Works of Thomas Hardy discussion

The Mock Wife

It’s a dark drama, this; and yet I know the house, and date;
That is to say, the where and when John Channing met his fate.
The house was one in High Street, seen of burghers still alive,
The year was some two centuries bygone; seventeen-hundred and five.

And dying was Channing the grocer. All the clocks had struck eleven,
And the watchers saw that ere the dawn his soul would be in Heaven;
When he said on a sudden: “I should like to kiss her before I go, —
For one last time!” They looked at each other and murmured, “Even so.”

She’d just been haled to prison, his wife; yea, charged with shaping his death:
By poison, ’twas told; and now he was nearing the moment of his last breath:
He, witless that his young housemate was suspect of such a crime,
Lay thinking that his pangs were but a malady of the time.

Outside the room they pondered gloomily, wondering what to do,
As still he craved her kiss — the dying man who nothing knew:
“Guilty she may not be,” they said; “so why should we torture him
In these his last few minutes of life? Yet how indulge his whim?”

And as he begged there piteously for what could not be done,
And the murder-charge had flown about the town to every one,
The friends around him in their trouble thought of a hasty plan,
And straightway set about it. Let denounce them all who can.

“O will you do a kindly deed — it may be a soul to save;
At least, great misery to a man with one foot in the grave?"
Thus they to the buxom woman not unlike his prisoned wife;
“The difference he’s past seeing; it will soothe his sinking life.”

Well, the friendly neighbour did it; and he kissed her; held her fast;
Kissed her again and yet again. “I — knew she’d — come at last! —
Where have you been? — Ah, kept away! — I’m sorry — overtried —
God bless you!” And he loosed her, fell back tiredly, and died.

His wife stood six months after on the scaffold before the crowd,
Ten thousand of them gathered there; fixed, silent, and hard-browed,
To see her strangled and burnt to dust, as was the verdict then
On women truly judged, or false, of doing to death their men.

Some of them said as they watched her burn: “I am glad he never knew,
Since a few hold her as innocent — think such she could not do!
Glad, too, that (as they tell) he thought she kissed him ere he died.”
And they seemed to make no question that the cheat was justified.

Published in 1925 in "Human Shows, Far Phantasies, Songs and Trifles"

In paragraph 5 of Chapter XI in "The Mayor of Casterbridge," Hardy mentions a famous execution that took place at the gallows of the Ring of Casterbridge:

". . . in 1705 a woman who had murdered her husband was half-strangled and then burnt there in the presence of ten thousand spectators. Tradition reports that at a certain stage of the burning her heart burst and leapt out of her body, to the terror of them all. . . "

Hardy is referring to the execution of Mary Channing at Maumbury Ring. Eighteen-year-old Mary was accused of poisoning her husband, grocer Thomas Channing, with mercury a little over thirteen weeks after their marriage. She had a reputation as a "wild child" who was forced into the marriage by her parents. Her colorful reputation influenced the jury who only took half an hour to find her guilty. Mary's execution was postponed because she was pregnant, and she gave birth to a son in jail six months later.

Public executions were a spectator event in the 18th Century, and 10,000 spectators gathered in Dorchester's ancient Roman amphitheatre, Maumbury Ring. This is a large oval earthen ring which the Romans had used as a gladiatorial venue. It was the location of a stone circle in the late Neolithic period.

A wife convicted of killing her husband was considered guilty of "petty treason." The law called for strangulation by the noose, followed by burning. Death by hanging meant slow strangulation until the longer drop was introduced in the 1800s. There is evidence that the executioner did not wait until Mary Channing was fully dead by strangulation, and she was still alive when the fires were lit.

For more information:
http://www.dorsetlife.co.uk/2017/12/m...

Burned at the Stake: The Life and Death of Mary Channing by Summer Strevens

"The Mock Wife" is a ballad by Hardy about the husband of Mary Channing on his deathbed. Although he is called Thomas Channing in historical documents and in an essay by Hardy, his name is changed to John Channing in the poem.

Channing, the grocer, is dying and he does not know that his wife has been charged with poisoning him. Mary Channing has already been brought to prison. John's final wish was a last kiss from his wife, and his friends want him to have a happy moment before he dies. So they substitute another woman--a mock wife-- as a "kindly deed" because John is too ill to know the difference. Hardy felt that Mary's guilt was questionable.

Hardy had a strong interest in local history and folklore. The execution of Mary Channing on March 21, 1706 is a real historical event. The story of the last kiss in "The Mock Wife" has been passed down in folklore and might be fictional.

Over to you!

Connie

This is a chilling story on so many levels. First, the actual event is one that is both frightening and somber at the same time. There is such a tragic connection among the various elements of the story. Was the wife actually guilty? From what element of the human spirit did 10000 people desire to witness the event? Sadly, such morbid curiosity exists to this day — and now people record tragic events on their phones to replay later.

Hardy certainly had the pulse of his readers on his mind. Both in prose and poetry he wrote about this event and skillfully intertwined them. Brilliant!

The poem is written in rhyming couplets which is perfect for the ballad form. My guess is that the poem must have been covered by some group or singer. And so the story carries on until this day.

Thanks for the link to ‘Burned at the Stake.’ A book I will read.

I imagine that the poem must have been turned into a song and then sung on location. Wow! What a chilling event that would have been!

Peter, I haven't found any information that "The Mock Wife" was made into a recorded song, but I don't know if some folksingers have used it in a small show. Some of Hardy's other poems have been made into recordings.

People didn't have movies or TV as entertainment, so hangings were a source of gossip and entertainment. Before the Ring was used for hangings, it was used by the Romans where either animals or gladiators would fight as entertainment. The audience would sit on the grassy terraced areas to view. The Maumbury Ring has a violent history.

I haven't read the book, "Burned at the Stake," but the Dorset Life article is based on the book. Hardy questioned her guilt since it seemed based on Mary's reputation, and there was only circumstantial evidence. If you read the book, please tell the group more about the trial.

I like this poem very much, gruesome as it is! Thanks Connie for leading this one and the useful information. Some narrative poems bore me, but this is riveting, and makes one's hair stand on end! The part about the wife's heart bursting out of her body sounds apocryphal - the sort of added ghoulish detail the Victorians loved - but it seems to have been based on fact. 😱 "a tasteless yet grim reality of 18th-century life" indeed.

This takes me back to the first chapter, where Michael Henchard as a young man was reading a ballad sheet. Perhaps this horrifying story - or one very like it, was included among the local news and songs he was so absorbed in.

Here's more on Maumbury Rings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maumbur...

I find it oddly interesting that the real life site is plural. Perhaps Thomas Hardy removed the "s" and called it "The Ring" so that he could make more symbolic use of it.

(All the links are now in place.)

Thank you for bringing us this related poem and history, Connie!

I agree with Jean that, unlike some narrative poems, Hardy kept my interest here. I think he's showing his narrative chops, grounding us in the place first, then the grocer, then working up to a climax of the gruesome details before a sort of haunting dénouement. Very well done, but it is disgusting that so many would want to witness such a scene!

Connie wrote: "Peter, I haven't found any information that "The Mock Wife" was made into a recorded song, but I don't know if some folksingers have used it in a small show. Some of Hardy's other poems have been m..."

Connie

I just checked and the Toronto Library system does not have a copy of the book. I have put in a request for its purchase. Fingers crossed, but like so many public institutions today, budgets are tight. However, if I ever do read it I will let the group know and write a Goodreads review.

Kathleen wrote: "Thank you for bringing us this related poem and history, Connie!

I agree with Jean that, unlike some narrative poems, Hardy kept my interest here. I think he's showing his narrative chops, ground..."

Indeed this poem is well done, Kathleen and sounds like a ballad.

Unfortunately there were many spectators of guillotine executions during the 1789 Revolution and the subsequent Terror in 1793 onwards, so that I am not surprised. Women were eagerly booking seats and as eagerly knitting, just like Mme Lafarge in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Therefore they were called Les Tricoteuses.

This is a wonderful poem, Connie. Thank you for presenting it to us with the added articles for reference. When I read the line in chapter 11 about how the crowd couldn't eat hot roast after witnessing this execution I just thought - ew gross!!! It was more macabre than I'm used to from Hardy.

And now to know that 10,000 people were there to see it! Even today, with our large cities, that's a HUGE crowd. It says a lot about people, I think, that we would find that entertaining. Its definitely true, even today, but it is a rather dark side to humanity.

How sad that Mary was pregnant and had to wait for delivery of her baby while living in a jail. And then to be executed anyway. The poor innocent child.

I really liked the last line of the poem: And they seemed to make no question that the cheat was justified. It seems to wrap up the story in an ironic way. I don't fault John's friends for playing this trick on him, but I find the line a little ironic given that Mary's trial was perhaps unfair, and no one thought to question that as a "cheat" on Mary.

I could not help wondering what kind of life the child had after. Whether there was family to take him on and what the effect would have been of having the notoriety of his mother surround him. Of course, what one feels for Mary would be predicated on whether one felt she was guilty or not, but what a horrible way to die regardless.

I did so enjoy reading this poem — reading it out I got the cadence of the words and the force within them but it also made me very sad to think that a young woman was strangled and then burned not so much on evidence but on a 19-year-old's reputation.

Indeed after reading the chapter in The Mayor of Casterbridge, the poem and related images, etc., made a great impression on me.

Bionic Jean wrote: "I like this poem very much, gruesome as it is! Thanks Connie for leading this one and the useful information. Some narrative poems bore me, but this is riveting, and makes one's hair stand on end! ..."

I was away all day, and it is so nice to come back to so many interesting comments.

Jean, I wonder if it is called Maumbury Rings because the grass terraces also form rings. Thank you for the link.

Kathleen wrote: "Thank you for bringing us this related poem and history, Connie!

I agree with Jean that, unlike some narrative poems, Hardy kept my interest here. I think he's showing his narrative chops, ground..."

Kathleen, this reminded me of how people used to burn witches. A mob would decide someone was guilty just because they were a little unusual.

Peter wrote: "Connie wrote: "Peter, I haven't found any information that "The Mock Wife" was made into a recorded song, but I don't know if some folksingers have used it in a small show. Some of Hardy's other po..."

Peter, I had checked a few weeks ago to see if it was in my library consortium too, but none of the libraries had the book. It is not an expensive book so maybe your library will come through for you.

Claudia wrote: "Kathleen wrote: "Thank you for bringing us this related poem and history, Connie!

I agree with Jean that, unlike some narrative poems, Hardy kept my interest here. I think he's showing his narrat..."

Claudia, you're so right about the crowds coming out for the public hangings. I read The Tale of Two Cities back when I was 13, but I still have the image of Mme Lafarge seared into my brain. I would love to read it again to see how I regard the book as an adult.

Bridget wrote: "This is a wonderful poem, Connie. Thank you for presenting it to us with the added articles for reference. When I read the line in chapter 11 about how the crowd couldn't eat hot roast after witnes..."

Those are good points about the "cheat," Bridget.

Another upsetting thing is that men who killed their wife were hanged. But women who killed their husband were hanged, and then burned at the stake. They were supposed to be dead before they were burned, but a mean executioner could start the fire before they had died. There were probably sadistic people in the crowd that would have loved that. There were reports that Mary Channing had to undergo that additional pain.

Sara wrote: "I could not help wondering what kind of life the child had after. Whether there was family to take him on and what the effect would have been of having the notoriety of his mother surround him. Of ..."

Sara, the baby boy was not given the Channing name so that he would not be associated with his mother. I don't know if he was adopted or sent to an orphanage. I hope some caring person sent him out of the Dorset area for adoption. It's a good sign that we don't know what happened to him, and someone kept his parentage secret.

Pamela wrote: "I did so enjoy reading this poem — reading it out I got the cadence of the words and the force within them but it also made me very sad to think that a young woman was strangled and then burned not..."

I'm glad you enjoyed it, Pamela. Reading a ballad/narrative poem aloud can really make the story told in the poem come alive. It's not surprising that such a shocking story was passed down through several generations before Hardy heard the tale.

Oh my goodness, I can't resist posting this, with an image. From the Rural Historia website, and under a spoiler to save space:

(view spoiler)[NEOLITHIC: The Tragic Execution of Mary Channing
Mary Channing was the last woman to be publicly hanged and burned at the stake in Dorset. Her execution took place at Maumbury Rings in Dorchester, which is often marketed as a Roman amphitheatre, but in reality, it is a Neolithic henge, dating back around 5000 years.
This ancient site, with its rich history, witnessed an event that would go down in more recent history, Mary Channing’s execution on March 21st, 1706.
Mary was convicted of killing her husband. Initially, she was granted a stay of execution until her baby was born. Four days after the birth, on that fateful day, Mary was taken by cart from Dorchester Prison to Maumbury Rings, where, in front of a crowd of up to 10,000 people, she was hanged.
Public executions were a common, albeit morbid, spectacle in the 18th century, drawing crowds who witnessed such brutal acts of justice with unsettling regularity.
Burning at the stake was the customary form of execution for women convicted of petty treason, a crime often committed by wives who had killed their husbands, until the late 1700s. At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, Mary’s body was bound to a post, and the faggots (wooden piles) around her were set ablaze.
The crowd, seemingly desensitized to the horror, watched as her body was consumed by the fire, and then, as if nothing extraordinary had occurred, they quietly dispersed.
This chilling event became a subject of fascination for Thomas Hardy, who was somewhat "obsessed" with Mary’s execution.
Hardy was known to have doubted her guilt and considered her tragic end an inspiration for his poem, ‘The Mock Wife’, and he also mentions her in his novel, ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’ (1886).
At the time, anyone convicted of petty treason, such as a wife killing her husband, was subjected to this brutal punishment.
Although the law required Mary to be strangled with a noose before being burned, there is evidence suggesting she may have still been alive when the fire was lit.
Hardy’s fictional depiction reflects his doubt, famously writing: “not one of those ten thousand people ever cared particularly for hot roast after that.”
Mary Channing was only 19 years old at the time of her execution. As for her son, little is known about his fate, as it seems to have been lost to history.
Maumbury Rings, now a quiet Neolithic monument, stands as a haunting reminder of both ancient and more recent historical events, events like the tragic and unjust death of Mary Channing. (hide spoiler)]



Apparently Mary’s fate is also part of John Cowper Powys’ novel Maiden Castle. Powys was a relative of Hardy.

What a totally gruesome event! Connie, thank you for the information on the child. I am glad that he was given at least some chance for a normal life. I have always wondered at what drives people to want to witness such horrors, but I don't think it would be different today if public hangings were re-instituted.

Jean, thank you for posting a modern day image of the Maumbury Rings. It looks like a drone shot of the area. We have to picture it in our minds, without the highway and buildings, in Hardy's time.

Has anyone in the group read Maiden Castle by John Cowper Powys that Jean mentioned?

Sara wrote: "What a totally gruesome event! Connie, thank you for the information on the child. I am glad that he was given at least some chance for a normal life. I have always wondered at what drives people t..."

Unfortunately, I think lots of people would show up to witness a hanging. It brings to mind all the people who were hung by the Ku Klux Klan, or have been threatened by a noose hanging in their workplace.

Peter wrote: "I just checked and the Toronto Library system does not have a copy of the book...."

I also just checkded and my library also doesn't have this book.

Peter, I hope your library gets a copy and you let us know about it.

This is a wonderful, though gruesome, poem. It's full of feeling, some of it not pleasant.
Poor Mary! She was convicted by opinion, it seems, not necessarily facts. It's sad that she had to pay such a price for her "wild" reputation.

It was kind of the townspeople to give John his final wish......yet they weren't as kind to his true wife, Mary.

What a horrid way to die and with so many spectators. Poor Mary must have been so frightened and feeling alone that day.

I'm not usually glad we have TV these days, but it's a better entertainment than watching someone hanged and burned.

I hope to read the book Burned at the Stake: The Life and Death of Mary Channing at some point. My library system doesn't have it or Maiden Castle.

Hardy's poem made me interested in this up-to-now unknown person and it's made me care for Mary.

Petra wrote: "This is a wonderful, though gruesome, poem. It's full of feeling, some of it not pleasant.
Poor Mary! She was convicted by opinion, it seems, not necessarily facts. It's sad that she had to pay su..."

The execution reminded me of witch trials where the crowd goes into a frenzy, and the person accused doesn't stand a chance against public opinion. Since there were no toxicology tests, people just looked at Mr Channing's symptoms. We don't know if he was poisoned or if he was sick. A grocer also could have been handling rat poison to keep rodents away from the groceries. I haven't read the book so I don't know what possibilities the author wrote about.