Michael Henchard, Superstar! (Michael Henchard is not a Christ figure or a superstar I just wanted to make that reference)

If you've been keeping up with my comments (which I really doubt you have), or even with my posts, you'll have sensed a certain yearning within me to discuss a certain element of Thomas Hardy's writing.

In the comments on this post, I said,

"I've been thinking a lot about the way religion is tied to redemption, forgiveness, etc. in literature of this era. So far, god has not played a big part in this book (the only time I can think of is when Henchard swears off alcohol). If Hardy does decide to redeem Henchard during his life, it will be interesting to see if religion is involved or not."

In the comments on this post, a week later, I said,

"I am still fascinated by the way Hardy employs religious themes and ideas without much religion at all. . . According to some quick research, Hardy was raised a Christian but as he got older tended toward agnosticism. I guess this makes sense, considering the way religion is used in this novel: Hardy uses it as a tool to set the rules of society, but doesn't employ God, Jesus, or any of the apostles in doing so."

(In that comment, I also said I'd make an extra post, half-way through the week, to talk about these ideas further. LOL!)

Here are the reasons I'm so interested in this topic:

1. In my experience, most authors from this time period (the mid to late 19th century) employ religion as something that redeems their characters (the first that come to mind for me are Hugo and Dostoevsky).
2. The Mayor of Casterbridge is made up of very similar ingredients to books by these same authors: a character that makes a huge mistake, and spends his life seeking to somehow make things right. 
3. Religion is barely mentioned in The Mayor of Casterbridge, and plays a much smaller role in Michael Henchard's story than fate does, and certainly does not play a part in the process of his redemption (or lack thereof). 

Here's what I want to know:

1. Why doesn't Hardy, like his contemporaries, employ religion to redeem his character?
2. Can my seeking further knowledge on this topic help me better understand Henchard's redemption (or lack thereof)?

In order to discover the answers to these questions, I had to do some research. (This post suddenly feels like one of those shows where people travel around and seek the help of historians to discover the stories of their ancestors.) 

I typed "thomas hardy religion" into google and clicked on the first link. Don't worry, though, because I first checked the url to see if it seemed like a reliable source. It did!

The first thing I noticed was that the website was called "Humanists UK". I didn't know what a humanist was, so I opened a new tab and looked that up too. The definitions on Merriam Webster didn't seem quite right, and the definition on American Humanist seemed a little biased.

Just then my brother Gordon who is a man of letters, a noted speaker, and a major philosophy expert walked in, so I asked him how he'd define humanism. This is what he said: 

"It's like a philosophy or a belief in the - the worth and ability of humans to understand the world around them and like the - and of the intrinsic value of human beings."

That wasn't super helpful either, to be honest. Despite my three pretty lame sources, I think I now have a pretty good idea of what humanism is: it's based on reason and enlightment, and celebrates humanity and it's power, rather than the power of the supernatural. Hmm.  The fact that Thomas Hardy's religious beliefs are featured an a website about humanism probably means that these people think at least some of his ideas align with their's. I can't stop reading at the title, though! There's a whole article to follow.

From the article, I learned that Thomas Hardy was raised in an "atmosphere of simple worship," but as an adult turned more towards the newer radical ideas in England, spurred by Darwin's writings and the general Enlightenment ideas of the time. Hardy didn't want to define himself as anything, but Humanists UK supplied this quote from a study guide for Return of the Native, which I think helps to explain his position:

"Hardy reflected Nietzsche's agonized cry that 'God is dead' in his novels. His view of life was that since there is no God to give meaning to life, Man is alone in the Universe, no better and no worse than other creatures who love or have lived for a brief moment [...] The Universe is neither malevolent or benevolent; it is simply indifferent."

This quote DEFINITELY applies to the views I saw represented in The Mayor of Casterbridge, which is heavily reliant on fate (see my last post about the themes... Henchard's entire life is determined by one mistake in his youth). The article also points out that these beliefs could lead to "cynicism," but in Hardy's case come to the surface in a form of compassionate "pity for his fellow human beings, interest in the natural world, and love of being alive." (If I could quote all of Angels in America by Tony Kushner right here I would, just to prove the continuity of good literature across centuries, but it's a nine hour play and I think that would make a pretty long blog post, even for me.)

The pity Hardy has for Henchard is clear. While he paints his flaws with honesty, he also paints him with sympathy, and I often found myself wishing Henchard could just find happiness once and for all.

Okay, now I know Hardy's religious beliefs, I think I can try and answer my questions.

The first one is pretty obvious. While other authors of Hardy's time period weren't often devout Catholics, they were very often believers in god (Victor Hugo). Hardy was an agnostic, which meant he didn't believe in a specific god of any religion, but did believe in some kind of higher power. The fact that he was raised in a religious household explains his use of religion, as I said in one of the comments above, as a tool.

The answer to the second question, it seems, is a little more up in the air. Henchard isn't fully redeemed, and while I don't think that is a direct result of Hardy's agnosticism, I think it is definitely connected. While Henchard himself never finds happiness, his step-daughter does, and that kind of symbolizes that his life wasn't all worthless and bad. That's not really redemption in a traditional Christian form - he certainly isn't forgiven by God. Even so, I think it's a different kind of redemption; one that proves Hardy wasn't devoted to depressing his readers, and one that proves a person can care about humanity and its worth without the help of the Bible. (Anne Hutchinson, let me know if you want to talk some time!!)

Well, I guess that's about it. I'm feeling a little sad that this adventure is over; I feel like blogging might be my true calling. Someday, maybe you'll tell your grandchildren you read my very first blog, way back when...

Let me know if you have andy questions!!!