"THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE"
A short summary (Kratka obnova "Župana iz Casterbridga")
Michael
Henchard is travelling with his wife, Susan, looking for employment as a
hay-trusser. When they stop to eat, Henchard gets drunk, and in
an auction that begins as a joke but turns serious, he sells his
wife and their baby daughter, Elisabeth-Jane,
to Newson, a sailor, for five
guineas. In the morning, Henchard regrets what he has done and
searches the town for his wife and daughter. Unable to find them,
he goes into a church and swears an oath that he will not drink
any alcohol for twenty-one years, the same number of years he has
been alive.
After the sailor's death eighteen
years later, Susan and Elizabeth-Jane seek Henchard;
Elizabeth-Jane believes that he is merely a long-lost relative.
They arrive in Casterbridge and learn that Henchard is the mayor.
The couple meets and decides that in order to prevent
Elizabeth-Jane from learning of her parents' disgrace, Henchard
will court and remarry Susan as though they had met only
recently.
Meanwhile, Henchard has hired Donald Farfrae, a young Scotchman, as the
new manager of his corn business. Elizabeth-Jane is intrigued by
Farfrae, and the two begin to spend time together. Henchard soon
becomes alienated from Farfrae, however, as the younger man
consistently outdoes Henchard in every respect. Finally, he asks
Farfrae to leave his business and to stop courting
Elizabeth-Jane.
Susan falls ill and dies soon after
her remarriage to Henchard. After discovering that Elizabeth-Jane
is not his own daughter, but Newson's, Henchard becomes
increasingly cold toward Elizabeth-Jane. Elizabeth-Jane then
decides to leave Henchard's house and live with a lady who has
just arrived in town. This lady turns out to be Lucetta. Templeman, a woman with whom
Henchard was involved during Susan's absence; having learned of
Susan's death, Lucetta has come to Casterbridge to marry
Henchard.
While Lucetta is waiting for
Henchard to call on her, however, she meets Farfrae, who has come
to call on Elizabeth-Jane. The two hit it off and are eventually
married. Lucetta asks Henchard to return to her all the letters
she has sent him. On his way to deliver the letters, the
messenger, Jopp, stops at an inn. The peasants there convince him
to open and read the letters aloud. Discovering that Lucetta and
Henchard have been romantically involved, the peasants decide to
hold a "skimmity-ride," a humiliating parade portraying
Lucetta and Henchard together. The event takes place one
afternoon when Farfrae is away. Lucetta faints upon seeing the
spectacle and becomes very ill. Shortly afterward, she dies.
While Henchard has grown to hate
Farfrae more and more, he has grown closer to Elizabeth-Jane. The
morning after Lucetta's death, Newson, who is actually still
alive, arrives at Henchard's door and asks for Elizabeth-Jane.
Henchard tells him that she is dead, and Newson leaves in sorrow.
Elizabeth-Jane stays with Henchard and also begins to spend more
time with Farfrae. One day, Henchard learns that Newson has
returned to town, and he decides to leave rather than risk
another confrontation. Elizabeth-Jane is reunited with Newson and
learns of Henchard's deceit; Newson and Farfrae start planning
the wedding between Elizabeth-Jane and the Scotchman.
Henchard comes back to Casterbridge
on the night of the wedding to see Elizabeth-Jane, but she snubs
him. He leaves again, telling her that he will not return. She
soon regrets her coldness, and she and Farfrae, her new husband,
go looking for Henchard so that she can make her peace.
Unfortunately, they find him too late, discovering that he has
died alone in the countryside. He has left a will: his dying wish
is to be forgotten.