The Mayor Of Casterbridge File

: Eighteen years later, Susan and a grown Elizabeth-Jane return. Henchard’s past resurfaces, clashing with his rigid pride and his rivalry with a progressive young Scotsman, Donald Farfrae. A series of financial failures and exposed secrets eventually strip Henchard of his status and family, leading to a lonely, tragic end. Key Characters

: In a drunken rage at a country fair, young hay-trusser Michael Henchard auctions off his wife, Susan, and infant daughter to a sailor for five guineas. The Mayor of Casterbridge

: Horrified by his actions the next day, Henchard swears an oath to abstain from alcohol for 21 years—the length of his life at that point. : Eighteen years later, Susan and a grown

: Henchard eventually becomes a wealthy grain merchant and the respected Mayor of the town of Casterbridge. Key Characters : In a drunken rage at

: Believed to be Henchard’s daughter, she is actually the biological daughter of the sailor Newson. She serves as the novel's moral anchor.