The untimely demise of Michael Henchard, the Mayor of Casterbridge. Henchard will never be able to escape the events of his past. What do you think drives Henchard to his end? All page references are to the new version of the windmill classics.------------------------------ ---- ----------------------------Many factors led to the untimely death of Michael Henchard, "the Mayor of Casterbridge". . Some of these factors are partly due to bad luck, while some of the larger ones are due to the poor decisions he makes. To discover why Henchard makes such devastating mistakes, one must take a close look at his character. Henchard is a proud and angry man. This is probably the worst possible combination of traits in a man. Indeed, once he has made a decision, he can no longer go back on it because it would damage, or so he thinks, his majestic reputation. This ruthless nature also leads to the finalization of the deal to sell Susan and Elizabeth-Jane for five guineas. Even when Susan gives him the chance to back down when she says, "Before you go any further, Michael, listen to me. If you get that money, me and that girl are going with that man. Be careful, it's not no longer a joke." (page 12) Henchard refuses to back down. I think it's because he's in front of the crowd and greatly emboldened by the illicit rum he drank in the furmity even though he regrets it much later. Another trait of Henchard also leads to his downfall. It's his objective way of seeing things. He always takes things at face value and never thinks to look beyond the coverage of a situation. An example of such a situation is the vow he has made for twenty-one years to never touch alcohol when he realizes that he has sold his wife and child to Newson. When the vow expires, instead of just drinking in moderation, as he would have done before taking the vow, he waits until the very day the vow expires and immediately goes out and gets as drunk as possible in the three sailors . These characteristics make Henchard very bad at making friends but very good in the business world due to his inability to back down and how he can make a decision very quickly without thinking about the consequences first. This characteristic works not only for but also against him. When we first hear of Henchard as Mayor of Casterbridge it is when the women in the square talk about "the Corn Postman" - this is the man all our millers and bakers deal with.