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영어

This paper aims to examine the avarice of a man named Henchard through the rereading of The Mayor of Casterbridge. This novel is Hardy’s first successful long story with the attempt to create tragedy. It is the novel of character and fate. In that it describes Hardy’s belief that a man’s character determines that man’s life. The story, itself, depicts the rise and fall of Henchard, the hero of this novel, who sells his wife and daughter to satisfy his avarice. Through Characters, environments, and continual assemblages, Hardy presents de-systematization, de-codification as well as the proposition composed of the diversity by the existence of the ‘other’. In this work, Henchard consistently seeks for his avarice, which is regarded as the reality by the object of avarice. However, he finally recognizes that he can not attain it and his greed will be the end of his destruction. This shows the aspect of the ‘other’ through the recognition that Henchard’s self has been involved in the avarice as a disintegrated subject. Because of Henchard’s limited perception of the world around, he never recognizes the true nature of his desires: He can not control his avarice. Consequently Hardy emerges Henchard as the ‘other’. In Henchard’s impulsive pursuit of strong greed, he loses his social status and a great deal of money. In the end, Henchard becomes the protagonist, the tragic figure of the ‘other’. (Kunsan University)