# Joshua Jopp — The Mayor of Casterbridge character guide

> Joshua Jopp in The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Jopp, Joshua

**First appearance:** 0015-xvi

## Snapshot

A sullen, sidelined underling whose resentment of Henchard curdles into quiet scheming, the kind of grudge a country town never quite forgets.

## Who they are

Jopp moves through Casterbridge's lower commercial ranks, one of the men Henchard uses and then discards without a second thought. His grievance is small and personal, but in a town where reputations are currency, a disgruntled former employee is a loaded weapon waiting for the right hand. He matters because he shows how Henchard's habit of contempt breeds enemies in places the mayor never thinks to look.

## Relationships

### [Michael Henchard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mayor_of_casterbridge_se/characters/michael_henchard)

_rivalry_

Jopp is a disgruntled former employee of Henchard who harbors a bitter grudge and actively seeks to ruin him.

### [Lucetta Templeman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mayor_of_casterbridge_se/characters/lucetta_templeman)

_psychological_

Jopp manipulates and blackmails Lucetta, using knowledge of her past with Henchard to torment her.

### [Michael Henchard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mayor_of_casterbridge_se/characters/michael_henchard)

_rivalry_

Jopp is a disgruntled former employee of Henchard who harbors a bitter grudge and actively seeks to ruin him.

### [Lucetta Templeman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mayor_of_casterbridge_se/characters/lucetta_templeman)

_psychological_

Jopp manipulates and blackmails Lucetta, using knowledge of her past with Henchard to torment her.

### [Michael Henchard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mayor_of_casterbridge_se/characters/michael_henchard)

_rivalry_

Jopp is a disgruntled former employee of Henchard who harbors a bitter grudge and actively seeks to ruin him.

### [Lucetta Templeman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mayor_of_casterbridge_se/characters/lucetta_templeman)

_psychological_

Jopp manipulates and blackmails Lucetta, using knowledge of her past with Henchard to torment her.

## In the story

### [The Return of Susan and Elizabeth-Jane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mayor_of_casterbridge_se/chapters/x)

Arrives for an appointment but is rejected by Henchard; leaves angry and humiliated, foreshadowing future antagonism.

### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mayor_of_casterbridge_se/chapters/xvi)

Mentioned among the townspeople; not directly involved in the chapter's main action.

### [XXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mayor_of_casterbridge_se/chapters/xxvi)

Jopp is hired by Henchard as his new foreman, agreeing to help ruin Farfrae's business, motivated by his own grudge against Farfrae.

### [XXXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mayor_of_casterbridge_se/chapters/xxxi)

Jopp is the householder of the cottage where Henchard now lives.

### [Chapter XXXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mayor_of_casterbridge_se/chapters/xxxii)

Henchard's former foreman, now employed elsewhere, who taunts Henchard by telling him Farfrae has moved into his old house and bought his furniture.

### [XXXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mayor_of_casterbridge_se/chapters/xxxiv)

Mentioned indirectly as the occupier of the shop who informs Henchard of Farfrae's withdrawal.

### [Chapter XXXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mayor_of_casterbridge_se/chapters/xxxvi)

Seeks Lucetta's help for a partnership with Farfrae, then opens and reads Henchard's package of Lucetta's letters at Peter's Finger, driven by resentment and curiosity.

### [Chapter XXXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mayor_of_casterbridge_se/chapters/xxxvii)

Jopp is involved in planning the skimmington ride as a retaliation, viewing it not as a joke but as revenge.

### [Chapter XXXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mayor_of_casterbridge_se/chapters/xxxviii)

Briefly speaks with Henchard after the snub, sharing his own failed attempt to win Lucetta's intercession.

### [Chapter XL](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mayor_of_casterbridge_se/chapters/xl)

Informs Henchard of a mysterious visitor (a sea-captain) but hides his own complicity in the skimmington ride.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mayor_of_casterbridge_se/characters/joshua_jopp
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mayor_of_casterbridge_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mayor_of_casterbridge_se/characters