Mayor of Casterbridge

Author: Thomas Hardy
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-02-01
Features: Easy Read Classics Series. To promote English learning among Chinese middle school students, cultivate their cultural literacy and literary appreciation, Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press (SFLP) has, after extensive deliberation and market research, decided to introduce a series of abridged literary classics from Macmillan Publishing Company in the UK to Chinese middle school students. SFLP has carefully selected 40 books from Macmillan's abridged literary classics series, forming the "Easy Read Classics Series," with difficulty levels spanning Grades 3 to 8 of the "English Curriculum Standards." This series includes classic works by literary masters from the UK, the US, France, and other countries, including renowned authors such as Shakespeare, Dickens, Mark Twain, Hardy, and Alexandre Dumas. To help middle school students better grasp the essence of the original works and the creative journeys of the authors, SFLP has also provided annotations for language difficulties in the texts and included background introductions about the authors and their works. We sincerely hope that the "Easy Read Classics Series" will help improve the literary appreciation skills of Chinese middle school students, cultivate their moral sentiments, enhance their English reading abilities, and serve as the key to opening the door to reading English literary classics for middle school students. The Mayor of Casterbridge is an important novel written by Thomas Hardy in 1886. Set in 19th-century England, the story follows the protagonist, Michael Henchard, who works hard to accumulate wealth and rises from an unknown laborer to the mayor of Casterbridge. However, due to his character flaws, he falls victim to fate and ultimately dies in poverty and solitude.
When Michael Henchard was young, he was a hay cutter, a man of integrity and kindness. After getting drunk one night, he foolishly sold his wife and daughter to a sailor named Newson for a mere five guineas. Upon sobering up, he regretted his actions deeply, swore to abstain from alcohol for twenty years, and worked diligently to build a successful business, earning respect and becoming the Mayor of Casterbridge. Eighteen years later, when he decided to marry his lover Lucetta, his ex-wife appeared. Believing her sailor husband had drowned at sea, she brought her daughter, Elizabeth-Jane, to find Henchard. As a result, he reunited with his ex-wife. However, due to his jealousy and exclusion of his business partner, Farfrae, as well as his stubborn and obstinate nature, his business failed, and he lost his mayoral position. After his ex-wife's death, he unexpectedly discovered that his daughter Elizabeth-Jane was not his biological child. This caused him great distress, and he began to treat Elizabeth-Jane coldly. She had no choice but to move out and live with Lucetta, Henchard's old lover. Lucetta, who had originally planned to marry Henchard, later fell in love with Farfrae and married him. Farfrae became both a business and a romantic rival to Henchard. Bankruptcy and humiliation left him in a miserable state, and his scandalous act of selling his wife also became public knowledge. Stricken and desperate, he worked for Farfrae to support himself. Elizabeth-Jane became his only solace. But his luck did not last long. Newson returned and reunited with his daughter Elizabeth-Jane. At Elizabeth-Jane's wedding to Farfrae, he was treated with coldness. Disheartened, he left Casterbridge and died in solitude.