Beginning of Essay
Can it be said that Henchard’s downfall is all due to ‘some great error?’ Some may believe that it is a penance for selling Susan, but this would be to take Newson out of the equation, who, it must be said, is just as guilty of this act as Hencha ....

Middle of Essay
.... into spring. We are told little of what happens between Susan’s sale and when she comes looking for him but I would say that during this period Henchard passes through spring as he gives up liquor and moves into summer when he becomes mayor. When we next see Henchard he is on the brink of autumn, his progression down through the social strata is very autumnal as his creeps, inch by inch, towards the inevitable. When he reaches the lowest of the low he does not stay in the town and sponge off Elizabeth-Jane and Farfrae, he follows the yearning of his soul and returns to nature. When he dies he is back in winter but just on the verge of spring, e ....