Webster's dictionary defines coincidences as "the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection." In this modern day and age, society is led to believe that our lives should be modeled after the seemingly perfect, yet awfully coincidental lives of soap opera dramas. Yet, such soap opera-esque coincidences are unavoidable in order to advance the plot. Likewise, in the novel, The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy, readers will experience something very familiar to a soap opera; drama, break-ups, and of course, the never ending coincidences. In the end, however, although the excessive uses of coincidences detract from the story, it is largely due to it that the plot is advanced, making this element of literature an inevitable part to any complex story.

The very first coincidence that is detected in the book seems already suspicious. When Michael Henchard...