SOURCE: Grossman, Julie. “Thomas Hardy and the Role of Observer.” ELH 56, no. 3 (autumn 1989): 619-38.

In the following essay, Grossman examines the observers in Hardy's novels and notes that the observer role is the key link between Hardy's narrative technique and the stories that unfold.

A seer's spirit took possession of Elizabeth, impelling her to sit down by the fire and divine events so surely from data already her own that they could be held as witnessed.

—Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge

In The Mayor of Casterbridge, Elizabeth-Jane's observations are an extended metaphor for divining the truth. This “discerning silent witch” is Hardy's most objective observer; she propels the narrative with her keen insight.¹ Hardy likens her depth of vision to a diving power, suggesting that Elizabeth-Jane's peculiarity lies in her exemplary talent for observing things the way they really are. She is a perfect starting and ending...