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Definition of Motif
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of... read full definition
Motifs
Explanation and Analysis—Unlucky Coincidence:
Hardy received criticism for the way that the plot of The Mayor of Casterbridge relies on coincidence, as unlucky meetings, chance encounters, and unexpected revelations are such a feature of the novel. The sudden reappearance of Richard Newson, for example, is a deus ex machina (a device in which a person, item or instance of plot is introduced suddenly and too conveniently or artificially to be plausible) that has an enormous effect on the lives of everyone in Casterbridge. Unexpected returns and departures like this, which result in coincidental and extremely dramatic aftereffects and repercussions, happen in almost every section of the book.
Related Themes:
Chapter 16
Explanation and Analysis—Nostalgia:
Through free indirect discourse, the narrator often expresses a certain nostalgia for an unspoiled rural England that, Hardy tells us, seemed to be rapidly disappearing in the face of industrialization. Passages that describe a fairy-tale and cheerful country without the taint of the city as a motif abound, as in Chapter 16 when Henchard "organizes amusements" for the benefit of the people of Casterbridge:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Close to the town was an elevated green spot surrounded by an ancient square earthwork—earthworks square and not square, were as common as blackberries hereabout—a spot whereon the Casterbridge people usually held any kind of merry-making, meeting, or sheep-fair that required more space than the streets would afford. On one side it sloped to the river Froom, and from any point a view was obtained of the country round for many miles. This pleasant upland was to be the scene of Henchard’s exploit.
Related Themes:
Chapter 23
Explanation and Analysis—The Sea Within:
Hardy uses a simile comparing Michael Henchard’s nature to the sea, ultimately illustrating the many changes that people undergo throughout their lives and the strong pull that feelings have on their actions. In Chapter 33, Henchard describes how religious fervor moves him like the ocean both as a drunk and as a sober, successful man:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Hang Samuel Wakely’s tune, as improved by thee!” said Henchard. “Chuck across one of your psalters—old Wiltshire is the only tune worth singing—the psalm-tune that would make my blood ebb and flow like the sea when I was a steady chap. I’ll find some words to fit en.” He took one of the psalters and began turning over the leaves.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Constant Crowds:
For a novel in which self-reflection and introspection play such an important role, The Mayor of Casterbridge employs the motif of a bustling, endless and watchful crowd extremely regularly. In Chapter 23, the throng of people in the marketplace loses all humanity and distinction and becomes a writhing mass of living bodies, taking this to an extreme:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The fair without the windows was now raging thick and loud. It was the chief hiring fair of the year, and differed quite from the market of a few days earlier. In substance it was a whitey-brown crowd flecked with white—this being the body of labourers waiting for places.
Related Themes:
Chapter 24
Explanation and Analysis—Old Versus New:
Much of the interpersonal conflict in The Mayor of Casterbridge comes from the motif of juxtaposing new innovations with old traditions. In Chapter 24, for example, the farmers and the populace of the town crowd around Donald Farfrae and a new invention he has brought into Casterbridge for the first time:
Unlock with LitCharts A+It was the new-fashioned agricultural implement called a horse-drill, till then unknown, in its modern shape, in this part of the country, where the venerable seed-lip was still used for sowing as in the days of the Heptarchy. The farmers crowded round it, women drew near it, children crept under and into it. [...] “It has something to do with corn,” said Elizabeth. “I wonder who thought of introducing it here?” Donald Farfrae was in the minds of both as the innovator, for though not a farmer he was closely leagued with farming operations.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Personal Viewpoints:
In contrast to the far-ranging and omniscient viewpoint of the narrator, Hardy employs the motif of limited and specific viewpoints joining or building up to show the humanity and the vulnerability of his characters realistically. For example, when Farfrae asks Lucetta if she looks out the window often, Lucetta describes her loneliness in High-Place Hall, talking about the world outside her window in the following way:
Unlock with LitCharts A+“I look as at a picture merely. But,” she went on, turning pleasantly to him, “I may do so now—I may look for you. You are always there, are you not? Ah—I don’t mean it seriously! But it is amusing to look for somebody one knows in a crowd, even if one does not want him. It takes off the terrible oppressiveness of being surrounded by a throng, and having no point of junction with it through a single individual.” “Ay! Maybe you’ll be very lonely, ma’am?” “Nobody knows how lonely.”
Related Themes:
Chapter 33
Explanation and Analysis—The Sea Within:
Hardy uses a simile comparing Michael Henchard’s nature to the sea, ultimately illustrating the many changes that people undergo throughout their lives and the strong pull that feelings have on their actions. In Chapter 33, Henchard describes how religious fervor moves him like the ocean both as a drunk and as a sober, successful man:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Hang Samuel Wakely’s tune, as improved by thee!” said Henchard. “Chuck across one of your psalters—old Wiltshire is the only tune worth singing—the psalm-tune that would make my blood ebb and flow like the sea when I was a steady chap. I’ll find some words to fit en.” He took one of the psalters and began turning over the leaves.
Related Themes:
Chapter 34
Explanation and Analysis—Written Evidence:
Many of the most important moments of plot in The Mayor of Casterbridge are dictated by the presence, absence, or lateness of legal and/or written evidence. Marriages, paternal identities, and sexual exploits are all complicated by a lack of proper documentation. For example, this happens in chapter 34 when Henchard is reading out Lucetta's "shameful" love letters to a dismayed Farfrae:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The truth was that, as may be divined, he had quite intended to effect a grand catastrophe at the end of this drama by reading out the name, he had come to the house with no other thought. But sitting here in cold blood he could not do it. Such a wrecking of hearts appalled even him. His quality was such that he could have annihilated them both in the heat of action; but to accomplish the deed by oral poison was beyond the nerve of his enmity.
Related Themes:
Chapter 37
Explanation and Analysis—Titles :
In the 1840s, socially-bestowed titles (like "Mayor," "husband," or "manager") carried even more moral and social weight than they do now. Hardy emphasizes this by using the bestowal of titles as a motif signaling social belonging in the novel. For example, in Chapter 37 the narrator describes the visit of a member of the Royal Family to Casterbridge just after Farfrae has become the Mayor and Henchard has further disgraced himself:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The incident had occupied but a few moments, but it was necessarily witnessed by the Royal Personage, who, however, with practised tact affected not to have noticed anything unusual. He alighted, the Mayor advanced, the address was read; the Illustrious Personage replied, then said a few words to Farfrae, and shook hands with Lucetta as the Mayor’s wife.
Related Themes:
