The Mayor of Casterbridge: Chapter 2 Summary & Analysis

The morning sun awakens Michael Henchard the next day. He groggily recalls the events of the previous evening, as he discovers his wife’s wedding ring in the grass and the bank notes in his pocket. Michael emerges from the tent into a beautiful September morning. The gypsies and other visitors to the area are still sleeping, so he leaves Weydon unobserved. About a mile away, he stops, leaning upon a gate, to reflect on his predicament.

Henchard worries that he might have revealed his own name the previous evening. He is both surprised and angered by Susan’s willingness to go along with her own sale, and he realizes that she must, in her simplicity he believes, except the sale as a binding exchange. He rails against her for bringing such disgrace upon him. Her meekness, he feels, has done Michael more harm than a bitter temper could have done. He vows that he will find her and their daughter, Elizabeth-Jane.

Henchard walks on until he sees a village and towering church spire. He heads to the church and enters through its unlocked door. At this morning hour, the labors have left for the fields, but their wives have not yet awoken. In the church, Henchard speaks aloud his vow to never drink liquor for at least twenty years, asking that he be struck dumb, blind, and helpless if he breaks this vow. Having taken this first step in a new direction, he eats breakfast in the village.

Henchard seeks his wife and child, but as the weeks turn to months and he continues his search between odd jobs, he realizes the difficulty of the search. He is reluctant to reveal his own misconduct, which also hampers his search. Eventually he arrives at a western seaport, only to learn that people matching the description he gives emigrated before he arrived there. Finally giving up the search, he moves south to settle in the town of Casterbridge.