Essay | Character Is Destiny

Character is destiny. Heraclitus, Greek philosopher (c. 540-c. 475 B.C.)

This famous quote has birthed many ideas and philosophies about life and our final destination. Similarly, in Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge, issues about life, character, fate and destiny are explored. Ironically, the quote about character being our destiny is being challenged and questioned over and over again in the context of this tragic novel.

Indeed, Henchard is a victim of his own delusions. He has falsely believed and is being psychotically driven to accept a misconception about who he truly is. Constituting to his life's outcome was because of his daunting past that was caused by his own

foolishness in his moment of weakness. Should that incident of being drunk did not happen in the first place, we could fairly make an assumption that he will not end up where he is at the end of the...
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