Jane moves in with Lucetta to separate herself from an already strained relationship with Henchard. “Henchard showed a positive distaste for the presence of this girl not his own, whenever he encountered her” (Hardy 203). Upon discovery that Elizabeth-Jane is not his daughter, his fatherly pride is hurt and as a result, he becomes very cold to her. Michael Henchard’s excessive pride not only ruins his relationship with Farfrae but also causes him to alienate Elizabeth-Jane. Henchard’s insistence on creating a competition between the two eventually strips him of his personal possessions, his public favor as mayor, and the two women in his life. His pride cannot bear that an employee and good friend, Farfrae, has become more popular than he among the town of Casterbridge. However, Henchard’s biggest flaw or hamartia is his pride and compulsive nature. Early in the novel, Henchard is at the peak of prosperity, as the mayor of the town of Casterbridge he is highly esteemed by the townspeople. This novel follows the rise and fall of Michael Henchard, an impulsive hay-trusser who rises to prideful mayor only to have his own guilty acts fuel his downfall and demise. A tragic hero is “a leader in his society who mistakenly brings about his own downfall because of some error in judgment or innate flaw” (Banks IX). An Aristotelian tragedy must contain the presence of a tragic hero.
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