exploring. and in being able to survey and suffer with the protagonist, one presents the perfect book. and to me, his masterpiece was created in this perfection. long after hair turns grey, i should think one would remember that he had asked for `no flours to be planted on his grave'.
in all honesty, i would have the ending no other way.

henchard, with his weaknesses and strengths, brings out a dash of sympathy and compassion in us because we face the same fears, success, defeat and guilt for our actions too. henchard is reality, and whether pessimistic or not, i think he was larger than life and a man to be admired with or without redemptions.

henchard to me was a symbol, a towering figure of determination, a man who led destiny and not as others would like to think the other way around. even though his last words broke my heart, he continues to appear heroic and majestic despite the occurrences and bubbles of defeat.

hardy's imagery will definitely give rise to further literary discussion. if it fell slow, i did not take heed, fate and man's hand in it intertwine and provide a definite, though different identity and charm.

hardy says through elizabeth jane that happiness is but the occasional episode in a general drama of pain. it is tragic but tragically beautiful. we are reminded that our appreciation of moments of success and happiness must be due before we are reduced to nothing.

in conclusion, the heroic but flawed henchard relates to us in this intense drama, his journey of life being presented to us in untold emotions and lessons. whatever hardy represents, i have loved every moment of it. would i recommend it as a good read? maybe i would go steps ahead and say that should you not read the mayor of casterbridge in your entire life time, just once, it would be one of the biggest regrets, as it would definitely have been mine.