Michael Henchard, the main character in Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge, is considered to dominate the novel to an extent unparalleled by any character in Hardy's other fiction. Henchard plays a very important role in The Mayor of Casterbridge for many reasons. For example, one of the main reasons is his role as a victim of the working hands of fate that eventually lead to his suffering. Hardy portrays fate together with Henchard's own impulsive and arrogant ways as a cause of the many events that make the plot of the story itself. Hardy's decision to use fate as a motif in his story traces back to his own life experiences and his views on life rather than to other works of literature like many other authors of the time would do.
             Hardy had come from a religious background and he admired the security of Christian faith. However, he was also attracted to the writings of Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer about evolution and religious skepticism. As a result, he eventually began to doubt his own faith. He began to believe that without God controlling the universe people had no spiritual force to rely on for comfort or to blame for their problems. Hardy believed that what happened to people was determined by the indestructible force of fate. As a result, what seemed to be coincidences that occur in one's life, which are many in the case of Henchard, are actually events controlled by an unknown and uncaring outside force. This superiority of fate creates a sense of loneliness and pain in Henchard. However, this pain is not caused by only fate itself but by Henchard's lack of knowledge to accept one's fate and to live within it. Throughout the story Henchard thinks that he is in control of his life, however, he is unable to avoid matters that lead to "turning points" in his life.
             Henchard's personality is portrayed by Hardy from the very first chapter of the st...