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1. Thomas Hardy was born in June 2 1840 in Higher Bockhampton, Dorset, England, and

died in January 11 1928, Dorchester, Dorset. He grew up in an isolated cottage on the edge of

open heathland. His early experience of rural life was fundamental to much of his later

writing. He spent a year at the village school at age eight and then moved on to a school in

Dorchester, where he received a good grounding in mathematics and Latin. In 1856 he was

an apprentice to an important architect and shortly after he moved to London and became a

draftsman. Poor health forced him to return to his native region in 1867. In the mid-1860s

lack of funds and declining religious faith forced him to abandon his early ambition of a

university education and his habits of intensive private study were then redirected toward

poetry and writing. In 1872, He decided to devote his time to his literary career.

Hardy was interested in focusing on depicting the native region as a setting, transforming the

real world into a fictional one. In the return of the native, he gives a fictional name to its

region; namely Wessex which is well known all over the world, and which is based on the

rural area reflecting its geographical details, culture, and socio-economic situation as well,

where Hardy was born and raced up. Another aspect to be pointed out is that as well as

Yeobright, Hardy is motivated to return to the native region because of his love of his birth

place.

2. The return of the native uses Naturalism very effectively when presenting new

characters or environments for the reader. Egdon Heath was described once as “a place

whose dark soil was strong and crude and organic as the body of a beast.”

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The novel illustrates how the characters are somewhat bound to the natural landscape. As the

heath powerfully influences the lives of its inhabitants, begins to take on human

characteristics. We can observe this in the following quotations.

“But celestial imperiousness, love, wrath, and fervour had proven to be somewhat thrown

away on netherward Egdon. Her power was limited, and the consciousness of this limitation

had biassed her development. Egdon was her Hades” (Thomas Hardy, 1912: 54).

"Do you mean Nature? I hate her already. But I shall be glad to hear your scheme at any

time." (Thomas Hardy, 1912:135). This quotation shows the contrast between human nature

and the natural world.

3. The title of the novel is poetical and highly suggestive. The word "return" has a lot of

meanings in this work and it is always surrounded by questions of longevity and intent. This

title conveys one of the major themes of the novel: choice. All returns are a result of a choice

and all sorts of returns in this novel cause a lot of drama.

Since the title of this novel explores more than one kind of "return” we may suggest that the

it refers not only to Clym’s homecoming, but to his truly return as a native, what really

entails this action and all the consequences it may have, and actually had. He was a native in

the Heath, then he left his home to succeed in Paris but later he returns to his birthplace,

leaving behind the luxury and extravagance of such a city. He decides to leave modernity and

to return to this primitive land, this place that still embraces a life of simplicity. Clym’s return

causes much sorrow and pain to a lot of people. Diggory Venn is another native who is

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returning to the story all the time, He seems to be a key character since he appears just in the

most opportune time, to save the characters from their miseries.

https://neoenglish.wordpress.com/2010/12/11/the-title-of-the-novel-its-significance-in-the-

return-of-the-native/

https://www.shmoop.com/

4. HEROES

ClymYeobright is one of the heroes of the novel. He ties all the other characters together

and it is his story drives the narrative. Clym is considered to be a hero because of his

generosity, chivalry, refinement and determination. He is considered to be the local man who

left and did not return. People in the Heath admired him because he left his native place to

pursuit his goals and ambitions.

Diggory is one of the most prominent characters in the novel and it is also considered to be

another hero. Diggory is generous and kind. He is the wisest character in the novel, which

sees through all others, and is able to manipulate them, not for his own good, but for the good

of his beloved, Thomasin. Venn’s selfless regard of the Heath suggests the altruism of the

community. He is one of those characters who succeed in life, and achieves happiness in the

end.

VILLAINS

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Damon Wildeve is the closest approximation to the novel’s villain. He is instrumental in

bringing unhappiness to Thomasin, and is also responsible for leading Eustacia to her ruin.

He's continually described as "careless" in his attitude and his behaviour. Wildeve may be

inconsiderate and offensive, but he isn't evil though his selfishness ensures that he often does

cause others harm.

SYMPATHETIC CHARACTER

Diggory Venn: Throughout most of the novel, Diggory works as a semi-nomadic

"reddleman" and he becomes an outcast, taking on a lonely role. Diggory is the spirit of the

Heath. He knows every mood of Egdon Heath and all its aspects. Because of his desire to

help Thomasin, Diggory adopts the role as the novel's primary meddler. For someone who is

such a loner, he really gets into everyone else's business. Venn actually plays a big role in

moving the novel's plot along. He is even considered to be the wisest character in the novel.

Diggory’s generosity, kindness and intelligence make the reader feel sympathetic towards

him and sometimes even pitiful.

5. Thomas Hardy seems to have a pessimistic philosophy of life and defines life as misery.

His vision is that men are puppets in the hands of God and thus everything is dependent on

luck. The author mixes the modern and ancient form of tragedies. His tragedies are realistic

but he portrays the pathos of humans. Hardy’s tragedy can be concluded in these ingredients:

events, chances, coincidences and fate. In The Return of the Native we can clearly perceive

that Hardy’s characters are governed by fate, all of them have little or no control over their

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lives. In the novel the author shows man as the helpless plaything of invisible powers,

ruthless and indifferent. He embodies the idea that man lives in an indifference of universe.

http://www.askliterature.com/novel/hardys-tragic-vision/

6) The interplay between inevitable social change and traditional ways of life.

One of the most attractive points of the novel is the way in which it records the dying

customs because the inhabitants don’t obey and follow the traditions and customs. They put

laws separating the different social classes.

One of the major conflicts in the novel is that Dorset cannot change his attitudes and

traditions while the social change is in front of his eyes. Harry’s work highlights the

traditions of his age, and there are too many customs that play a central role to the narrative.

Hardy explains that repeated traditions can make us forget the real sentimental value of them.

The most important tradition is the celebrations of May Day because they finally reunite to

Thomasin and Diggory.

As regards traditional ways of life, in the return of the native we see people failing to

performing their expected "roles" in this book, and we witness the ramifications of not

playing by the rules and norms of such a traditional society: Mrs. Yeobright embarrasses

herself and her family when she publicly refuses to support Thomasin's engagement; Eustacia

is shunned and is even persecuted as a witch.

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The lad was in good spirits that day, for the fifth of November had again come around. For

two successive years his mistress had seemed to take pleasure in lighting a bonfire. (Thomas

Hardy, 1912: 236).

The effect of boredom on passionate personalities.

The characters feel a sense of boredom on passionate personalities because they do not fall in

love because of the gratitude of the characters. They do not feel in love, their love is a

fantasy. They idealize the characters according to their tastes and conveniences, so they get

bored to each other.

The characters do not have romantic conflicts because they are not in love to each other. For

example, Damon and Eustacia seem bored by the idea of happy, conflict-free love.

“Fidelity in love for fidelity's sake had less attraction for her that for most women: fidelity

because of love's grip had much” (Thomas Hardy, 1912: 55).

"Do you love me now?"

"Who can say?"

"Tell me; I will know it!"

"I do, and I do not," said he mischievously. "That is, I have my times and my

seasons."(Thomas Hardy, 1912: 67).

Gentility: This theme refers to the gentility that has Clym. He is chivalry and kind. Clym is

intelligent, cultured and deeply introspective. He is patient and generous, but also deeply

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determined. He is kind with all the characters except with his mother. He is the vivid

representation of gentility.

“No sooner had Clym given her his arm and led her off the scene than the reddleman turned

back from the beaten track towards East Egdon, whither he had been strolling merely to

accompany Clym in his walk, Diggory’s van being again in the neighbourhood” (Thomas

Hardy, 1912: 189).

Romance: In the return of the native, love is a fantasy for many of the characters. Characters

fell in love based on their romanticized vision of another person. The most affected character

was Eustacia, she was desperate to discover the passion of romantic love. Her necessity to

discover the passion of romantic love makes her blind and cannot see that Wildeve mostly

repulses her.

"Don't mistake me, Clym: though I should like Paris, I love you for yourself alone. To be your

wife and live in Paris would be heaven for me; but I would rather live with you in a

hermitage here than not be yours at all. It is gain to me either way, very great gain. There's

my too candid confession." (Thomas Hardy, 1912: 143).

7. Symbolism in the return of the native:

1) Edgdon Heath: The first chapter of the novel is dedicated to that description of the heath

because it proves physically and psychologically important throughout the novel. This

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description transforms the heath into a principal character, identifying it as a man like-figure.

The setting of this novel is playing a great role by its effect on the characters themselves. The

place is the heath which was very close to the writer's birthplace in Dorset. The characters

can be divided according to their love or hatred toward the heath and their destinies are to be

defined according to this relationship. The heath may be considered as a symbol of faith, in a

sense it controls the destinies of its inhabitants; this tragic feature proves true at the end of the

novel and it is foreshadowed in the first chapter.

2) Bonfire and Rainbarrow: Bonfire is used for commemorations especially religious and

pagan. The bonfire marks the contrast with the darkness of the heath. The imagery of light

and darkness serves symbolically the theme of knowledge and ignorance throughout the

novel. Rainbarrow is the highest place in the heath, the centre of the locals' festivities, and the

place of the lovers' meetings. The writer uses fire to denote the rebelliousness of some of his

characters against nature embodied by the heath. The writer describes Eustacia’s soul to be

“flame-like" to refer to her romantic nature and anxious character.

3) The moon: According to a superstitious saying of the heath folk, the moon symbolizes the

relationship between the moon and mans-birth to define his personality. It is believed that the

perfect man might be born when the moon was full. The scene of the eclipsed moon, in which

Eustacia agrees to marry Clym, symbolizing the disapproval of fortune to this marriage. The

failure of this marriage at last proves that this conclusion is correct. The writer uses the

metaphor of the eclipsed moon to denote Eustacia tragic death; the eclipse of moon means the

eclipse of herself.

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4) Paris:

Paris represents everything Eustacia wants out of life: luxury, adventure, culture, and

romance. It greatly contrasts to the heath, which is why she longs for it so deeply, for

Eustacia, Paris represents the entire world outside the heath.

5) Gambling:

Most of the characters seem to be gamblers; it is associated with chance, accident,

coincidence, adventure, and fate. The Writer presents Wildeve as someone who is always

gambling with life. Eustacia gambles with her life in the heath with Clym to adventure with

Wildeve to live in a modern city essentially found in her imagination. Clym gambles with

easy and comfortable life in Paris to endure cruel life in the heath.

In the scene of gambling, Wildeve proves loser as his role in life, while Diggory Venn, the

winner, proves his succeeding role at the end of the novel.

6) Physical impairment: In general, it refers to the intellectual blindness. It may be interpreted

in three ways:

1- Clym blindness is interpreted as his return from the city of modernism (Paris) to the Heath

as a symbol of ignorance.

2- The second one is interpreted as the intellectual blindness. Any character who comes from

the civilization

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3- The third interpretation may be concluded as the reconciliation between the two previous

contradicting points of view. The writer is with certain kinds of knowledge that save the

human being and is against other kinds which may destroy him.

7) Wind, storm and rain: The writer describes a special relationship between Egdon Heath

and the wind and storm. The storm is his lover and the wind is his friend. The queer wind is

accompanied by the fairy mood haunted the heath.The wind expresses Eustacia's emotional

disturbances and her internal conflicts.

The role of the weather in the novel is directed in such a way that it changes according to the

mood and situation. The parallelism between the setting and the inner feelings of the

characters is designed in great harmony.

8) Water: Water, like many of the symbols in this novel, has both positive and negative

aspects attached to it. Water is life-giving and healing, but also deadly and dangerous. So it's

fitting that such a complex symbol would be attached to a complicated theme like choices,

especially to Eustacia's choices. Given how closely water is tied to Eustacia and her decisions

makes sense that water would also be the scene of Eustacia's mysterious death. Water also

plays a huge role in the final moments before Eustacia drowns.

9) Death: The death of Eustacia and Wildeve may be interpreted that the heath hates these

two characters and it kills everyone who resembles an enemy. It also suggests the hostile

nature of the heath which revenges itself for the hatred shown it by these two. It seems that

the characters cannot escape Egdon: you either come to terms with it or it destroys you. The

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symbolic meaning of their death is the death of their direction or attitude. Their attitude is

against the writer's idea of anti – modernism; really the false appearances of modernism

which are embodied by the behaviours and ambitions of Eustacia and Wildeve.

8. Hardy delivers his views on desire and romantic love with a unique spin. He explores

the ideas of desire for social status and possession versus romantic desire through the various

relationships in the novel; in doing so, he examines the implications of modernity within

these relationships.

In the novel love is a fantasy for many of its characters since they fall in love based on their

romanticized vision of another person, not on reality. There return of the native is a love story

and in it there is not merely a love triangle, but a rhomboid with a tail. The love triangle may

be represented as follows:

Eustacia - Clym

Wildeve - Thomasin – Venn

Both Clym and Wildeve love Eustacia and both Wildeve and Venn love Thomasin. Thus

there is a double love story, the path of the lovers cross, and the result is much sorrow and

suffering, and ultimately tragedy. In the novel love is a source of tragedy rather than of

happiness

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9. The narrative style of the novel is different to that of the traditional writing because

Thomas Hardy uses different narrative mechanisms in making attractive to his readers. The

point of view in “the return of the native” is a third person or omniscient. This means that

events can be viewed through the eyes of whatever character at the moment suits the author's

purposes. Usually, though not always, such a person is one of the main characters. Such a

point of view is normally confusing to the reader only when it is shifted frequently in a short

space.

The narrator of the novel makes an aesthetic judgement rather than a moral one since he uses

different narrative mechanisms in order to make his writing attractive to his readers.

10. In our opinion the most consistent and credible ending to the novel is the tragic one.

This is because the happy ending is not credible or convincing after all the tragic events that

took place in the novel. There is no consistency between the tragic plot and the happy ending.

Moreover, it is not credible since the Heath and its inhabitants seem to be destined to suffer

and to fail in the endless pursuit of happiness.

Biographical citations:

Book:

Hardy, Thomas (1912). The return of the native. Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Edition.

Hardy, Thomas (1912). The figure against the sky. Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Edition.

Hardy, Thomas (1912). Firmness is discovered in a gentle Heart. Ware, Hertfordshire:

Wordsworth Edition.

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Hardy, Thomas (1912). A conjuncture and its result upon the Pedestrian. Ware,
Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Edition.
Hardy, Thomas (1912). Queen of night. Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Edition.
Hardy, Thomas (1912). Love leads a shrewd Man into Strategy. Ware, Hertfordshire:
Wordsworth Edition.
Hardy, Thomas (1912). My mind to Me a Kingdom is. Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth
Edition.

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