“The business of the poet and novelist is to show the sorriness underlying the grandest things, and the grandeur underlying the sorriest.” Thomas Hardy said this upon completion of the novel . Thomas Henchard, the main character in his novel, becomes the example to illustrate this idea. Henchard is at one point the most powerful person in a small town called Casterbridge. He is the wealthiest person and commands the most respect, but Hardy shows some terrible characteristics of Henchard. Because of Henchard’s pride and ego, h ....