Study Guide

The Mayor of Casterbridge Chapter 5

By Thomas Hardy

Chapter 5

Turns out a big public dinner is being held at a nice hotel. The doors and windows are all open, and they see that the mayor and town councilmen are all eating and giving speeches.
The mayor is Michael Henchard!
Susan is overwhelmed and says she doesn't want to see him.
Elizabeth-Jane doesn't know why her mother is responding this way – she's excited that their "distant relative by marriage" is important and probably wealthy.
Then some people in the crowd start making a fuss about how Henchard had sold bad grain to the bakers in town so all the bread is bad.
Henchard says he can't help it – the farmers sold him bad grain, so what can he do?
He says he won't offer a refund.
The crowd still seems grumpy, but they shut up.