Mensonge, espionnage et tromperie dans le maire de casterbridge de thomas hardy (en anglais)
DECEPTION, SECRECY, EAVESDROPPING, SPYING & OBSERVING
Intro
Definitions:
Deception:
- The use of deceit
- The fact or state of being deceived
- A ruse, a trick
Secrecy:
- The state of being secret, hidden or concealed
- Ability to keep a secret
Eavesdropping: to listen secretly to a private conversation
Spying: to observe secretively or furtively with hostile intent
Observing: to regard with attention so as to see or learn something.
Gossip: idle talk or rumor, esp. about the personal or private affairs of others
At the beginning of the story, there is a balance based on secrecy: each character has their own secret which causes no harm as long as it remains secret. However the deceptive nature of some characters leads to spying, observing and eavesdropping, which leads to deception, and the secrets are revealed.
I. Balance: secrets
1) Henchard and Susan
Their main secret is the aunction of Susan and the child at Weydon-Priors. (Chapter I) It is very important because the plot is based on that event.
The secret is kept for 20 years for Henchard and he feels guilty about that. As for Susan, she kept it until her death.
The Furmity woman reveals the secret to the inhabitants of Casterbridge.(chapter XXVIII) However, Henchard revealed it to Farfrae much before (Chapter VII) §“No, no...”. The Furmity woman’s intervention is a turning point because Lucetta doesn’t love Henchard anymore: that shows that the revelation make people’s behaviour change between each others. and it’s the beginning of Henchard’s social decline, which kills him.
The revelation also shows another aspect of Henchard’s personnality: his honesty because he dosen’t deny the accusation, even if nobody believes the furmity woman because the clerk tells her “Tis a conocted story [...]so hold your tongue”. Instead denying the fact Henchard says “Tis as true as the light”. (Chapter