Failed Capitalist and Father: Restored Order in Thomas Hardy’s Mayor of Casterbridge
Thomas Hardy’s novel The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886) presents the author as a humanist and the protagonist, Michael Henchard, as a human being who follows his desire. My claim is that Henchard fails as a capitalist and as a father because he perceives the personal and the social aspects of individu...
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| Julkaisussa: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/fathom, |
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| Päätekijä: | |
| Aineistotyyppi: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Kieli: | Anglais |
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FATHOM
2017
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| Aiheet: | |
| Linkit: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:fathom_673 |
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openedition |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:fathom_673 https://doi.org/10.4000/fathom.673 urn:doi:10.4000/fathom.673 en https://journals.openedition.org/fathom/673 2017-03-10T01:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/gaik All rights reserved Failed Capitalist and Father: Restored Order in Thomas Hardy’s Mayor of Casterbridge FATHOM Association française sur les études sur Thomas Hardy info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2270-6798 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/fathom Granic, Maria désir humanité humanisme développement individuel développement social désordre choix desire humanity humanism individual development social development disorder choice Thomas Hardy’s novel The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886) presents the author as a humanist and the protagonist, Michael Henchard, as a human being who follows his desire. My claim is that Henchard fails as a capitalist and as a father because he perceives the personal and the social aspects of individual developmental to be split rather than in a symbiotic relationship. He does not understand that being a husband and father implicitly and inextricably binds the private sphere with the social network. Henchard becomes an agent of disorder as a result of three key interconnected choices of actions rooted in an overpowering desire: he auctions his family, drinks, and lies. While following his desire, Henchard favors the social aspect of his development at the cost of the personal one, fractures his development, and perturbs the sanctioned Victorian order. He fails because desire, in the Lacanian schema, is of desire and is never fulfilled. First, Henchard rejects fatherhood, choosing to rise up the social ladder through acquisition of wealth and respectability. Developmentally, he is at the end of what Jacques Lacan terms the mirror stage, identifying with the figure of the capitalist, his Ideal-I, entering the symbolic order of language and desire. Lacking compassion and the sacrificial spirit of a father, he auctions his family, whom he perceives as an impediment. Later, the esteemed middle-class man with financial acumen and work ethics reconfigures his desire, taking on the paternal role, but becomes socially alienated. Le roman Le Maire de Casterbridge de Thomas Hardy présente l’auteur comme un humaniste et le protagoniste, Michael Henchard, comme un être humain qui poursuit l’accomplissement de son désir. Le titre de cet article souligne que Henchard échoue en tant que capitaliste et en tant que père parce qu’il perçoit son développement individuel dans ses aspects personnel et social de façon séparée, et non comme agissant en symbiose. Il ne comprend pas que le fait d’être mari et père associe implicitement et intrinsèquement la sphère privée à la sphère sociale. Henchard devient un agent du désordre suite à trois choix interconnectés et ancrés dans un même désir de maîtrise : il vend sa famille aux enchères, boit et ment. En cherchant à accomplir son désir, Henchard favorise l’aspect social de son développement aux dépens de l’aspect personnel ; il fracture son développement et trouble l’ordre établi victorien. Il échoue parce que le désir, selon les termes de Lacan, est désir du désir qui n’est jamais accompli. D’une part, Henchard rejette son rôle de père et choisit de s’élever socialement en acquérant la richesse et la respectabilité. D’un point de vue développemental, il se situe au terme de ce que Lacan appelle le stade du miroir, s’identifiant avec la figure du capitaliste, son Idéal-I (“Le Stade du miroir” 2) et pénétrant dans l’ordre symbolique du langage et du désir. Manquant de compassion et de l’esprit sacrificiel d’un père, il met aux enchères sa famille qu’il perçoit comme un obstacle. D’autre part, l’homme de la classe moyenne, qui a le sens des affaires et obéit à une éthique du travail reconfigure son désir et se substitue au rôle parental, mais le rend socialement aliéné. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
désir humanité humanisme développement individuel développement social désordre choix desire humanity humanism individual development social development disorder choice |
| spellingShingle |
désir humanité humanisme développement individuel développement social désordre choix desire humanity humanism individual development social development disorder choice Granic, Maria Failed Capitalist and Father: Restored Order in Thomas Hardy’s Mayor of Casterbridge |
| description |
Thomas Hardy’s novel The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886) presents the author as a humanist and the protagonist, Michael Henchard, as a human being who follows his desire. My claim is that Henchard fails as a capitalist and as a father because he perceives the personal and the social aspects of individual developmental to be split rather than in a symbiotic relationship. He does not understand that being a husband and father implicitly and inextricably binds the private sphere with the social network. Henchard becomes an agent of disorder as a result of three key interconnected choices of actions rooted in an overpowering desire: he auctions his family, drinks, and lies. While following his desire, Henchard favors the social aspect of his development at the cost of the personal one, fractures his development, and perturbs the sanctioned Victorian order. He fails because desire, in the Lacanian schema, is of desire and is never fulfilled. First, Henchard rejects fatherhood, choosing to rise up the social ladder through acquisition of wealth and respectability. Developmentally, he is at the end of what Jacques Lacan terms the mirror stage, identifying with the figure of the capitalist, his Ideal-I, entering the symbolic order of language and desire. Lacking compassion and the sacrificial spirit of a father, he auctions his family, whom he perceives as an impediment. Later, the esteemed middle-class man with financial acumen and work ethics reconfigures his desire, taking on the paternal role, but becomes socially alienated. |
| author |
Granic, Maria |
| author_facet |
Granic, Maria |
| author_sort |
Granic, Maria |
| title |
Failed Capitalist and Father: Restored Order in Thomas Hardy’s Mayor of Casterbridge |
| title_short |
Failed Capitalist and Father: Restored Order in Thomas Hardy’s Mayor of Casterbridge |
| title_full |
Failed Capitalist and Father: Restored Order in Thomas Hardy’s Mayor of Casterbridge |
| title_fullStr |
Failed Capitalist and Father: Restored Order in Thomas Hardy’s Mayor of Casterbridge |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Failed Capitalist and Father: Restored Order in Thomas Hardy’s Mayor of Casterbridge |
| title_sort |
failed capitalist and father: restored order in thomas hardy’s mayor of casterbridge |
| publisher |
FATHOM |
| publishDate |
2017 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/fathom |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/fathom.673 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/fathom/673 |
| _version_ |
1877242349728301056 |