Dorchester through the Lens of Thomas Hardy
When? 04 June 2023
Where? Dorset Museum & Art Gallery - Dorchester
Join Mark Chutter, Chairman and Academic Director of the Thomas Hardy Society, to explore how Hardy presents the town of Dorchester in his writing. The talk will consider the lens through which Hardy presents the town as ‘partly real, partly dream country’ within his fictional Wessex.
Hardy’s fictional name for Dorchester was ‘Casterbridge’. The talk will explore the descriptions and liminal private and public performance spaces of Casterbridge, described by the writer as ‘compact as a box of dominoes – it was untouched by the faintest sprinkle of modernism and it bespoke Old Rome in every alley, shop and precinct’.
The talk will consider Hardy’s 1886 novel The Mayor of Casterbridge, as well as the short story The Withered Arm’ (1888), and the poems ‘The Ruined Maid’ and ‘The Curate’s Kindness – A Workhouse Irony’.
Mark Damon Chutter is the Chairman and Academic Director of the Thomas Hardy Society. He has published papers in the Thomas Hardy Journal and for the Times Educational Supplement (TES). He has been teaching for over 25 years and was shortlisted for the TES’s ‘Most Innovative Teacher of the Year’ and ‘Teacher of the Year’ awards.
More information:
Visit Event Website
Event hosted by:
Dorset Museum & Art Gallery
High West Street, Dorchester, DT1 1XA
Tel: 01305 756827
Events Nearby
Piano Recital by Yuanfan Yang
Dorset Spring Show
Athelhampton - O Flow’ry May
Spring Plant Fair at Athelhampton
Kohima 80 Evening
Latest Dorchester Features...
Operation Overlord – D-DAY 80th Anniversary 6TH June 1944 – 6th June 2024.
This year sees the 80th anniversary of D-Day, and in commemorative events across the county, Dorset will be paying homage to the incredible bravery of allied troops who left South Coast ports and airfields for France on 6th June 1944.
On this momentous day, over 5,000 ships and landing craft carrying more than 150,000 troops descended on five Normandy beaches. The landings saw the start of ... Read more...
Dorset’s Egg-stravaganza of Easter Activities!
The Easter holidays are upon us! Whether you’re visiting Dorset for a holiday or live here and want to explore more of your county, there’s never a shortage of places to go and activities for the kids – and big kids! – to get involved in. But what’s on?
Dorset is chock full of family-friendly attractions, and many will be hosting Easter Egg Hunts or other fun activities for kids to enjoy over ... Read more...
So, it’s the half term and you may be wondering how you’re going to keep the kids entertained!
Well don’t worry, whether you are local resident or are staying in Dorset on a break, there’s lots to do throughout the seasons. Our Resort family has children of different ages and here are some of the things we plan to enjoy; perhaps you will too!
Fossil Hunting – Will you be the next person to find a Sea Rex? Who knows you may just discover the next ... Read more...