浅析《卡斯特桥市长》中亨查德悲剧成因.docVIP

【标题】浅析《卡斯特桥市长》中亨查德悲剧成因 【作者】罗雁丹 【关键词】?命运;?性格;?亨查德 【指导老师】赵洪尹 李雷 【专业】英语 【正文】Ⅰ. Introduction??A. Introduction to the Author Thomas Hardy?Hardy was a twentieth century poet as well as a nineteenth century novelist. The date of his birth is now nearly one hundred and sixty years distant, the date of his death already over seventy. But after his death his reputation and popularity is continuing and even increasing, which implies his strong artistic vitality.?Born June 2, 1840, in Dorset in Southwestern England, Thomas Hardy lived well into the twentieth century, dying in 1928 at the age of 88, and he remained a Victorian to the end. This is particularly true of his career as a novelist. All of his major novels were written before the turn of the century. They were called Wessex novels, that is, the novels which described the characters and environment of his native countryside. The town of Casterbridge itself, for example, is just Dorset.B. Introduction to the NovelThe Mayor of Casterbridge tells a story of the protagonist Henchard. The Mayor of Casterbridge opens with an act of such heartlessness and cruelty that it still shocks readers today. Michael Henchard, a hay-trusser, gets drunk at a fair and sells his wife and child to a sailor for five guineas. The following morning, Henchard swears he will not touch alcohol for twenty-one years. Through hard work and acumen, he becomes rich, respected, and eventually the mayor of Casterbridge. Eighteen years pass before Henchard’s fateful oath comes back to claim its due. Upon the return to Casterbridge of his wife and daughter, Elizabeth Jane, Henchard’s fortunes steadily decline. He clashes with his business assistant, Donald Farfrae, who soon becomes his major rival. He ruins his business through impulsive speculations and takes to drinking again. One by one he loses his possessions and relationships to Farfrae. Soon Farfrae owns Henchard’s business and house, has gained the affection of his lover Lucetta, a