Now that I've run out of required topics, it's hard to find a good topic for a post. I guess I'll just run through some of the thoughts I've left unsaid about The Mayor of Casterbridge.
First, I'd highly recommend the book to anyone. It's got a great cast of characters. They're all memorable and interesting, if not necessarily likable. It's also a pretty easy read, at least compared with some of the other books we've read as a class. Thematically it's nowhere near as complex as a book like Song of Solomon. And Hardy's prose is way ahead of its time in terms of readability for a modern reader. The novel is also a reasonable length. So, if you're looking for a good book, definitely give The Mayor of Casterbridge a shot.
A lot of books have good endings. The "Historical Notes" section in The Handmaid's Tale is a pretty good ending. Having said that, the last couple lines of the Historical Notes don't really give a great sense of ending. I think the last sentence is something like "Any questions?" It's fine, but Atwood could easily have followed that with something like "End of transcript." or whatever and the ending would have been just as satisfying. What I'm saying is, despite a very good overall ending, the final sentence itself is kind of arbitrary.
Hardy, on the other hand, totally sticks the landing. The last sentence seems very final. It doesn't seem like he could have written one more sentence, or one less. I have no idea whether it has the same effect for people who haven't read the book, but here it is: "And in being forced to class herself among the fortunate [Elizabeth-Jane] did not cease to wonder at the persistence of the unforeseen, when the one to whom such unbroken tranquility had been accorded in the adult stage was she whose youth had seemed to teach that happiness was but the occasional episode in a general drama of pain" (p. 369) With the whole last paragraph, Hardy's discussing the themes of the novel pretty explicitly. I know that's probably bothersome for some people, but even those people would surely acknowledge the real sense of finality in the ending.
Personally, a good ending can really elevate my opinion of the whole book. I guess it's because the ending is what's last in your mind, giving it a greater influence on your thoughts. Anyway, I've realized how appropriate this discussion of endings is to my final blog post. If only I could think of a good final sentence...
