The townspeople, in return, decides to punish Henchard and Lucetta for their deed; they conduct a "skimmity-ride", a parade of dummies of Henchard and Lucetta around town for the sin of Adultery. Jopp, of course, enjoys himself, which shows how cruel and insensitive he is. The "skimmity ride" causes the death of Lucetta, and Jopp denies any involvement with it. With that denial by Jopp, Hardy shows Jopp is indeed, cruel and insensitive. .
In addition to Joshua Jopp, Thomas Hardy uses the townspeople to demonstrate cruelty and insensitivity in The Mayor of Casterbridge. The townspeople first show their cruel and insensitive side, when they gossip about Michael Henchard's relationship with Susan Newsome, a widow from the sea. They feel that Susan is too pale and fragile for Henchard, their mayor. And because they are blind to Henchard's past marriage with Susan, and the abominable deed he commits when he sales Susan and his daughter to a sailor, the townspeople does not realize that he marries her to make-up for the past. Therefore, they continue to feel that Susan is of lower-birth than Henchard, and that ultimately the marriage will fail. Shortly after their marriage, Susan dies. Once again, the townspeople show how cruel and insensitive they are, when they have little regard for her death, and dig up the pennies she buries in her garden. In addition to their treatment of Susan, the townspeople continue their cruel and insensitive ways, when they discover the truth about Henchard's past. After the furmity-seller testifies Henchard's past, and Henchard admits his wrong, the townspeople still believe that it is a scandalous act and continue to downgrade his name. Eventually, they cause the ex-mayor to live with Joshua Jopp on the barren side of town. However, the cruelty and insensitivity to the ex-mayor does not stop there. Upon their discovery of Michael's past through Jopp, who reads Lucetta's love letters aloud at Peter's Finger, the townspeople decide to hold a "skimmity ride".
