The Mayor of Casterbridge

After reading Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge, I still have a lot of feelings in my heart.

When I first saw it, I thought the plot was a bit like Hugo's Les Miserables: a man made a mistake when he was young, and then he became the mayor by his own efforts. But later the plot was far more tortuous than I expected-this shows Hardy's greatness.

Henchard, a 2 1 year-old mower, took his wife Susan, a young monk's daughter, to make a living outside. After passing a porridge shop, he sold his wife to a sailor, newsome, because he was drunk. After waking up, I regretted it, looked around for my wife and daughter, and vowed not to drink for 2 1 year.

About 20 years later, Susan took her daughter Elizabeth Jane to Casterbridge and went to Henchard, who has become a rich mayor. But his business is in trouble. A young man named Donna Falfrey wrote a letter to the mayor and proposed a solution. The mayor later found Donna, admired him and tried his best to get him to stay and help. They have a very good relationship. With Donna's help, Henchard's business is getting better and better. However, as Donner's fame spread widely in the city, Henchard became more and more jealous, and finally resigned Donner and regarded him as an enemy. In the competition between the two, Henchard finally suffered a fiasco. During this period, Henchard married Susan again and loved Elizabeth because she thought she was her own daughter.

After Susan died, Henchard told Elizabeth that she was her own daughter. When Elizabeth accepted him as her daughter, he found the letter left by Susan and knew that Elizabeth was not her own daughter, but the children of Susan and newsome. His daughter died a long time ago. The battered child did not tell Elizabeth, but became more and more severe and indifferent to her. Good Elizabeth later moved in with Lucita. Lou Hita once entrusted herself to Henchard and asked Henchard to marry her many times. Due to Susan's sudden appearance, Henchard failed to keep her promise. Lu Hita has now inherited her aunt's legacy and become a beautiful and noble woman. When she learned that Susan had died, she came to Casterbridge to look for Henchard. Who knows, one night Donna came to Elizabeth, and Elizabeth was not there. He fell in love with Lou Hita at first sight and finally got married.

When Henchard had nothing, Donna became the mayor and the richest man, which caused Henchard's dissatisfaction. He tried to retaliate several times, but he gave up because of his conscience. Once, he asked Jofu to return all Lucita's previous letters, but Jofu read them out in a small hotel and encouraged everyone to hold a "satirical parade". On the night of the parade, Lou Hita was heartbroken and terminally ill, and finally died (pregnant). Henchard found Elizabeth's sincerity and kindness and pinned his feelings on her for fear of losing her.

One day, Newsom suddenly appeared looking for his daughter, so Henchard lied to him that Elizabeth was dead. From then on, he worried and hoped that newsome would come again every day, suffering from the contradiction between conscience condemnation and the loss of his daughter. Two years later, Newsom returned, and Henchard chose to leave before Elizabeth knew the truth. Later, Elizabeth knew that she was Newsom's daughter, and Henchard cheated her father and herself, so she hated Henchard. Henchard came back to see Elizabeth and Donna on their wedding night and found that Newsom had replaced herself. Elizabeth had only herself to blame, so she left sadly. He finally died alone.

This story is full of faint sadness and twists and turns. Henchard's life was full of ups and downs. His fate is not so much related to the social background of capitalism replacing small-scale peasant economy, but rather determined by his personal character. I think Henchard is a very plump and real person. In him, we see the true humanity.

He is a stubborn and kind person. Young, he sold his wife on impulse, so he gave up drinking for half his life and repented for life. Because of his hard work, he gradually developed and became the mayor. He admired Donner's talent, but he regarded him as an enemy because of jealousy. He waited for revenge several times, but he always had an epiphany at the most critical moment. Afraid of losing Elizabeth, he unconsciously lied and died alone. His rich life was sad and thought-provoking for a long time. ...

Lou Hita is also a tragic image. She committed herself to Henchard when she was young, which ruined her reputation. Finally, I met such an excellent man as Donna, and they really loved each other. What's wrong with her courage to pursue her love and happiness? The world, however, regards her past as a sin and destroys everything by marching. She, with her fragrance dying, left us with heavy thoughts.

The final combination of Donner and Elizabeth seems too simple and hasty. I don't know if this is the deficiency of the work. However, it is gratifying that the kind and simple Elizabeth finally found her own happiness after experiencing so many innocent hardships.

There are several places in the book that impressed me deeply:

Chapter 40: When Donner no longer believes in Henchard and resolutely leaves, "At least, for this remorseful sinner, going to heaven is not happy. He is a hot-tempered man who lost his self-esteem in poverty, that is, his last spiritual pillar. Like Jofu, even Jofu spared no effort to curse himself. This is the state after his emotional shadow. "

Chapter 4 1: When Henchard saw the "satirical parade" by the river, people let his dummy float on the water. "The vortex formed in the center of the current pushes the human body forward until it reaches his eyes. At this time, he felt creepy and saw that the human figure was himself ... that was another real him, floating like a dead man at the mouth of 10. "

Chapter 44: Life seems to be going in circles. Henchard returned to the place where he sold his wife with regret, and everything in the past seemed to be in sight. In fact, people have gone through a circle of life, looking back, everything becomes unimportant, and anyone and anything in life is worth nostalgia.