Michael Henchard, the central character of Thomas Hardy's *The Mayor of Casterbridge*, represents the tragic vision of human life in which happiness appears only briefly before being overwhelmed by suffering. The statement, “Happiness is an occasional episode in a general drama of pain,” perfectly captures the course of Henchard's life. Hardy presents him as a man of extraordinary strength, ambition, and emotion, but also as one whose flaws and fate combine to make lasting happiness impossible. His life moves from hope to success and then to loneliness, regret, and despair. The novel begins with Henchard's greatest mistake. In a drunken state, he sells his wife Susan and daughter Elizabeth-Jane at a country fair. This shocking act becomes the source of lifelong suffering. Although he later regrets his action and takes an oath not to drink for twenty-one years, the consequences of his sin continue to shape his future. Hardy suggests that a single wrong decision can leave permanent scars. Henchard's attempt to reform himself shows his moral strength, yet it cannot erase the past. Henchard's rise from an ordinary hay-trusser to the respected Mayor of Casterbridge brings him temporary happiness. He earns wealth, social status, and public admiration through hard work and determination. At this stage, he appears successful and confident. However, this happiness proves short-lived because it is built on unstable foundations. His pride, impulsive nature, and inability to forgive others slowly destroy what he has achieved. Hardy makes it clear that worldly success cannot guarantee peace of mind. The return of Susan and Elizabeth-Jane offers Henchard another chance for domestic happiness. He remarries Susan and tries to restore his