England in the later
part of the eighteenth century underwent the social effects of the industrial
revolution. The industrial revolution opened up several possibilities to the
lower classes of society to earn money in the form of technical or clerical jobs
that required education and training thus enabling them to rise in social
standing. This resulted in a surge of upward mobility in the society as the
middle and upper middle classes rose to power mostly through education and
occupation. Family lineage was no longer
a requirement to belong to the genteel class and along with this the necessity
of strong moral character in a gentleman became questionable. Thomas Hardy’s Mayor
of Casterbridge is set in such a time. The events in the novel take place
in a small town called Casterbridge in the Wessex region of England. The town
is chiefly agricultural but is slowly beginning to show the signs of
industrialization such as the use of machinery and scientific methods. As such
it provides prospects of upward social mobility in the form of business and
administration. The novel is a poignant account of the tragic life of Michael Henchard.
The concept of social mobility is constantly intertwined with the tragic events
of Henchard’s life. Apart from Henchard several other characters in the novel
also display the desire or aptitude to move up the social ladder either through
money, skill, or education.
The Mayor of Casterbridge
is the highest social position that is accessible to the characters in the
novel and we see two characters- Michael Henchard and Thomas Farfrae rise to
the post through different means and circumstances. The novel begins with
twenty one year old hay trusser Michael Henchard walking along a dusty road
with his tool basket in his arm and his wife Susan and baby daughter Elizabeth
Jane walking alongside him. They go to a fair where in a drunken state Henchard
ends up selling his wife and daughter to a Sailor named Newson for a sum of
five guineas. The next morning he realizes his mistake and swears never to
drink alcohol for twenty one years. He then goes to the town of Casterbridge in
search of a job. He takes up a corn dealing business which gradually grows into
a successful one and along with this his respect and position in society also
move upwards. He becomes a member of the town council and eventually rises to
the position of the Mayor. Henchard used “his one talent of energy to create a
position of affluence out of absolutely nothing”. As a Mayor he is very aware
of his position and the respect he commands. All through these years he has
carefully kept the incidents of his past life a secret so that it does not
interfere with his present rise in situation. He is also very conscious of the
mannerisms of the people he is associated with. After he remarries Susan, he
realizes that Elizabeth Jane, having been brought up in a seaside cottage, is
not up to date with the kind of genteel behavior expected from the daughter of
a Mayor. He reproaches her in anger and
she leaves the house. The downfall of Henchard begins when he starts growing
jealous of his more talented and educated manager Thomas Farfrae. His jealousy
mounts to such an extent that he fires Farfrae. Farfrae then starts his own
business and the rivalry intensifies. Henchard’s term as Mayor being over he
still held the position of a magistrate in the town council. But his endeavors
to beat Farfrae in business leave him bankrupt. His business and property is
auctioned and Farfrae buys it and employs Henchard as a laborer in his
business. Meanwhile his past sins are
also revealed. Thus Henchard loses not only his higher social status but also
the dignity and respect associated with it or with his personality itself. Henchard’s
journey beginning from a hay trusser, rising to a Mayor and falling to a common
laborer is captured by Hardy in the following words. “Then he had worn clean,
suitable clothes, light and cheerful in hue; leggings yellow as marigolds,
corduroys immaculate as new flax, and a neckerchief like a flower-garden. Now
he wore the remains of an old blue cloth suit of his gentlemanly times, a rusty
silk hat, and a once black satin stock, soiled and shabby.” “And thus the once
flourishing merchant and Mayor and what not stood as a day laborer in the barns
and granaries he formerly had owned.” In the end of the novel Henchard leaves Casterbridge
and takes up the profession of a hay trusser once again, thus going back to the
point where he began.
Donald Farfrae’s
journey reflects upward social mobility through education, skill and hard work.
In the beginning of the novel he is an enthusiastic young man educated and
trained in the latest scientific developments and on his way to America to try
his fortune. He meets Henchard in Casterbridge who is impressed by the young
man’s talent and employs him as the manager of his business which at that point
of time was going through a difficult phase. With his advanced knowledge he
implements newer scientific methods and recover’s Henchard’s business. His
management skills and charming personality soon make him the talk of the town.
After Henchard fires him he starts his own business and succeeds tremendously.
For all of Henchard’s jealously Farfrae never bears any ill will towards him
and always treats him with the respect he deserves. Eventually his respect in
society increases and he becomes a member of the town council. Finally he is
appointed the Mayor of Casterbridge, a position that he truly deserves. Thus Farfrae
climbs the social ladder with the help of skill and maintains his position with
his strong moral character.
In case of women,
social mobility solely depends on inheritance of money or higher position in
society acquired through marriage. However in order to be married to
‘gentlemen’ they must also belong to a certain level of gentility. This is seen
in the three important female characters in Mayor of Casterbrige- Susan Henchard,
Elizabeth Jane and Luccetta Templeman. After Susan Henchard comes back to Casterbridge
she takes up lodging in The Three Mariners inn which is the most that she can
afford. But after meeting Henchard and deciding to marry, he sets her up in a
cottage to give her the image of a gentlewoman before he can actually proceed
to marry her. Meanwhile he pays off his erstwhile mistress Luccetta. But after Susan’s
death Luccetta arrives in Casterbridge as a gentlewoman. She has inherited a
sum of money from a dead aunt, and now calls herself Miss Templeman, and takes
up residence in High Place Hall. She also conceals her past social position and
her relationship with Henchard. Her newly acquired inheritance is the sole
factor that makes her an interesting prospect for marriage with attracts not
only Henchard but also Farfrae lending another cause to their already existing
rivalry. Eventually Luccetta marries Farfrae and rises to the genteel position
of the Mayor’s wife. However her past relationship with Henchard is exposed in
a public display of effigies and she dies of shock.
Elizabeth Jane is the
only character in the novel who displays a conscious effort to gain better
social standing through education and by refining her manners. As her newly
achieved position as the step daughter of the Mayor she is aware of her
expectations. She tries to increase her knowledge by reading lots of books on
various subjects and improve her appearance by wearing clothes of the latest
style. However she cannot help but utter colloquial language in her conversations
which irritates Henchard. She is also not capable of writing in a long hand as
is expected of genteel ladies. That is why she leaves her house to stay with
Miss Templeman in hopes of better exposure to a genteel lifestyle. Initially
she is courted by Farfrae but Henchard forbids it. Farfrae’s subsequent rise in
fortune and the arrival of Miss Templeman completely negates this prospect from
Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s prospects for a genteel marriage are also negated by the
declined social position of Henchard. However after Mrs. Farfrae’s death
Elizabeth does end up marrying Farfrae and thus rises to her well deserved
position as the wife of the Mayor of Casterbridge.
This novel highlights
the fact that social mobility in case of the lower and middle classes comes
with its associated expectations. The aristocracy commands respect regardless
of its skills or morals. The lower and middle classes on the other hand have to
earn this respect through perseverance or rise to a respectable status by
earning or inheriting large sums of money. Through Mayor of Casterbridge
Hardy shows that social mobility for the progressive classes is ephemeral. It
is very difficult to climb the social ladder but at the same time it is also
very easy to slide down the ladder at the slightest misfortune.
