More Than a 'Mere Painted Scene': The Role of Theatricality and the Carnivalesque in 'The Mayor of Casterbridge'

Authors

Christine R. Vahaly, Gettysburg CollegeFollow

Class Year

2016

Document Type

Student Research Paper

Date of Creation

Spring 2016

Department 1

English

Abstract

This essay examines the role of Thomas Hardy's scenes of community theatre, drawing examples from Far from the Madding Crowd, The Return of the Native, and The Mayor of Casterbridge. Only in such scenes from The Mayor of Casterbridge does Hardy employ Mikhail Bakhtin's carnivalesque, reversing the roles of the spectator and the creator of spectacle, the supporting cast and the lead actor, in order to magnify the fall of protagonist Michael Henchard.

Comments

English Senior Thesis

Copyright Note

This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.

Recommended Citation

Vahaly, Christine R., "More Than a 'Mere Painted Scene': The Role of Theatricality and the Carnivalesque in 'The Mayor of Casterbridge'" (2016). Student Publications. 442.
https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship/442