: A woman from Henchard's past who arrives in Casterbridge to marry him, but falls for Farfrae instead. The Mayor of Casterbridge | Summary, Characters & Analysis
: Believed to be Henchard’s daughter, she is actually the biological daughter of the sailor Newson. She serves as the novel's moral anchor.
: A modern, technically-minded newcomer who eventually replaces Henchard in both business and civic leadership.
: 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.
: 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.
Thomas Hardy’s 1886 novel, The Mayor of Casterbridge , is a powerful Victorian tragedy subtitled "The Life and Death of a Man of Character". It chronicles the spectacular rise and devastating fall of Michael Henchard, whose life is dictated by a single impulsive act of youth and the inescapable consequences that follow.
: Henchard eventually becomes a wealthy grain merchant and the respected Mayor of the town of Casterbridge.