The Mayor of Casterbridge

God almighty, what was Hardy thinking when he wrote this? I have not read up on any of the doubtless hundreds of literary reviews, so let me be blunt and anachronistic: to me Henchard seems an unlucky guy with ADHD and a temper problem who never learns from his faults. Everyone in the book is a flat character. No one really learns anything. Farfrae and Lucette are a weird match - a saint and a devil. The plot is like a 17th century tragedy. Glad this ordeal is over.