Because the farmers are more connected to the land, they follow a more primal religion, based on the changing of the seasons and the forces of Nature. One of the forces of nature is cruel Fate, that "sinister intelligence bent upon punishing" which stops at nothing to keep things from being "as you wish it.
Chance often brings chraracters: Farfrae and Lucetta are brought to Casterbridge quite unexpectedly, but their arrivals ruin the lives of the Henchards. Irony works upon the people who are already there, making the best laid plans go awry. Just as Michael convinces Elizabeth-Jane that she is his daughter, he finds the note from Susan that tells the truth.
Nature also serves to assist Fate--the harvest weather is bad until Michael buys all the ruined grain at high prices and cannot sell it back. With the actions of a primal and unchanging world working against the weak human, life becomes a series of pains, punctuated only by flashes of happiness. Yet it is not completely the whims of fate that bring the characters to their downfall. When The Mayor of Casterbridge was first published in serial form, Hardy wrote, "It is not improbabilities of incident but improbabilities of character that matter.
Michael gains a true confidant in Farfrae, but his quick temper and mercurial ways only serve to push the young man away. Michael's pride keeps him from confessing whatever secret he has at the time. Lucetta's reckless nature causes her to do dangerous things for love.
The gossiping nature of the townspeople is responsible for the skimmity ride that kills Lucetta, and the gossip that ruins Michael's career. Even Elizabeth-Jane's prudishness pushes Michael away for the first and last time.
Character is just as responsible for the foibles of mankind as Fate is. Michael is frightened that Newson will learn the truth, so he follows the sailor to ensure that he has safely left town. When Michael returns home, Elizabeth-Jane has awakened after napping. Michael considers asking her to stay with him, but doesn't, fearing that Newson will return and take her away. They have a lovely breakfast, lingering until it is time for Michael to go to work.
Although Elizabeth-Jane promises to return soon, Michael is haunted by the belief that Newson will take her away. He goes to Ten Hatches, the place where the river runs deep, and contemplates his suicide. Suddenly, he sees himself already floating in the water! When he hurries home, Elizabeth-Jane is waiting for him. He takes her to Ten Hatches, where she finds that the image he saw was that of the skimmity ride dummy.
She understands what Michael plans to do, so she quickly offers to stay with him and care for him. At this news, Michael changes heart again and becomes a confident new man. Michael and Elizabeth-Jane have completely switched Victorian gender roles, as we can see in this chapter.
Michael, once the strong, powerful Mayor, has now fallen to a low that removes all his masculinity. He cares for Elizabeth-Jane as a mother would-- cooking for her, keeping the house clean for her, and doing other things "with housewifely care, as if it were an honor to have her in his house.
However, her decisions control the now weak-willed and vulnerable Michael. She issues the commands now--"Let us go home"-- and is the real provider for her stepfather. Once Michael has become more feminine, perhaps he can finally learn to become less bullish and considerate to others. Of course, that also means that Elizabeth-Jane can become more bullish with her masculinity, as we will see later.
Irony is used again to create sympathy for Michael. The cruel fate seems to be especially harsh here. Just as Michael has decided that he has "the dream of a future lit by [Elizabeth-Jane's] presence, Newson has arrived to take her away. The skimmity ride effigies that killed Lucetta merely keep Michael alive and die in his place. Although Michael has not completely changed he still tells a horrible lie just to keep Elizabeth- Jane there , we pity him all the more because he is convinced that he is in "Somebody's hand.
The effigy floating in the water serves as a type of ritual offering, similar to Abraham's sacrifice of the sheep for Issac. Since the townspeople cannot kill Michael, they will sacrifice the effigy by tossing it in the river. At the same time, it serves as a "resurrection" for Michael. When he contemplates suicide, only to see his "dead image" floating in the water, Michael returns to life and becomes fully aware of the consequences of his actions.
After this form of resurrection, Michael will go on to save his own world, making him a Christ-like figure. Michael fears that Newson will return for Elizabeth-Jane despite his new attitude. Casterbridge buries Lucetta and quickly forgets her. After a while Farfrae learns of the events that caused her death.
At first, he wishes to punish all those responsible. However, soon he realizes that the townspeople did not want their joke to have such a disastrous effect on Lucetta, and he reasons that keeping her history secret will protect all the parties involved. The town council again sets up a seed shop for Michael, allowing him and Elizabeth-Jane to make a respectable living. As Michael continues to worry that Elizabeth-Jane will be taken away, Farfrae decides that his life with Lucetta was doomed to unhappiness from the beginning.
A year passes. Elizabeth-Jane frequently walks on the road to Budmouth twice a week, and she ends up with expensive trinkets, such as muffs and new books, that Michael knows she cannot afford. Upon seeing Farfrae's eyes upon Elizabeth-Jane in the marketplace, however, he begins to suspect that Farfrae is returning to his former love, and he worries that Farfrae will take Elizabeth-Jane away.
Farfrae and Elizabeth-Jane first meet accidentally, but very soon they habitually meet each other as they walk into town. Michael watches from the Ring as Farfrae presents Elizabeth-Jane with a new book everyday. Very soon Farfrae kisses Elizabeth-Jane.
Michael, watching the scene, reasons that Farfrae's love will force Elizabeth-Jane to turn against him. He thinks that telling the secret of Elizabeth-Jane's birth to Farfrae will ward the young man off, but cannot bring himself to tell.
Even near the end of the book, Hardy introduces some elements of suspense. Will he return, and if he does, what will Elizabeth-Jane do? Will Farfrae and Elizabeth-Jane finally be joined in marriage? After his final novel, Jude the Obscure , was severely criticized for what many critics described as its immoral qualities, Hardy vowed to write only poetry for the reminder of his life.
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