Wednesday, October 27, 2010
As Fate would have it...
We know that Fate/Chance/Destiny is a theme of this novel, but what of it? Ultimately what is Hardy saying about these closely connected universalities through the evolution of his story? Use examples to support your answers, but I challenge you as a class to avoid redundancy (so limit yourself somewhat so as to save room for others.)
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This is a really difficult question to grasp. I would have to say that Hardy is trying to convey that a persons actions and characteristics determine the destiny of the world around them. He wanted this novel to say that actions and reactions, deeds and misdeeds, and the overall character of people as a whole determines destiny. It would ultimately seem that Michael Henchard was a man who made nothing but bad decisions in his life, by acting off of impulse and lingering upon grudges, but without the contribution of these rash decisions the destiny of other characters and Casterbridge itself might have been entirely different; maybe for better and maybe for worse. I believe Hardy saw destiny not as black or white or determined just by the actions and reactions of one man, but by a slew of choices and decisions made by different people everyday.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jack in that Hardy speaks to how character determines fate in the novel, but I also believe that Hardy addresses the reciprocal: how fate may determine character. It is this compilation of interacting events that determine one's character. Michael Henchard would likely not be characterized as lonely, sorrowful, or Satanic through out the novel without the arrival of Farfrae, Susan, Lucetta, and Newsom into his life and the subsequent events that followed.
ReplyDeleteBoth reciprocals do, however, go hand in hand. For as Hardy infers that character determines fate then the ensuing fates must play a role in determining character. To me, this is somewhat confusing as a sort of "chicken and the egg" situation.
Throughout the book, Hardy presents multiple sides to this discussion. Early on, we are told that "anything is possible at the hands of Time and Chance except perhaps fair play" (6). Consequently, the idea of a cruel, blind fate is put into the reader's head. Following this statement, Susan chooses the furmity tent with the thought that it does not sell alcohol. By the work of this blind, cruel fate, it did indeed offer alcohol which resulted in her being sold by her drunk husband.
ReplyDeleteHardy later mentions that character decides fate. This contradicts his earlier statement of a fate that is blind to character. In context, Henchard had released Farfrae from his services and told him to not court EJ.
In other moments, it seems that Chance alters Destiny. It seems that for each situation, hardy has a new idea of fate. By changing his position, I think that Hardy leaves it somewhat up to the reader to define fate.
I'm more inclined to agree with Jack in saying that the characters' actions have a great influence on their destiny. There are two big examples of this. One of them is the scene in which Farfrae is almost killed at the hands of Henchard during their fight in the granary. Henchard has the chance to put an end to Farfrae, but he chooses not to based on his memories of being best friends with Farfrae when he first enters the town. The second example that supports this point is the death of Lucetta. The source of her shame, the affair with Henchard, came from a decision that she had control over. Did she deserve to die because of it? I would say no, but that's another message that Hardy conveys with this book: the world is a cruel place.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of fate, chance and destiny are simple in big picture, but complex in context. Hardy talks about these concepts or ideas in way that force our selves to decide which flow in to which. As a class, we talked about how character determines fate, which was often shown in the book to hold true. I agree with Anna Claire with the fact that destiny can be altered. However, I feel that the chances one takes in life give support to their character, which then has an effect on fate and therefore influences their destiny.
ReplyDeleteI think that Hardy plays with Fate and Destiny throughout the novel in a manner that is similar to the idea of Karma. People use the word "Karma" often to explain why something bad, or sometimes good, happened to them based on their previous actions. From the very beginning Henchard was destined for a downhill life after selling Susan. I think that his climb in society soon after was a way for Hardy to show how far he fell by contrast. Lucetta was also fated for a poor ending because of her self-centered and materialistic attitude and her corresponding actions. On the other hand, Farfrae and Elizabeth never commit large crimes or bad deeds, so their "karma" so to speak is still intact, and ultimately end up on top. Hardy also shows that once a character has done something wrong it is very hard for them to make up for it.
ReplyDeleteBy the end of the book, the character's fates have seemed to either work in favor of or against where I feel the character's would have liked to see their lives end up. At the end of the book, Farfrae is mayor and has a beautiful wife, EJ finally got to marry the man she had fallen in love with, and Henchard was found poor and dead on the side of the road. If you like at the decisions these people made throughout the book, it seems that the people that made good decisions in their lives and ultimately tried to always do the right thing ended up with a happy life. Farfrae was smart in his business decisions and did not act impulsively when faced with difficult situations. EJ tended to keep to herself and not get mixed within all of the drama of the many overly-dramatic characters in the book. If you look at Henchard's life though, it is obvious that he did not live his life to these same standards. He sold his wife, lied to Newsome, and almost always acted impulsively. Looking at the ways these three people lived their lives, it seems obvious to me who would end up in a happy situation and who would end up in a bad situation by the end of the book. It is ultimately the decisions the character's make during their lives that determines their fates/destines.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Hardy is trying to convey that a person's characteristics direct their destiny. It is clearly stated that, "most probably luck had little to do with it. Character is Fate, said Novalis" (107). We know that Henchard is superstitious and believes many of the outcomes in his life are because of his unluckiness as a "scheme of some sinister intelligence bent on punishing him" (118). In reality, Henchard's character has a lot to do with his downfalls. His emotions overpower him. Whether it is love, hate, jealousy, or guilt, these feelings consume him as he takes them to the extreme. He is often unable to forget past events, further punishing himself. As Henchard reflects, he realizes, "Susan, Farfrae, Lucetta, Elizabeth-all had gone from him one after one, either by his fault or by his misfortune... but hard fate had ordained that he should be unable to call up this DIvine spirit in his need. The whole land ahead of him was as darkness itself" (275).
ReplyDeleteThe foil of Henchard and Farfrae really plays into this question. By comparing the conditions they shared upon first entering Casterbridge, one would assume them to achieve the same ends, but this is not so. They both start off in the grain industry and work their way up to the position of Mayor, and in this aspect they are similar. Farfrae, however, is able to maintain the latter position, whereas Henchard is not. Throughout the novel we see Henchard make a multitude of bad decisions and crumble, while on the other hand we see Farfrae make good decisions and succeed. Looking at these two, a part of me feels as though Henchard could have "been" Farfrae as they both originally had the same things going for them. This makes me think that Hardy is saying that one path can easily diverge and lead to different places. The forces that lead to this divergence are fate/chance/destiny. Had Farfrae had bad luck predicting the weather for the grain, who knows what could have happened to his business and where he would be? What if Henchard's secret had never been revealed -- maybe he would be married to Lucetta? Fate, chance, and destiny on their own are in essence all simple things, but the things they lead to are very complex and significant.
ReplyDeleteHardy's opinion on fate, chance, and destiny all share one common trait--pessimism. He is making his point that life never works out the way it is planned, and he chooses to show this through primarily through death. The deaths of Susan, Lucetta, and Henchard are key points in the interconnection of these themes. Each death is significant not only to the dying character but also to the other characters in the novel. It seems that so much gravity lies with these deaths and there is little hope to be found. There are a few characters who break this trend either with marriage or Newson rediscovering his daughter. Why does Hardy choose to leave certain characters with a bright destiny? In a novel so full of hopelessness and "bad luck," it's interesting how Hardy has picked the exceptions to his pessimistic outlook on the three main themes.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that the characters have some control over their own fate, but it is hard to say that they possess full control. Henchard, for example, did make many poor decisions throughout the story such as selling his wife and unborn child to a complete stranger. While these decisions do contribute to his overall downfall, there is definitely also an aspect of chance that is unaffected by Henchard’s rash impulses. The one example I think of when considering Henchard’s luck, is the first meeting between Lucetta and Farfrae. Expecting to meet with Henchard, Lucetta jumped out from behind the curtain only to find Farfrae who had ventured into the house in search of Elizabeth Jane. This strange occurrence sparked the relationship that deprived Elizabeth Jane and Henchard from their respected lovers. As Farfrae explains, “It’s the way o’ the warrld!” (209).
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, Henchard has no control over his fate when he is halted from committing suicide. It seems that there must be some supernatural factor that caused the effigy to be in that exact spot when Henchard contemplated sending himself into the afterlife. I think Hardy is trying to say that although personal actions are the primary factor in controlling one’s fate, chance still plays a role in constructing one’s destiny.
I started by looking up the definition for all three words. There is hardly a discernible difference between the three. The most common attribute of each is the development of events beyond a person's control. I think Hardy is giving us a commentary on our control of life. There is not a single character whose actions play out the way they want it to. Lucetta gets tangled between two lovers and eventually dies of embarrassment; Henchard tries to repent many times but to no avail; Elizabeth-Jane tries to always to the proper thing, but she ends up getting overlooked; Farfrae tries to stay uninvolved, but he is continuously drawn in by the people around him. Hardy shows us with these characters that we are not at all in control of our lives--we are subject to Fate, Chance, and Destiny. This could be taken in a religious way of giving yourself to God because he has a path for you or this could be taken as a sign that there is no reason to try for good because it will go unappreciated.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the story Hardy's ideas on "fate/destiny" become more clear: every action has a reaction. In the more traditional sense, fate and destiny are words that point towards a certain future outcome that cannot be changed, but in Hardy's world the actions of the characters early in the story are the impetus for the rest of their hardship. Rather than the destiny being set at birth, Hardy's characters set the date with despair with their poor choices. Hardy is big proponent in, as Morgan put it, "Karma." Henchard is haunted through the book by his initial sin (selling his family while drunk) and by his characteristics. "Character is fate." In Hardy's novel, the twofold fate is determined by the way people behave and by their past actions. The novel's twists and turns are all due to Henchard's original sin and in the end he pays for it with a tragic ending.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of the story is centered around "the cycle of Henchard." In the beginning of the novel, it appears that his fate is dark and cruel. Someone who sells his wife and daughter does not portray a person with a bright fate. However, he proves the reader differently throughout the rest of the novel after he gives up drinking and strives to turn his fate around. Can fate even be reversed? I believe that even though it had been over 20 years since he made that decision, fate found him and ultimately lead him to his death.
ReplyDeleteWhat I believe that Hardy is saying is that through fate and destiny, Henchard completes his full "journey". Relating with what we discussed yesterday at the table, I feel as if it is fate that at the end of the novel, Henchard again becomes a hay trouser, much like he was at the beginning of the book. This is surely not coincidental. This is Hardy showing how one man could go from nothing, make it to the top, and then loose everything he onced loved.
ReplyDeleteAs we discussed in class, destiny is more in the future, whereas fate is something upon which people look back. A question I asked in class that I didn't get a full answer to was, "if the definition of fate is events beyond a person's control, does this mean Henchard didn't have any control over his outcome in life?" I don't believe that Henchard's mistake of selling his wife put him in a cycle of bad luck. I believe that Henchard was never content with his life, therefore, he was an unhappy person who looked at the negative side of life. Hardy plays with the negative side through all of his characters in "The Mayor of Casterbridge." Elizabeth-Jane's marriage to Farfrae, was that fate or destiny? Because Farfrae married Lucetta, did that bring him closer to Elizabeth-Jane in the end?
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