M ichael Henchard is traveling with his wife Susan looking for employment as a hay trusser When they stop to eat Henchard gets drunk and in an auction that begins as a joke but turns serious he sells his wife and their baby daughter Elizabeth Jane to Newson a sailor for five guineas In the morning Henchard regrets what he has done and searches the town for his wife and daughter Unable to find them he goes into a church and swears an oath that he will not drink alcohol for twenty one years the s