The Return of the Native   Thomas Hardy

THE STORY
As you read this novel, notice Hardy's book and chapter headings. Like many novelists of his time, he used these titles to give insights into his story. He divided the tale into six "books," almost like acts in a play. (The last, as we shall see later, was added because readers did not want a completely unhappy ending.)
BOOK ONE: THE THREE WOMEN
Hardy's women are almost always more interesting and believable than his male characters. This first book introduces us to three of the most famous: the mysterious and beautiful Eustacia Vye, the naive but strong-willed Thomasin Yeobright, and Mrs. Yeobright, Thomasin's seemingly arrogant and snobbish aunt. Each will come into conflict with the other two, because each is determined to have her own way.
CHAPTER 1: A FACE ON WHICH TIME MAKES BUT LITTLE IMPRESSION
This brief chapter is a brooding description of Egdon Heath, setting the scene for the tragic events to come. Readers rarely agree on the exact meaning of this first chapter, but don't be concerned. The vagueness is purposeful. You will see that, as the heath appears again and again throughout the novel, you will remember this first chapter and your understanding will grow and change.
In a passage that suggests a lot about his personal point of view, Hardy says that the heath is very much like human beings- "neither ghastly, hateful, nor ugly... but, like man, slighted and enduring." Is this a depressing view of mankind? Many people think so. Others, though, believe that calling mankind "slighted and enduring" places the emphasis on human bravery, on the determination to survive.
The chapter ends with Hardy's stress upon the heath's "ancient permanence." Other things have changed over the centuries; it has not. It represents something eternal. Time? Nature? Fate? Hardy doesn't say. Like a movie director, he moves his lens toward the white highway glowing on the heath at dusk, preparing us for the next chapter.
CHAPTER 2: HUMANITY APPEARS UPON THE SCENE, HAND IN HAND WITH TROUBLE
The action starts in mystery. Here, far from the sea, an old man in a naval uniform trudges along. He meets a man entirely covered in red, driving a cart.
NOTE:REDDLEMEN :Reddlemen went from farm to farm putting identifying red dyemarks on sheep. The red dye usually coated the reddleman's clothes and skin, so children feared the strange- looking, solitary figures. This one, Hardy notes, seems too "promising" for such a life. Another mystery.
Inside the cart, a woman moans. We learn little about these people; for a few pages, Hardy will leave us hanging, almost as if to slow us down to the leisurely pace of life in these Egdon valleys.
In the growing dark, the cart-man sees a form standing on the most prominent rise in the area, a "barrow" or hill. Then, in a flash, the unexplained figure takes flight. All we learn is that it's a woman and that she apparently runs away because a band of people is gathering at the barrow.
Why does she flee? Who is she? What are these people about to do, in the dark of night on a lonely hill? Hardy will begin to give some of these answers in the next few chapters. For now, notice how he is determined to make us think for ourselves, to notice every clue, every hint, every contradiction. By stimulating us to ask questions about the little things, he also gets us in the habit of asking larger questions, those questions about man's fate that probably don't have simple or concrete answers.
NOTE: HARDY'S VIEW OF THE INDIVIDUAL :This chapter indicates how Hardy feels about the human spirit. Our imagination, he says, ignores the group that is arriving and clings instead "to that vanished, solitary figure." In other words, it is the independent person, the one who does not become just another member of conventional society, who is most interesting to us. With that in mind, as you read the novel, ask yourself which characters are the most interesting to you personally- those who fit happily into the unchanging life of Egdon, or those who want something different?
CHAPTER 3: THE CUSTOM OF THE COUNTRY
As the chapter title indicates, we are now going to see a typical scene of rural life in the Egdon area early in the nineteenth century.
NOTE: HARDY'S RUSTIC SCENES :Hardy was scarcely born before these customs were dying out, but he had heard about them from older people. Clearly, he delights in recreating them. In fact, all of his scenes with country folk are funny, lively and natural. It may take a few pages for the Egdon dialect to become completely clear to you, but you will pick it up gradually, just as you would the special slang of a new school or city you move to.
Before anyone speaks, we see them building a giant bonfire. Other fires are also being lit across the low flat landscape. British readers would know that this is the custom of a particular holiday, November 5, or Guy Fawkes Day, commemorating a plot to blow up Parliament in the early seventeenth century.
NOTE: THE BONFIRE :The bonfire, like the heath itself, is a symbol of continuity. Springing out of an ancient pagan ritual, it is also a symbol, says Hardy, of "man's rebelliousness" against the coming of winter, almost a defiance of Nature.
As the country folk begin to talk and joke, we meet several colorful characters: Grandfer Cantle, an old man who wants only to sing and dance; his son, Christian, who is morbidly fearful and superstitious; Humphrey and Fairway, who are the salt of the earth, honest and unassuming; Olly Dowden, a decent, contented woman. These characters act like the chorus in classical Greek drama; they describe and comment upon the actions of their social superiors. Hardy is also using this bantering, gossipy scene for "exposition," a literary term for giving the background of the story. We learn about a young couple, Thomasin Yeobright and Damon Wildeve, who have just been married. We learn that the bride's aunt, Mrs. Yeobright, had opposed the marriage.
We learn that some folk are disturbed that the pair went to another village to marry and that they haven't been seen since. We also hear that soon Mrs. Yeobright's son Clym, clever and remembered with real affection, will be coming home for a visit. He is the "Native" of the novel's title.
Now that Hardy has laid down the events with which the plot begins, he skillfully brings other major characters briefly "on stage," to introduce us to them. As the bonfire dies down, our attention is drawn to a single bonfire blazing beside the cottage where Captain Vye lives with his granddaughter Eustacia. The villagers' dance is interrupted by the startling appearance of the reddleman. He asks directions to Mrs. Yeobright's house and leaves, but then the formidable figure of Mrs. Yeobright herself arrives, to ask gentle Olly to accompany her to The Quiet Woman inn where her newly married niece should be waiting by now.
Before going on to the next chapter, consider how much information has been packed into this one. We've met many characters and heard many tales, but we have also learned something about local feelings (such as the generally lackadaisical attitude toward regular church- going and the wry assumptions about married life). Some more mysteries have been raised (for example, why does the marriage take place elsewhere?). Other mysteries seem to have been solved, for now we know something about Eustacia, the solitary figure on the barrow, and Captain Vye, the old man on the road in Chapter 2. It's amazing that Hardy has achieved so much exposition in a scene of realistic merrymaking.
CHAPTER 4: THE HALT ON THE TURNPIKE ROAD
Mrs. Yeobright explains to Olly that she finally agreed to Thomasin's marriage because she decided that her niece should "marry where she wished." In reply to that, Olly, just before taking a separate path, comments that "her [Thomasin's] feelings got the better of her."
NOTE: HARDY'S DISTRUST OF FEELINGS :This seemingly casual remark is very important in Hardy's world. Should feelings be followed? Remember, divorce was inconceivable in this place and time. Should a lifetime decision be made solely upon the basis of one's personal desires? As you read, try to figure out Hardy's answer to this question.
At this point, there occurs one of those coincidences which disturb some readers of Hardy's novels. (We will see many more of them; consider whether this novelist thinks that human affairs really are determined by pure chance.) Just outside the inn, Mrs. Yeobright runs into the reddleman, who is identified as Diggory Venn. It turns out that Thomasin is the woman asleep in his cart. Now we have met the third of the important "three women." Thomasin's naturally hopeful face is marred by "a film of anxiety and grief." While Diggory is within earshot, Mrs. Yeobright seems calm, if concerned about this peculiar event. When he's gone, however, her sharp question- "Now, Thomasin, what's the meaning of this disgraceful performance?"- reveals just how upset she is.
CHAPTER 5: PERPLEXITY AMONG HONEST PEOPLE
Perplexity means "bewilderment." Honest people are often bewildered because they cannot imagine the motives of devious, tricky people. In this chapter we'll see both honest and devious behavior.
What has happened during Thomasin's wedding day? Even Thomasin cannot be sure. The parson said there was "some trifling irregularity" in the marriage license, and Thomasin panicked and ran away with Venn, who just happened to be near the church. Did she subconsciously not want the marriage to take place? Did she suspect that Wildeve really didn't want to marry her? We're left to guess. But unlike us, Mrs. Yeobright can ask questions directly, and characteristically she decides to have it out with Wildeve at once.
Now we meet Wildeve, who is unforgettably described as "one in whom no man would have seen anything to admire, and in whom no woman would have seen anything to dislike." That says it all. Do you need to know his color of eyes, the shape of his head, the color of his hair after that wonderful description? Everybody has known at least one Wildeve.
The scene that follows between Thomasin and Wildeve is strained. The guiltless Thomasin apologizes again and again; the obviously self-centered Wildeve complains that his "sensitiveness" has been hurt by the day's debacle. Nonetheless, he promises to make the marriage good, "carelessly" giving her his hand.
NOTE: THOMASIN'S REPUTATION :Why doesn't Thomasin walk out right then? Remember, she went off alone with Wildeve, supposedly to get married. At this point, her reputation is in grave danger. Social rules have changed since then, and we may find it difficult to understand her moral predicament precisely. But we still have some social rules we believe in today. Thomasin is like the people we know who will not, or cannot, break those rules and feel decent.
Suddenly, a grotesque thing happens. It might be comic, if it weren't so embarrassing: the townsfolk come, with all good intentions, to serenade the newlyweds. To save his reputation, Wildeve pretends the wedding went off smoothly. To Thomasin, he mutters, "we must marry after this"- hardly the reaction of a man head over heels in love.
CHAPTER 6: THE FIGURE AGAINST THE SKY
Hardy shifts his scene to give us a closer look at the figure who reappears at the top of the barrow. He emphasizes her mysteriousness, her concentration, her complete absence of fear in this wild and lonely place. The wind blowing through the dead heath-bells and the woman's deep sigh are linked as symbols of lost happiness. She looks through a telescope at Wildeve's window far below. Then, ignoring her watch, she looks to see that the sands of an hourglass she carries have run out. This is another haunting symbol of loss, of things coming to an end.
She heads home, dazed and seemingly distressed. A weary small boy tending the bonfire beside her house calls her by name- Eustacia. We finally hear her speak, after this long build-up, and what we hear is tension, determination, selfishness, guile. Although both her grandfather and the boy Johnny want Eustacia to put out her bonfire, she imperiously insists on keeping it burning- and she gets her way. Why does it matter so much to her? Soon we learn that the fire is meant to attract Wildeve. Eustacia warns Johnny to call her if he hears a frog jump into a pond nearby. When he does hear such a sound, Eustacia excitedly packs him off home, for the hopfrog is really a stone falling into the water, Wildeve's signal to Eustacia. To her "triumphant pleasure," he emerges out of the dark night.
The drama of their confrontation is skillfully muted. Each of these extremely passionate characters tries to suppress his or her emotion. Slowly, we learn the truth about their shared past. Damon had tired of her, we learn, and had ended their affair. But now Eustacia believes that Wildeve has broken off his wedding with Thomasin because he still loves her, Eustacia. When pressed, he agrees.
Is Wildeve lying? Can he change his mind so quickly? Does Eustacia have a dangerous power over him? The answer is complex. Hardy is showing us characters who let their impulses carry them away. Each of them is uneasy. Eustacia knows her former lover is untrustworthy; he knows her moods and pays no attention when she rages at him.
This uncomfortable scene ends with each holding back from the other, pretending to be less emotionally involved than the other. There is hostility, not flirtation, in their teasing. Wildeve slinks back into the night. The pleasure Eustacia felt when she first saw him has soured.
CHAPTER 7: QUEEN OF NIGHT
Many critics, frankly, have found this short chapter to be an embarrassment. It has no purpose but to describe Eustacia in terms that are extravagant and pretentious. If you're interested in how a writer develops, this chapter is a good example, at least of Hardy's case. The first part of the book has many passages of strained "purple" prose like this. As he wrote this novel, however, Hardy learned more of his craft, and his writing grows simpler and more effective.
The chapter does help us understand Hardy's intentions in creating Eustacia. She is a pagan, a creature of the night, a kind of goddess in human form. Unfortunately, she is a goddess rudely brought to earth- to Egdon, so different from her nature.
Eustacia has romance in her veins and in her upbringing. We learn that she is the orphan of an English mother (Vye's daughter) and a Greek musician. Their deaths forced her to leave the seaside resort, Budmouth, to live with Vye in Egdon. The heath bores her, and she imagines her earlier life, by contrast, as nothing but sunshine and gaiety.
We also learn that Eustacia is in love with love. This is a common human feeling, of course, but Eustacia takes it to extremes. She blames her own reckless, unconventional spirit on the fact that she's been disappointed by a cruel destiny. She realizes, in a moment of self-honesty, that she has fastened upon Wildeve simply for lack of anyone better.
So far, Eustacia doesn't seem to be a very appealing human being. Yet Hardy says that she is "not altogether unlovable" at times. Many readers agree. Why do you sympathize with this self-centered, reckless young woman (if you do)? What makes her interesting (if you think she is)? As you read on, try to decide what elements of her character really define her.
CHAPTER 8: THOSE WHO ARE FOUND WHERE THERE IS SAID TO BE NOBODY
Remember that the action is still taking place at night. As readers, we are still "in the dark" about certain things. So, too, are the characters of the story. Hardy may well be implying that people are always in darkness about the real truths of their lives.
In any event, poor Johnny now finds himself in a dark and difficult position. Walking home, he notices a peculiar light and puzzling sounds rising from a pit. He turns back to the Vyes' house, but sees Eustacia and Wildeve having their tryst, so he returns to the pit, where he discovers Diggory Venn, a terrifying image with his white eyes and teeth gleaming in his reddened face. Diggory discovers Johnny, who says enough for Venn to guess the truth about Eustacia's bonfire meeting with Wildeve.
The reddleman's thoughts are not explicitly revealed, but we can guess that he means to keep an eye on this secret relationship. Is he acting out of selfish motives, or does he just want to make sure that Thomasin is not hurt any further? Perhaps Hardy himself wasn't sure, at least at this point.
We can be sure of one thing, though. Chance, once again, has played a critical role. Johnny accidentally overhead the conversation. Diggory accidentally heard the story from the boy.
NOTE: VENN AS OBSERVER :It is often the outsider, the social outcast, who is able to understand more than other people. The reddleman is an observer, not a major actor; and as he watches the other characters' actions, he alone seems to foresee how they may be ruining their lives. In the eyes of the superstitious, he seems to be a devil, the embodiment of evil. But appearances, in Hardy's world, are deceiving. To the reader, Diggory Venn is more likely to become a symbol of good.
CHAPTER 9: LOVE LEADS A SHREWD MAN INTO STRATEGY
Hardy begins this chapter with a break in the action, perhaps to let the events and revelations of the preceding pages sink in on the reader. This break is not just an intermission, however. The novelist explains more about reddlemen, which brings us to Venn, back at his van in the pit, who does not fit the pattern. We watch him read an old letter- Thomasin's polite refusal of his proposal of marriage. Her reasons were that she liked but did not love him, and that her aunt had higher ambitions for her. Remember that Mrs. Yeobright also opposed Wildeve's proposal. How different would things be if Thomasin allowed herself to act on her own best impulses? Remember that she is young, unsophisticated, and basically well intentioned. As we read further, circumstances will be bringing her to greater maturity.
Meanwhile, we learn that Diggory became a reddleman, giving up his dairy farm, because of Thomasin's rejection. But he is still determined to help her to be happy. With that aim in mind, he becomes something of a spy, waiting every night to catch Eustacia and Wildeve meeting again.
After a week, they do. Diggory hides himself to overhear their disturbing discussion. Wildeve, to Eustacia's outrage, is asking her whether or not he should go ahead and marry Thomasin- not out of love but to save the girl from disgrace. Eustacia advises him not to marry Thomasin simply out of a sense of justice, but she now realizes that Wildeve did not call off the marriage for love of her. As he admits, it was only chance that the marriage license was incorrect.
In this scene, Wildeve is shown at his worst: self-centered, weak, moody. He has the gall to tell Eustacia that "there are two flowers where I thought there was only one"- Eustacia and Thomasin. Perhaps other women will love him as well, he muses. As for love, he admits that his feelings are inconstant. Eustacia, stretched on the rack by this indifference, shows remarkable self-control.
NOTE: EUSTACIA'S AND WILDEVE'S LOVE :Hardy never shows us these lovers when their love is in full summer bloom. We see the wreckage- bitterness, misunderstanding, petty cruelty. Perhaps the love they shared cannot really be put down on the page; perhaps Hardy purposely leaves room for each of us to imagine his or her own rare, blinding, whirlwind love. Or perhaps Hardy is simply more interested in investigating and dissecting a failed relationship. You may want to consider this possibility as you read about other relationships later in the novel.
We now see two people who are tortured by inability to live without- or with- each other. Each of the lovers wavers between love and distaste for the other. When one goes too far, the other retreats. They do agree that they hate the heath, however. Suddenly, Wildeve suggests that they run off to America together; he has relatives in Wisconsin. Eustacia turns the idea aside, for the moment. They move out of Diggory's hearing, almost seeming to sink into the heath, as if it has them in its power. Diggory, concerned for Thomasin's welfare, decides he will have it out with Eustacia.
CHAPTER 10: A DESPERATE ATTEMPT AT PERSUASION
At last, we see daylight in Egdon. Diggory waits patiently by Eustacia's cottage until curiosity brings her outside. As they walk, he tries a simple ruse. Pretending that an unknown "other woman" has a hold over Wildeve, he asks Eustacia to use her charms to persuade the man to marry Thomasin honorably. Eustacia laughs off the suggestion.
Next Venn tries flattery; he says that Eustacia's beauty will influence woman-loving Wildeve to do the proper thing. When she reacts with the blatant lie that she never sees Wildeve, Diggory blurts out that he overheard their rendezvous the night before.
Now that the cards are on the table, Eustacia and the reddleman speak frankly. She refuses to yield to Thomasin; she blames her boredom here on Egdon heath for making her ever fall in love with Wildeve. Diggory, proposes a solution; he knows of a wealthy widow in Eustacia's treasured town of Budmouth. Eustacia could live with this woman, as her companion thereby escaping the heath and meeting more suitable men. Eustacia rejects the notion, refuses to help Thomasin, and dismisses Venn with insults.
Eustacia looks off toward Wildeve's inn, shining attractively in the sunlight. She is hooked again, because the competition from Thomasin has turned a "hobby" into a flood of desire.
And what about society's disapproval? Hardy notes that this young woman is too isolated to care about public opinion. This chapter is the second time someone has suggested a plan of escape from the heath she despises, but Eustacia refuses this offer, just as she passed over Wildeve's idea of eloping to Wisconsin.
NOTE: EUSTACIA'S INABILITY TO ESCAPE :Perhaps Hardy believes that even independent people are unable to take action to change their fate. The heath has some power over Eustacia, that neither she nor the reader can fully understand. Maybe its mystery draws her. Maybe she realizes that these chances of "escape" will only create new prisons for her. Or maybe Eustacia isn't as independent as she thinks she is; Hardy's characters, like people in real life, don't always see themselves clearly.
CHAPTER 11: THE DISHONESTY OF AN HONEST WOMAN
By the kind of accident familiar to us by now, Diggory bumps into Mrs. Yeobright just as she heads toward The Quiet Woman, hoping to convince Wildeve to go through with the aborted marriage. Ironically, the reddleman gives her just the weapon she needs. He confesses his love for Thomasin and argues that marriage to him would solve the situation. Mrs. Yeobright argues that Thomasin must be married to Wildeve to avoid scandal. But when she meets with Wildeve, she announces that Thomasin has an anonymous other suitor, and that Wildeve should either marry Thomasin immediately or give her up. Typically, indecisive Wildeve says he must take a day or two to decide.
NOTE: ON WILDEVE :Consider this man for a moment. He is not actively evil or openly vicious. Yet all three of these strong women have humbled themselves before him. He rarely seems to be purposely cruel, but his weakness and self-centeredness often have cruel effects upon women. His sensuality makes him dangerous. Perhaps Hardy is saying that it is well to distrust the objects of passion, just as one should be wary of passion itself.
Mrs. Yeobright's ultimatum motivates Wildeve to make a nighttime visit to Eustacia. He impetuously repeats the offer to take her to America, but he lets the cat out of the bag, telling Eustacia that Thomasin has another offer. Instantly, Eustacia's attitude changes: the man who was so desirable is less so when her rival may no longer want him. Wildeve realizes what she is thinking, perhaps because this is the way his mind works as well. In any case, Eustacia becomes oddly lifeless. Almost bargaining now, Wildeve offers her a week to decide. Coldly, the lovers part. Eustacia, who always tries to face her feelings with honesty, is ashamed to find her passion waning because there is no competition. But she sees that the affair is dying; she is coming to her senses at last.
Unexpectedly, the chapter (and Book First) ends with a new twist in the action which arouses our curiosity about the book to follow. While drinking and gossiping down at The Quiet Woman, Captain Vye has heard that Mrs. Yeobright's son, Clym, is coming home the following week for Christmas. He tells Eustacia this news, explaining that the young man has been living "in that rookery of pomp and vanity, Paris..."
Hardy does not describe Eustacia's reaction, but every reader knows, from this wonderfully pregnant closing line, that her heart must have leapt into her mouth. If little Budmouth seems magical to Eustacia, how must the world-famed City of Light appear? We know her love for Wildeve is almost dead. She has said she only loved him because no better man was to be found in the area. Now, there appears on the horizon a tantalizing alternative. Skillfully, by saying no more, Hardy has raised our hopes, too. Perhaps Clym will be the answer to Eustacia's loneliness.
We're not likely to be too optimistic, though, after this chapter, for we have seen two fairly pessimistic Hardy themes. First, we saw that people's actions don't always have the consequences they intend. Diggory's offer of marriage, if anything, helped to throw Wildeve and Thomasin together. Mrs. Yeobright's threats had the unexpected effect of driving Wildeve swiftly back to Eustacia. Second, we've seen that people often desire something primarily because they can't have it. Often, when we get what we want, it is no longer desirable.
BOOK TWO: THE ARRIVAL
The first book has been the longest, perhaps necessarily so in order to set the background for the central action of the novel. In this book, we will meet the last of the major characters, Clym Yeobright.
CHAPTER 1: TIDINGS OF THE COMER
Drawing out our anticipation, Hardy does not introduce Clym right away. Instead, we see the humble furze-gatherers of the heath at work stacking up the furze, or sticks of wood, for Captain Vye. (Such men are socially beneath Eustacia- a point which will be important later on.)
Now, Hardy lets Eustacia idly overhear these men gossip about young Yeobright- his success in the diamond business, his good looks, his advanced ideas and education. Innocently, the furze-gatherers leap to the notion that Eustacia, who also reads a great deal, would be a good match for Clym. We also learn that the story of Thomasin's postponed marriage is now common knowledge around Egdon. She is in seclusion, and there is talk that she has decided to have nothing more to do with Wildeve.
As Hardy notes, this idle chatter has occupied only a few minutes. To the transfixed Eustacia, however, it has been enough to re-animate her world. She is dazed by the possibilities. A young, clever, successful man who might take her to fabled Paris? A man whom the country folk already see as similar to her? This must be fate. Not surprisingly, the chapter ends with her taking a walk to Blooms-End, the Yeobright family cottage.
She doesn't expect to see Clym himself, but, already dangerously fascinated, she at least wants to see the house where he was born. Her romantic imagination is working at full strength again. The headstrong 19-year-old who once swore passionately that she would never give up Wildeve is now concentrating all her thoughts on a man she has never even met.
CHAPTER 2: THE PEOPLE AT BLOOMS-END MAKE READY
The return of the native Clym is a major event in sleepy Egdon. Thomasin and Mrs. Yeobright discuss Clym as they meticulously select from storage the apples he likes best. Apparently, Mrs. Yeobright once hoped Thomasin and Clym would marry, we learn. Then, when no one is around to stare (remember Thomasin is still in shamed seclusion), they venture out on the heath to pick holly berries for the homecoming and Christmas celebrations.
As they work, their conversation takes many frustrating dead-ends. Mrs. Yeobright suspects that her niece no longer loves Wildeve, but Thomasin decides not to answer any questions about the matter. Mrs. Yeobright has decided not to reveal that Diggory has proposed again, although she does drop a hint. Thomasin decides that her cousin Clym should not be told anything about the wretched affair until she is safely married.
Don't you want to jump into the scene and interfere? We sense that these decisions are mistaken. Perhaps Thomasin, if she knew of the proposal, would consider marrying the kindly, selfless Venn rather than egocentric Wildeve, after what she's been through. Perhaps Clym, who is so clever, would help her figure out whether or not to marry Wildeve. There is nothing we can do, of course. We must watch helplessly as people make mistakes that will haunt them for years, if not forever.
Appropriately, the sun is setting as Thomasin and her aunt walk out to meet Clym on the road. Once again, important events will take place during the dark of night.
CHAPTER 3: HOW A LITTLE SOUND PRODUCED A GREAT DREAM
By another coincidence, in the darkness, Eustacia encounters Clym and his two relatives. They apparently don't recognize her, but Clym genially says, "Good night!" It is, as the chapter title indicates, truly a "little sound," but to Eustacia, "no event could have been more exciting." There is one slightly unsettling note- she overhears Clym, the sophisticate, praising the beauties of Egdon. The remark is an important clue to her fate, but she is too excited to pay attention to it now. At home, Eustacia asks her grandfather why they haven't been on good terms with the Yeobrights. He recalls that he offended Mrs. Yeobright once; more importantly, he tells Eustacia that the Yeobrights' mode of living is "countrified." This is the second indication that Clym is not what Eustacia imagines him to be. But she pays no attention; she still cherishes her illusions.
NOTE: EUSTACIA'S DREAM :That night Eustacia dreams of dancing with a man whose face is masked by a helmet. The heath appears behind them, and they dive into one of its pools, coming out beneath in a hollow lit with rainbows. She wakes up with alarm when the man shatters to pieces, never having revealed his face. She believes the figure was Yeobright, of course. But remember this dream; as you will see at the end of the fifth book, another more frightening interpretation is possible.
Hardy describes Eustacia's emotional state as in a precarious stage, halfway between indifference and love. She begins taking walks two or three times a day, her eyes peeled for a glimpse of Yeobright, but after five days of failure she gives up. Hardy ends the chapter with the observation that Fate (or Providence) sometimes likes to tease us, hinting that Eustacia will soon have the opportunity she has given up on. When she does finally meet Clym, therefore, it will not be entirely her own doing. Fate, Hardy emphasizes, will play a role.
CHAPTER 4: EUSTACIA IS LED ON TO AN ADVENTURE
Once again, Hardy stresses a date. The novel began on November 5; now it is December 23 and everyone is preparing for Christmas. By using holidays, Hardy has an opportunity to bring many elements of the community together so that we can see the whole spectrum of rural life.
At the beginning of the chapter, however, he focuses on Eustacia's frustration at not meeting Clym. A scheme does present itself, however. Bursting in on the pensive Eustacia, Charley, a young lad, announces that he and some other amateur actors have come to practice their parts for the annual Christmas play in Captain Vye's fuel-house. Eustacia is at first uninterested, but when the sound of rehearsal reaches her bored ears, she slips outside to eavesdrop. By chance, she learns from the players' conversation that their first performance of the holiday will take place at Mrs. Yeobright's home. Clym will be at the party, of course, but Eustacia has not been invited.
Later, when Charley enters to return the key, she has hatched a plan. Aware that the boy is dazzled by her, she asks him to let her play his role, the Turkish knight, for the appearance at Blooms-End, keeping it a secret from everyone else. Eustacia offers to pay for this, but Charley strikes a peculiar bargain. He will agree if she lets him kiss her hand and hold it for fifteen minutes. Charley's adoration reminds us, at this crucial point, how irresistible Eustacia can be.
The next evening, when the boy returns with his medieval costume, Eustacia indifferently lets him hold her hand for a few of the bargained-for minutes. Then she dresses as the Turkish knight and runs through her lines in front of Charley. She explains that she will simply show up in his place, already dressed in her disguise, and claim to be his cousin, saying that he's been sent on an errand by Eustacia Vye.
The chapter ends on a strange, touching note. Charley asks for another minute of holding Eustacia's hand; he can't bear to pull away and his time is fully used up to his regret. In his own meager way, Charley, too, gives in to passion. His lack of control mirrors Eustacia's much more extravagant lack of control. What about her feelings in this scene? Is she embarrassed by Charley's request? Characteristically, she hides her feelings. What we do see is that, when she sets her mind on something, she will not let minor obstacles (such as conventional ideas of behavior) stand in the way. To see Clym, she'll fulfill Charley's pathetic request. She will also disguise herself as a man. Some readers think this is an indication that she takes the male role, the dominant role, when she meets Clym. Others think it simply shows that she does not care what society thinks.
CHAPTER 5: THROUGH THE MOONLIGHT
Like the helmeted figure in her dream that ended as a nightmare, Eustacia has her visor down when she shows up in Charley's place the next night. When they arrive at Blooms-End, the mummers must wait outside while a boisterous party is in full swing. Hardy obviously enjoys giving the details of the rustic music and dancing, but the merrymaking goes on a bit too long for the waiting mummers. When someone suggests that they interrupt the party, Eustacia reacts angrily- and gives her identity away. The players, however, amiably promise to keep her secret.
Finally, the group is admitted, and the play begins. As the Turkish knight, Eustacia declaims her melodramatic lines, slays the Valiant Soldier, and is in turn dispatched by the hero, St. George, the patron saint of England. This dramatic defeat, however, gives her the opportunity she's been seeking. During her performance, she was unable to concentrate on the audience. Now, as a corpse, Eustacia can lie still and scan the crowd to find the face she is so eager to see. The suspense is heightened, for she is still searching as the chapter ends.
NOTE: SOCIAL CLASS IN EGDON :Notice the observations Hardy makes about social class in this chapter. When Eustacia snaps at her cohorts, both she and they accept that she is socially superior to them, without feeling any resentment. Eustacia is surprised that the party is so rowdy, but we learn that the Yeobrights have asked all their neighbours, not just the social elite. Clym and his mother even serve these guests themselves. Their graciousness and hospitality is contrasted to Eustacia's self-contained, isolated haughtiness. Yet the social distance between the Yeobrights and the humbler folk of Egdon is not lessened; the social order does not change easily in these pre-industrial rural towns.
CHAPTER 6: THE TWO STAND FACE TO FACE
As the play of St. George continues, Eustacia intently surveys the room. (Sadly, we note that Thomasin is upstairs, too ashamed to face her neighbors.) Eustacia is soon riveted by her first sight of Clym's face, lit by firelight as if he is a figure in a Rembrandt painting. Like the famous Dutch artist, Hardy uses physical details to reveal the character's inner nature. Clym's young face already shows experience beyond his years. Thought, Hardy warns, will soon destroy his handsomeness; his natural cheerfulness is at war with the depressing knowledge that he is gaining of the world. The novelist also points out that Clym's look shows "isolation"- and Eustacia, that other isolated person, is very much moved.
When the play ends, the country folk pay their respects to Clym. Clearly, Humphrey and the others deeply admire the young man. Overall, we feel the usual festive atmosphere of people whose lives are deeply intertwined.
Meanwhile, Eustacia has a problem: she can't eat with her helmet on, but she wants to keep her identity concealed. Clym, as host, tries to serve her. Imagine her strange situation. The man she is "determined to love" is being kind to her, but without knowing who she is. Clym, however, begins to suspect something about this young mummer.
Suddenly, as only Eustacia notices, Thomasin appears to ask Clym about something. Eustacia overhears just enough of the conversation to learn that Clym doesn't know about Thomasin's painful situation. From fantasy Eustacia is brought back to earth; her jealousy of Thomasin flares anew. She wonders if the cousins will fall in love, especially since they spend so much time alone together.
Ironically, Eustacia's ruse has deprived her of a powerful weapon, her feminine beauty. But now Clym has begun staring at her. Confused, she quietly slips out of the house into the moonlight. Clym, having guessed her sex, is right behind her. She admits that she is a woman, offering no other information, and refuses his invitation to return to the party.
The conversation is brief, but important. Eustacia's answers are straightforward and direct: her adventure was meant as an escape from the depression which "Life" causes for her. In their first meeting, Eustacia explains herself to Clym with complete honesty. He listens without seeming to be surprised or critical. There seems to be instant communication between them.
When Eustacia leaves, Clym walks up and down for a while by himself, apparently lost in thought. Eustacia too is in mental turmoil- happy, fearful, ashamed, jealous. When she nears home and catches sight of Rainbarrow, she remembers for the first time this evening that she had asked Wildeve to meet her up there- but it is too late now. She feels no remorse for standing him up; at this point, he means nothing to her. In fact, she wishes that she hadn't stopped him from marrying Thomasin; then there would be no dangerous competition for Clym.
Hardy's point is that one can never predict the outcome of events. Eustacia interfered with the Wildeve's marriage because he seemed to be her one hope at the time. She could not know that a more appealing man would soon appear. The future, Hardy shows us, is unpredictable; therefore man's attempts to control his own destiny are doomed to be futile.

BOOK 2
CHAPTER 7: A COALITION BETWEEN BEAUTY AND ODDNESS
The next morning, Captain Vye uncharacteristically asks his granddaughter why she'd been out so late. He is delighted to hear about the trick she played. He warns that once is enough, however, to go around in breeches. It is very odd for a woman of this time and place to act as freely as she does.
Eustacia wanders off again, only to run upon Diggory. He is hanging around because of Thomasin, it seems; other reddlemen have gone off for the winter. Eustacia has already guessed that Venn is Wildeve's supposed rival, and, like Mrs. Yeobright, she now wants no obstacle placed between Thomasin and Wildeve. When Wildeve appears in the distance Eustacia hides inside Diggory's van. Eventually, she convinces Diggory that she no longer cares for Wildeve. As it happens, Venn was watching the night before when Wildeve, angrily waiting on the barrow, vowed to return at the same time this night. Eustacia asks Diggory to take a message to Wildeve, because she doesn't want to see him again. She is puzzled that Diggory agrees. Why should he carry news that will make his rival marry Thomasin at last? Eustacia just can't understand Diggory's unselfish love.
Hardy's irony here is significant. What we commonly call love may only be self-centeredness. So far in this novel, only Diggory has shown another kind of love. He is sometimes linked with satanic images, but at other times he seems to be more like an angel.
In any event, he brings Eustacia's farewell letter to the barrow that night, startling the already distraught Wildeve. Annoyed, Wildeve reveals that he knows Diggory is his rival. The two men quickly part, each to mull over his own muddled situation.
Wildeve thinks Eustacia is only pretending to break it off with him; he decides to punish her by marrying Thomasin as quickly as possible. Diggory, equally fired to action, dresses himself in a good suit (although the red dye remains on his face) and rushes off to Blooms-End. But he is too late. Wildeve emerges from the Yeobright cottage, gloating. Obviously, Thomasin has accepted him. Diggory goes back to his van and puts on his working clothes. Returning to his life as a reddleman he is symbolically returning to his state of rejection by Thomasin. Wildeve, it seems, has won. But what has he won? His motives for marrying Thomasin seem flimsy and hasty; we may also wonder why Thomasin is marrying him- for love, or out of cowardice? Hardy has made clear that this marriage is doomed. Thinking to free herself, Eustacia has unwittingly set off unhappy changes in the lives of several people.
CHAPTER 8: FIRMNESS IS DISCOVERED IN A GENTLE HEART
Hardy backs up to show us the end of the previous chapter from another view- inside the Yeobright cottage. Thomasin explains to her aunt why she has accepted Wildeve's proposal- not because of passion, but because "I am a practical woman now. I don't believe in hearts at all." Mrs. Yeobright leaves and comes back with the news that Diggory has also proposed, but Thomasin hardly gives him a thought.
The next day, bravely dressing herself up as if the occasion were joyous, Thomasin walks off alone toward the church of another parish. In a burst of feeling, she rushes back and hugs her aunt tearfully. Thomasin sets off firmly in a moment, however, crossing the heath "solitary and undefended."
Some time later, Clym appears, and his mother now reveals the whole story. He is surprised, though he's heard rumors already, but he reacts rather casually. Is he a forgiving man, or simply a man of mild feelings? He shows no anger toward Wildeve; he doesn't consider whether the marriage can be happy, under the circumstances. He lightly recalls that he was attracted to Thomasin when they were younger, although he seems to dismiss it as a childhood crush now. Hardy is beginning to shift our attention from Thomasin to Clym; pay attention to these first clues to his character.
Clym decides he must go to the wedding out of kindness. But he returns within minutes, accompanied by Diggory, who reports that Wildeve arrived on time and the pair have been married at last. He has an astonishing detail to add: Eustacia Vye was there to give the bride away. Clym, who doesn't connect her with the mysterious Turkish knight, asks who that is. His aunt mentions the local superstition that the girl is a witch. Though she scoffs, perhaps we feel it's partly true. Eustacia does have a power to bewitch men, a skill she means to work on Clym himself.
What Diggory doesn't reveal is that Eustacia had asked him to warn her when the wedding was about to take place. Veiled, she hung about the church as a stranger, until she was asked to witness the ceremony. Only after the ceremony did she show herself to Wildeve and Thomasin. Hardy then backtracks to the wedding to show us a significant detail that Diggory did not notice. Wildeve and Eustacia, knowing each other so well, exchange intense glances, each feeling triumphant over the other. The question Hardy lets hang, unspoken, is whether either has really won.
NOTE: DARKNESS AND LIGHT :This dramatic confrontation at Wildeve's wedding shows Eustacia once again hiding herself, this time with a veil. Before, she hid from Wildeve in Diggory's van. At Blooms-End, she wore a helmet. At her grandfather's cottage, she overheard useful conversations by staying out of sight. Perhaps this is Hardy's way of adding to her mystery. Just as she conceals her face, she often conceals her feelings. She also follows her desires, even when they are unconscious, or "hidden" from her. Perhaps, for Hardy, passionate feelings are the dark side of the soul. Eustacia seems to thrive in darkness. Clym, on the other hand, has already been identified with images of light. Reason, as opposed to passion, is often symbolized by light.
BOOK THREE: THE FASCINATION
This title contains a very strong word. We use it casually in conversation today, to express simple attraction. In this book, however, Hardy portrays a fascination that is almost like a supernatural spell. Clym and Eustacia are tragically different kinds of human beings, but when passion and idealism blind them, they are swept away.
CHAPTER 1: "MY MIND TO ME A KINGDOM IS"
The chapter begins with a close-up on Clym. Like Eustacia, we still don't know much about this unusual person. Now, Hardy elaborates upon his earlier comment that the young man's face is interesting because it reveals experience. Life has already touched and saddened him, perhaps.
We learn that Clym was a gifted child, famous throughout the area. He was expected to become either a great success or a great failure- nothing ordinary. Now, however, the country folk are puzzled. For a successful Parisian businessman, Clym seems to be taking a very long holiday.
At the local men's weekly hair-cutting outside Fairway's house, the gossip turns to this subject when they see Clym rambling over the heath. Within minutes, he walks up and guesses what they've been talking about. Note how Hardy stresses Clym's connection with the heath and his insight into other human beings- up to a point.
Characteristically, Clym straightforwardly satisfies the villagers' curiosity. In vain, idle Paris, he says, he felt useless and depressingly out of place. Now, he has decided to educate himself at home and then start a rural school near Egdon.
Without waiting for a reaction, he goes back toward the heath, wrapped up in his own thoughts. The villagers think he's making a mistake. Ironically, they're the very class of people he's hoping to help.
Had Eustacia overheard this conversation, her hopes might have sunk. Once, Clym felt as she does that Egdon was contemptible; now, however, the sole ambition of his life is to live and work there.
Now we know what motivates Clym, as Eustacia unfortunately does not. We've seen the contrast between young Yeobright's idealism and the down-to-earth opinions of the men of Egdon. The stage is set for later conflicts. Perhaps the title of the chapter is Hardy's warning that Clym is living inside his own mind, dangerously supposing it to be the entire kingdom. That could prove to be a form of moral blindness.
CHAPTER 2: THE NEW COURSE CAUSES DISAPPOINTMENT
NOTE: CLYM'S IDEALISM :Hardy explains the difficulty of Clym's position. He is too far ahead of his time. In Paris he was exposed to new ideas, among them the notion that education can elevate simple, uneducated people to noble heights. Clym has foolishly (in the eyes of his friends) abandoned his career for this. Hardy suggests that the young man might be either a madman or a prophet; in any case, Clym does not take the middle course of "happiness and mediocrity." The novelist also explains that Yeobright idealizes the heath, loving each thing that Eustacia hates. He's glad that attempts to tame the heath by farming it have all failed.
Returning to Blooms-End, Clym announces his plans to his mother; thus begins a classic confrontation, not to be resolved. A materialistic woman, Mrs. Yeobright believes that a man should try to succeed in business. Clym has come to believe that true manhood lies in helping mankind out of ignorance and misery.
Suddenly, the timid, superstitious Christian bursts in with a shocking story, almost as if to prove that Egdon is in desperate need of enlightenment. In church that morning, Johnny Nunsuch's mother, Susan, pricked Eustacia Vye with a needle, so hard that it drew blood and caused the girl to faint. Susan believes that Eustacia has bewitched the Nunsuch children. Christian rattles on, enjoying his tale, but the Yeobrights instantly feel compassion for Eustacia. Even Clym is taken aback by this living example of backward rural behavior.
Humphrey and, later, another local, Sam, comes by to confirm the news. In addition, Sam refers to Eustacia as a "beauty," and Clym begins to suspect that Eustacia may have been the Turkish knight. Sam explains that he has stopped by to borrow some rope, to help retrieve Captain Vye's water bucket, which has dropped to the bottom of the well. Out of Mrs. Yeobright's hearing, Sam urges Clym to get a look at Eustacia; the gathering at the well would be a good excuse to drop by her cottage. Obviously, Clym is attracted, although not at all with the force of curiosity that drove Eustacia to join the mummers. For the moment, Hardy doesn't let us know exactly what the young man is thinking, although he is thinking "a good deal."
CHAPTER 3: THE FIRST ACT IN A TIMEWORN DRAMA
After a sunny walk on the heath, the Yeobrights literally (and symbolically) take separate paths: Clym to Eustacia, his mother to Thomasin. Mrs. Yeobright, seeing his eagerness, is fearful of what may happen. She decides not to visit The Quiet Woman and worriedly returns home.
Fairway, the natural leader of the local men assembled around Captain Vye's well, has tried without success to bring up the bucket, but it slips off just at the top. Clym offers to try while Fairway rests. Suddenly, Eustacia shocks everyone by crying out, from an upper window of the cottage, that they must tie a rope around Clym because of the danger. Clym recognizes the voice of the mysterious woman he met by moonlight, and innocently thinks, "How thoughtful of her!" We, of course, have the advantage of knowing that her feelings go far deeper than mere thoughtfulness.
Eventually, the men give up for the night. Clym, left alone with Eustacia, offers to help her draw water from the well. Helping him, Eustacia hurts her hands on the rope; when Clym expresses concern, she also shows him the wound Susan Nunsuch left on her arm. Intimacy seems to have instantly flowered between these two unusual people.
Nonetheless, they may not be listening carefully enough to what each other exactly says. Eustacia is clearly appalled by the idea of teaching in Clym's school but Clym doesn't quite pay attention. Clym wants to live near Egdon more than anywhere else in the world, obviously including Paris, but Eustacia may not quite hear him. In this brief encounter, Hardy spells out the problems of communication that will dog this pair until the end.
Compare their reactions as they part. Eustacia thinks a completely new life has begun for her. Clym is so inspired, he immediately begins his studies- the very project which is in conflict with Eustacia's ambitions.
Clym works through the bright sunny day. In the evening, as he confesses to his mother, he meets Eustacia again. Mrs. Yeobright, though she's already reconciling herself to her son's new career, doesn't like this growing relationship- and says so. Clym implies that he has no romantic interest in Eustacia. Why is he hedging? Hardy discusses the love between mother and son- indestructible, even when it isn't openly affectionate. The Yeobrights understand each other, although they disagree. Eustacia will have a tough job trying to win Clym over his mother's wishes.
A few days later on, Christian reports to Mrs. Yeobright about an amateur archaeological dig in a barrow on the heath. Clym apparently took one of the artifacts and gave it to Eustacia, though as Mrs. Yeobright intuitively realizes, Clym had intended to bring it to his mother first. He must have acted on an impulse of the moment. Perhaps Eustacia may be replacing Mrs. Yeobright in Clym's affections, even though he may not yet fully realize it.
The weeks pass; Clym studies at home and frequently meets Eustacia on the heath. As March arrives, the heath begins to come back to life with the spring. So, too, does Clym, as love finally blossoms. He is even considering the possibility of marriage. In an angry conversation, Mrs. Yeobright accuses her son of using his teaching scheme to cover up his real reason for staying in Egdon- his fascination with Eustacia. Clym, however, actually visualizes Eustacia as "a good matron in a boarding-school." Mrs. Yeobright heatedly calls Eustacia a "hussy," but her son's red-faced reaction silences her. They part angrily. As Hardy warns us, this is the "first act" of a drama that is "timeworn."
NOTE: HARDY'S VIEW OF MARRIAGE :Does Hardy mean that all marriages are based upon such deep misunderstanding? Some readers think he believes successful marriages are certainly rare. As you read, you may want to look at other marriages in this novel. Decide for yourself how troubles arise in this doomed marriage: from the contradiction between the natures of Clym and Eustacia, or from the difficulty of marriage between any two people.
CHAPTER 4: AN HOUR OF BLISS AND MANY HOURS OF SADNESS
As the chapter title indicates, Hardy leaves no doubt that things are going to turn out badly. The Yeobrights pass an uneasy day together. When it is dark, Clym leaves, to watch an eclipse of the moon atop Rainbarrow, but as the moon goes into shadow, we see him run down to meet Eustacia at the base of the barrow, where they kiss passionately. Passion, we remember, is in Hardy a thing of darkness. Clym says that he is in love for the first time in his life. Eustacia, who is more experienced in these matters, fears that this love "will evaporate like a spirit." She also recognizes, realistically, that Mrs. Yeobright would like these meetings to stop.
To all of her fears and objections, Clym has one answer: a proposal of marriage. Elusive Eustacia, however, won't agree. She'd rather hear about Paris. Clym doesn't like this topic, but he describes the city to her; bewitched by the vision, she promises to marry him- if he will take her there. He says he will never return. She doesn't believe him, but she finally consents to marry him, even though she's honest enough to realize she won't make much of a housewife.
Betrothed to each other at last, the lovers part on a strangely sad note. Eustacia remembers that she once fell madly in love at the mere glimpse of a stranger. She knows that her love for Clym may be fragile. He, despite the intensity of his love, is troubled by her desire to go to Paris and by the breach growing between him and his mother. He wants to keep alive three things at once: Mrs. Yeobright's trust, his teaching scheme, Eustacia's happiness. But by their very natures, these three things will not co-exist.
NOTE: THE MEANING OF THE ECLIPSE :The eclipse of the moon, a rare natural phenomenon, probably symbolizes another phenomenon rare in this novel- "an hour of bliss." All too briefly, the lovers have had an ecstatic encounter on the heath. Even in their happiness, each saw the difficulties before them. Neither, however, wants to turn back now, no matter what.
CHAPTER 5: SHARP WORDS ARE SPOKEN, AND A CRISIS ENSUES
Clym's life now is centered on two activities only- his studies and his secret meetings with Eustacia.
Then Mrs. Yeobright hears from Thomasin that Captain Vye has announced Eustacia's engagement to Clym at The Quiet Woman. The stunned mother realizes that she has lost her son, but, hopeless as it is, she argues with him. The same old points are brought up again: she even mentions the rumor about Eustacia's affair with Wildeve, but Clym has already heard, and believed, his beloved's sanitized version of that episode. Clym announces that he and his bride will not go to Paris, but he will compromise by starting a school in Budmouth, the resort town Eustacia remembers from childhood.
Like many crucial arguments between people who are important to each other, this one darts from point to point; there is more stress than logic evident. Frantic Mrs. Yeobright says that she wishes Clym would leave the house, though she does not really mean it. Deeply hurt, he leaves, barely able to speak. As he walks away, however, the sunny afternoon seems to promise summer, much as his engagement, in his eyes, promises happiness.
He waits for Eustacia in a verdant hollow filled only with ferns, as if he and she will be alone at the beginning of the world. Sadly, this meeting was originally planned for Clym and Eustacia to win Mrs. Yeobright over to their plans. Eustacia, perceptively, guesses what has happened with Mrs. Yeobright yet she accepts this trouble philosophically. The lovers forget the world for a while, it seems, as they stroll through the tall ferns.
As this peaceful interlude comes to an end, the sun is about to set. Perhaps moved by the symbolism of the dying day, Eustacia exclaims that she cannot bear to part with Clym. Mirroring her passion, he decides they will get married immediately. Eustacia agrees, but notice her reaction when he explains that they will have to live in a tiny cottage on the heath until he's ready to take her to Budmouth. "How long...?" is her question. Six months, he promises. Ominously, the marriage that was to be an escape from Egdon for her is beginning as no change at all, or even a setback, to life in a smaller, meaner house. Clym brightly promises that everything will work out. The decision has been made; they will marry in two weeks.
As Eustacia walks away, Clym feels a surprising stab of depression as he gazes at his beloved heath. Its bare flatness seems to suggest to him that he is not superior to anyone else. Despite his great desire to help the uneducated masses, he has just made the kind of mistake anyone might make. Eustacia, too, seems no longer a goddess to him but merely a woman. Reality is moving in.
Hardy ends this chapter by suggesting that the reality of marriage may not be to Eustacia's liking. Is Mrs. Yeobright's anger responsible for the couple's decision to marry right away? It is a factor, but so is the impatience of young love. By now, we're aware of many reasons why Clym and Eustacia should not marry. But it's difficult to imagine how anything could prevent this marriage. Passion has overpowered reason.
CHAPTER 6: YEOBRIGHT GOES, AND THE BREACH IS COMPLETE
On a cold June day, Clym packs his goods and, without a word to his mother, goes off to rent a small cottage six miles away, where he will live alone until the wedding.
NOTE: PATHETIC FALLACY :Notice how the weather seems to reflect Clym's mood. This is a literary technique called "pathetic fallacy," and you will find Hardy using it a lot. Clym also notes that some trees planted the year he was born are being battered by the wind- perhaps as he is being emotionally battered. Egdon heath itself, however, is hardly affected by the storm.
Left to herself, Mrs. Yeobright is distraught with grief. The next day, Thomasin appears- like a bird- and despite everything, she lights up the area by her presence. She says that her marriage is proceeding well enough, but she does have difficulty asking Wildeve for money. Mrs. Yeobright reveals that her husband left some money to be divided between Thomasin and Clym. She will give Thomasin her share on one condition: the girl must first see whether Wildeve will offer to give her any. Thomasin now tries to get her aunt to forgive Clym, but the older woman, for all her common sense, still feels hurt by his behavior. Thomasin visits her daily for a week to comfort her, but then is kept home by an unexplained illness.
We haven't seen Wildeve since the day of his wedding; now he appears again standing outside The Quiet Woman. A cart driver passes by with news of wedding preparations at Captain Vye's cottage. Wildeve's immediate reaction is a painful longing for Eustacia again. Why? Because another man wants her. Eustacia had a similar reaction toward Wildeve when Thomasin was her rival. Eustacia and Wildeve still resemble each other, it seems. Hardy scoffs at Wildeve and at all people who indulge themselves by wanting only what they cannot have. He, like Eustacia, is the opposite of Clym, who loves what is near, in Egdon.
CHAPTER 7: THE MORNING AND THE EVENING OF A DAY
Purposely, Hardy does not take us to Clym and Eustacia's wedding. Instead, we experience it only through the gloomy imaginings of Mrs. Yeobright. The day is lovely, and church bells peal merrily in the distance, but we are with a weeping woman who predicts her son will someday be sorry.
Later, Wildeve comes to Blooms-End. He and Thomasin's aunt seem to have made a necessary truce; he has made an effort to be courteous to her. But it appears that she still doesn't really trust him. Thomasin, who is at Clym's wedding at Mistover, has asked her husband to pick up "some article or other" from her aunt; she didn't explain to him that the "article" is her half of the money left by the late Mr. Yeobright. Mrs. Yeobright doesn't explain, either, but offends Wildeve by insisting on giving it to her niece in person.
After he leaves, Mrs. Yeobright decides to send the money to Thomasin at the wedding feast so that Wildeve won't find out about it. She'll send Clym's share at the same time, as a token of her good feeling for him. She divides the hundred guineas equally into two small canvas bags.
Unfortunately, she asks Christian, who is loitering about, to deliver the inheritance. On the way to Mistover, hearing voices over a rise, timid Christian empties the coins into his boots for safekeeping. The voices turn out by chance to be old friends, however, headed for a raffle at The Quiet Woman. Even though the prize is "a gown-piece for his wife or sweetheart," Christian, the man no woman could love, tags along, pathetically hoping to see the fun.
In fact, to the amusement of everyone at the inn, he does win the raffle. As the crowd starts carousing, Christian muses over his good fortune, superstitiously believing it proves that he was born lucky.
NOTE: THE ILLUSION OF GOOD FORTUNE :Christian's foolish attitude toward the lucky dice could be an example of some common attitudes toward Fate. Hardy may be saying that, in times of good fortune, we are tempted to think we're in control of events. But the truth is probably otherwise, as Christian's actions soon show.
Christian stupidly drops enough hints for Wildeve to guess the nature of his errand to Mistover. Thomasin's husband, quickly setting a trap, offers to accompany Christian, and he lets him borrow a pair of those marvelous dice. As the two set out carrying a lantern, we learn that Diggory has been silently watching from the inn's dark chimney-corner.
Out in the warm misty night, Wildeve suggests a brief rest and a dice game. Christian, obsessed with the dice, is eager to try his newfound luck again. First Christian loses his own money. He decides to win it back by betting with Thomasin's money, but Wildeve wins the whole fifty guineas. Christian dips into Clym's share as well, but beyond control, that, too, is eventually lost.
Christian is struck with remorse, but Wildeve views the matter coolly. Even when he learns that half his winnings had actually belonged to Clym, he insists that he has gained fair possession of them. In his eyes, he hasn't committed a crime; he has merely proved his cleverness. Hardy, however, seems to feel Wildeve's behavior is not wholly admirable.
As the chapter ends, the defeated Christian totters away. Wildeve is about to leave, too, when Diggory suddenly appears in the light of the lantern. What does he know? What can he do? Hardy leaves the answers to the following chapter.
CHAPTER 8: A NEW FORCE DISTURBS THE CURRENT
The "current" of the title probably refers to the trend of events, which, for the previous few pages, has turned in Wildeve's favor. In Hardy's world, however fate is not constant.
With no ceremony, Diggory sets down a coin; Wildeve cannot resist continuing to play. He obviously felt superior to Christian's naive eagerness, but now he is just as greedy and obsessed himself.
The game is tense, see-sawing back and forth. The two men make a contrast in temperament: "nervous and excitable" Wildeve, Diggory seeming like "a red-sandstone statue." Hardy clearly prefers Diggory; unlike many novelists, he often lets you know just how he feels about his characters.
Almost uncannily, Diggory begins to win. The furious Wildeve throws the dice away in frustration but insists that the game continue, even though only one die is recovered. Nothing can stop Wildeve now; he is possessed, perhaps just as he once let love possess him. When a moth extinguishes the lantern, Wildeve frantically gathers enough glowworms to produce light for the game. When he eventually loses all of the money, he sits stupefied, as Diggory disappears into the darkness.
Within moments, the newlyweds pass by in a carriage. Diggory stops them to ask about Thomasin. Learning that she is following soon, he waits until she rides up and, without explanation, hands her the money he's just won from her husband.
Unfortunately, this fine attempt to rectify an evil is marred by one mistake. Diggory thinks that the whole sum of 100 guineas belongs to Thomasin. This innocent error may cause more trouble than if the whole sum had been lost.
NOTE: GOOD INTENTIONS :Mrs. Yeobright had thought she could do good by sending half the guineas to her son, but Christian's superstitiousness and Wildeve's deceit got in the way. Diggory tries to do good by winning back Thomasin's money, but his ignorance of the whole story gets in his way. It seems that chance ironically often causes decent actions to have evil results.
BOOK FOUR: THE CLOSED DOOR
As we shall see, as simple a thing as a closed door will cause disaster for the major characters. People will misunderstand each other's motives, a marriage will founder, and one person will die. Again, it's the tiny details of chance that throw human lives into chaos. But perhaps that closed door can also be understood as a symbol for the past, which cannot be retrieved. Once events are set in motion, we can never stop fate.
CHAPTER 1: THE RENCOUNTER BY THE POOL
It is July, and the heath glows in its one gorgeous season of the year. Similarly, Clym and Eustacia's marriage is glowing. They love everything because they are in love with each other. Such paradise cannot last, however, in Hardy's world. Clym finally returns to his studies, and Eustacia anxiously guesses that her hopes of moving soon to Paris are doomed.
Now, the misunderstandings over the guineas begin to multiply. Not having received a thank-you from Clym, Mrs. Yeobright begins to guess that Thomasin somehow received all one hundred guineas. Hearing that Eustacia is visiting Captain Vye, Clym's mother decides to ask her whether or not his share of the money ever arrived. Things are further complicated when Christian confesses that he lost all the money to Wildeve.
Notice how several small lies have built up into this confusion. Mrs. Yeobright didn't tell Wildeve about the money; he didn't tell Thomasin about the gambling incident; Thomasin promised Diggory she wouldn't tell her husband that she now has the money- these deceptions add up and cause great harm. And when Mrs. Yeobright rushes off to see Eustacia, she interprets Eustacia's evasive answers as evidence that Wildeve returned Clym's share to Eustacia, his former lover. Mrs. Yeobright suspects that Eustacia is cheating on Clym. Both women speak sharply, proudly, opening up old wounds. As they lash out at each other, we discover that each has been deeply hurt by the other and wants to get even. In her anger, Eustacia says that she wishes she hadn't married Clym, and predicts that the breach between Clym and his mother will never be healed. Mrs. Yeobright defends herself, warning Eustacia that if she ever shows this kind of temper to Clym, she'll regret it.
Ironically, this encounter has taken place beside the pond where Wildeve and Eustacia used to meet. As her mother-in-law rushes off, Eustacia turns her gaze toward the pool. Like us, she is surely reminded of Wildeve by this symbol. Perhaps, she is thinking of what might have been, if she had not driven him into Thomasin's arms.
NOTE: ANGER AS A DANGEROUS PASSION :During this upsetting conversation, which woman was in the wrong? If there is guilt, it is probably about equal. Passion is still a dangerous force, even when it is anger, not romantic love. This passion has made Eustacia and Mrs. Yeobright deaf to each other, at least for the moment, breeding more misunderstandings.
CHAPTER 2: HE IS SET UPON BY ADVERSITIES; BUT HE SINGS A SONG
Clym notices Eustacia's emotional state when she rushes home, and so she explains that his mother has indirectly accused her of taking money from Wildeve. Desperately, she suggests moving to Paris as an answer to this galling situation. But he is astonished that she thinks he would change his mind about Paris; Eustacia glumly recognizes, all too well, that she has been living in a dream. He will not discuss the issue, and they turn away from each other- perhaps a fatal first step.
The next day, the mystery of the money is cleared up. Thomasin visits to give Clym his half. It is too late, however, as Clym sadly realizes, to heal the quarrel between the two women who mean most to him.
More troubles lie in store for Clym. His concentrated studies bring on an acute inflammation of the eyes, making it impossible for him to read. As weeks pass, he does not improve, and Eustacia nervously fears that she will be chained to a lonely, boring existence, perhaps even with a blind husband.
Clym, on the other hand, remains cheerful. Walking out into the bright sun one day, he meets Humphrey, who is cutting furze. Though it is low-class work, Clym realizes that he could do it even in his present condition. As you'd expect, this decision horrifies Eustacia; it's just one more come-down in their status.
Clym ignores her objections, however. Daily, he works with Humphrey, finding peace and calm out in the fields. He almost merges with the heath; insects and small animals take his presence for granted.
Eustacia discovers Clym at work one morning happily singing a French love-song. Her pity for him turns in a flash to anger, the kind of anger that arises from despair. In the unsatisfactory conversation that follows, Clym realizes that her love for him has almost died; he says, however, he still loves her. She feels that she is the one who deserves pity, chained as she is to a life she despises. Clym tries gently to explain to her his philosophy about living humbly.
For all his fine ideas, however, Clym is missing the point. Independent, yearning Eustacia needs to see the greater life outside Egdon for herself. Dimly sighted Clym seems to be blind to this need. Consider what kind of schoolmaster Clym will make, if he expects his students to accept what he says without question. His conviction that he is right may be a kind of self-centeredness.
Rather than risk what her tongue might blurt out in response, Eustacia leaves him to his work. There is still affection between them; each is still trying to avoid directly attacking the other. As we're seeing, however, the gulf of misunderstanding between them is wide, and may be widening.
CHAPTER 3: SHE GOES OUT TO BATTLE AGAINST DEPRESSION
It is late August. The brief shining summer of Egdon Heath is almost over, just as the brief shining marital happiness of Eustacia and Clym has dimmed. Clym optimistically expects the situation to improve, even though he realizes that, to his sobbing wife, he has changed from a hero into a common laborer.
Eustacia decides to fight off her deepening depression by going to East Egdon, where a village picnic will offer dancing. Clym's somewhat jealous, but he admits he would be a gloomy sight at such a festival and tells her to go on alone. Eustacia's spirit rebounds; she decides to hide her suffering from the world and act merry for an evening. Though you may not entirely admire Eustacia at this point, she does at least regain her former courage. When she dresses in a way that brightens her unusual beauty, even Hardy (who is often hard on her) comments that she might have good reason for resenting a life that doomed such charms to misery.
All is liveliness and young love at the East Egdon festivities. Unfortunately, Eustacia's female friend who had suggested the outing does not show up. Even independent-minded Eustacia cannot join in the dancing as a strange woman alone. But the sensuous, pagan spirit of the moonlit night enters Eustacia's blood, and she longs to join in the dancing. Suddenly, in this moment of frustrated emotions, Wildeve appears at her side.
It is their first encounter since his wedding day, and, by chance, it comes at a moment when Eustacia is very susceptible to Wildeve's appeal. Veiled, as if admitting that she's doing something improper, Eustacia accepts her former lover's invitation to dance. Soon, her pulse races. The dancing shows us her passionate nature, as she whirls and glides away from the boredom of her married life. Passion, once again, leads Eustacia astray.
The pair are united in pleasure, so obviously that the bystanders notice. As for Wildeve, this evening makes him once again want to have Eustacia as his own, all year long. When they sit down together on the grass to rest, Wildeve tenderly pries out the truth about Eustacia's unhappiness. He does seem more sympathetic in this scene- gentler, and more genuinely in love. Eustacia boldly accepts his offer to accompany her homeward, even though it would give the locals something to gossip about. The moonlight is bright, but the heath remains dark, and Eustacia needs Wildeve's touch to steady her from time to time. It's a delicate situation, and the danger must make it even more thrilling to them both.
Suddenly Clym appears, with Diggory, who is still Wildeve's determined adversary. In the dim light, Clym does not see Wildeve slip quietly away, from Eustacia but the reddleman does. After Clym and Eustacia head for home, he rushes to The Quiet Woman to catch Wildeve.
Thomasin tells Diggory that her husband has gone to East Egdon to buy a horse. Diggory, being surprisingly subtle, reports that he glimpsed her husband leading something home- "a beauty with a white face and a mane as black as night." Innocent Thomasin doesn't catch his reference, but we know he's talking about Eustacia. Wildeve, too, immediately understands the meaning of this comment when Thomasin reports it to him later. He realizes that Diggory is warning him, that he will be watching the reawakening of Wildeve's affair with Eustacia.
Diggory has also picked up a note of sadness beneath Thomasin's light tone when she jokes about husbands liking to play the truant. We can guess that the reddleman, who cares deeply about Thomasin's happiness, will be doing his best to prevent Wildeve from betraying her with Eustacia.
CHAPTER 4: ROUGH COERCION IS EMPLOYED
Diggory's suspicions about Wildeve were aroused, it turns out, while he was just passing through the neighborhood. But now he is irresistibly drawn back into Thomasin's affairs. As he follows Wildeve, he realizes that so far Wildeve and Eustacia have not really taken up their old relationship again- yet. But Wildeve has taken up the suspicious habit of walking out at night to the Yeobright's cottage.
One night, as a warning, Diggory rigs up a trap that causes his enemy to stumble. Wildeve recognizes that the red-colored string in the trap is another warning from the persistent reddleman, but he continues his romantic walks, as if he had no power to stop. One night, he catches a moth and daringly slips it through the partly opened window of the Yeobright's cottage. The moth flies into a candle, and Eustacia recognizes the signal Wildeve used in the days of their love. Clym comes in and notices her agitation. She says she needs to go out for some air, but there is suddenly a loud knocking at the front door. When she answers it, no one is there, however. We learn that Diggory pounded on the door, so that Wildeve would have to sneak away. As he leaves the cottage, a gun is fired in his direction and he runs for cover, realizing that Venn may even want to hurt him seriously. Diggory's actions may seem odd, almost obsessive. He may also seem like a magical sprite here. Yet his tricks do not have quite the effect he intends. In fact, Wildeve realizes that it's too dangerous to visit Eustacia at night, and he decides to see her by day. Diggory's interference has hastened the affair, quite contrary to his desires.
Meanwhile, he continues his well-intended meddling by going to Mrs. Yeobright. He tells her that, in his view, both Clym and Thomasin would be happier if she would swallow her pride and visit them. Mrs. Yeobright pretends to remain firm, but Diggory's hints about Wildeve and Eustacia make her decide to visit her son; she has already decided to forgive him, anyway.
At the same moment, Clym is telling Eustacia that he wants to patch things up with his mother. He asks Eustacia to welcome his mother, if he is successful. Holding back her true feelings, she agrees not to interfere, but she refuses to go and make advances herself to Mrs. Yeobright.
NOTE: THE CONSEQUENCES OF AN ACTION :Repeatedly, Hardy sounds his theme that one action can be like a stone thrown into a pond and causing ever-widening circles to form. Clym's return has dramatically changed more lives than he knows. It is another form of blindness, perhaps, that keeps him, like all people, from realizing that his mistakes may have far-reaching consequences.
CHAPTER 5: THE JOURNEY ACROSS THE HEATH
On an oppressively hot day, the last day of August, Mrs. Yeobright walks across the heath to make up with Clym and Eustacia. The air, says Hardy, is like the inside of a kiln, a furnace for firing pottery. Mrs. Yeobright feels the strain and must rest frequently. Because she has never visited her son's cottage, she further tires herself by taking wrong pathways, all of them uphill.
Coming upon a laborer, she asks the way. The man simply tells her to follow an anonymous furze- cutter, walking in the distance. Mrs. Yeobright slowly realizes that the unknown furze-cutter is Clym. The revelation disturbs her so much that she instantly begins scheming to rescue him and Eustacia. Ironically, her wishes are for once the same as those of her dissatisfied daughter-in-law.
From a distance, she sees Clym enter his cottage. Tired and emotionally upset, she sits down to rest a moment on a hill. The broken, scarred trees around her produce a mysterious foreboding moan. As she sits there, Mrs. Yeobright spies a man circling Clym's cottage below, then going in. She's annoyed, at first but then she decides that this stranger's arrival might be a good thing after all; it could make her entrance easier, since everyone would be forced to be casual and polite.
The chapter ends with a masterful picture of a hot, lazy summer afternoon- a sleeping housecat, metallically glaring leaves, wasps rolling on the ground drunk with apple juice. This quiet moment will prove to be the calm before the storm. Mrs. Yeobright is last seen at Clym's garden gate, poised to begin her attempt at making peace.

TEST 1
1. A popular saying of the people of Egdon Heath was
A. "The Quiet Woman is run by an unquiet man"
B. "Eustacia Vye is the devil's own daughter"
C. "No moon, no man"
2. Hardy solves the problem of exposition by
A. letting us eavesdrop on the townsfolk
B. writing short scenes in which Diggory Venn is featured
C. flashbacks
3. Eustacia's signal to Damon Wildeve was
A. the flowerpot in her window
B. a bonfire
C. the ship's flag over Captain Vye's roof
4. Thomas Hardy describes Eustacia as
I. "the raw material of a divinity"
II. possessed of "Pagan eyes, full of nocturnal mysteries"
III. "heaven paying a visit to Earth"
A. I and II only
B. II and III only
C. I, II, and III
5. Eustacia confesses that her great desire is
A. "to have a man destroy himself for her love"
B. "to be loved to madness"
C. "to have Wildeve beg to touch the hem of her gown"
6. Diggory Venn became a reddleman because
A. he was too poor to have a farm
B. Thomasin had rejected his marriage proposal
C. he loved to breathe the air of Egdon Heath
7. Before Eustacia actually met Clym Yeobright, she dreamed about a man
A. in silver armour
B. on a white charger
C. who tamed wild animals
8. When Thomasin finally married Wildeve, she was given away by
A. Diggory Venn
B. Eustacia Vye
C. Clym Yeobright
9. Tradition is utilized by Hardy in the form of
I. Guy Fawkes Day
II. Christmas mumming
III. Maypole festivities
A. I and III only
B. II and III only
C. I, II, and III
10. The background for Clym's proposal to Eustacia was
A. the singing of the chorus
B. an eclipse
C. the sheep shearing ritual
11. Describe in detail the moral code that the people of Egdon Heath live by (or claim to). What behavior is considered decent, and what is considered unacceptable?
12. To what extent is Eustacia responsible for her tragic end, and to what extent is it influenced by the fate (or chance) that seems to operate so strongly in her life?
13. Explain in detail how Hardy uses images from nature to underscore, amplify, or anticipate the events of his story. Use at least five different examples.
14. Why are there so many references to ancient myth in the novel? Do these references give added dimension to the story, in your view, or do they distract from the action? How do they work, if in fact they do?
15. Diggory Venn is not a believable character, unless he is a supernatural being. Explain in full and use examples from the novel.
TEST 2
1. Mrs. Yeobright's trust, his plans to be a teacher, and Eustacia's happiness are problems which
A. Clym must reconcile
B. Clym's goals in life
C. Clym's reasons for abandoning Paris
2. A major theme of this novel is
A. the universe's indifference toward mankind
B. the path of true love never does run smooth
C. the best laid plans often go astray
3. Eustacia was hurt when
A. the 100 guineas were given to Thomasin
B. she heard Clym singing as he cut furze
C. she learned about the dice game by firelight
4. Mrs. Yeobright was denied admission to Clym's house because
A. Eustacia refused to see her
B. of a misunderstanding
C. it would have been embarrassing to Eustacia
5. Mrs. Yeobright characterized herself to Johnny Nunsuch as
A "one who has seen the devil in petticoats"
B. "a broken-hearted woman cast off by her son"
C. "a devotee of anguish"
6. Thomasin's baby was named
A. Eustacia Clementine
B. Rose of Sharon
C. Heather Angel
7. Eustacia's young admirer, Charley,
A. arranged for her to leave the heath
B. hid the pistols
C. offered to defend her against Clym
8. The superstitious Susan Nunsuch
A. talked "in tongues" against Eustacia
B. predicted the disaster after reading the tea leaves
C. burned a wax effigy of Eustacia
9. The entire action of the novel takes place
A. within a year and a day
B. between Clym's 26th and 29th birthdays
C. in the course of two full years on Egdon Heath
10. The closing sentence of the novel contains these words:
A. "He was a romantic martyr to superstition"
B. "But everywhere he was kindly received"
C. "He might have been called the Rousseau of Egdon"
11. The world of this novel is neither entirely Christian nor entirely pagan. Discuss.
12. To many readers, the hero of the novel is Clym Yeobright. Giving at least three examples, discuss the ways in which Hardy focuses the book on him.
13. How is humor used in the novel? Choose at least three examples and explain their effect upon the action, the reader or the theme.
14. Hardy's use of coincidence is so artificial that his ideas about fate and free will cannot be taken seriously. Referring to at least three incidents in the novel, discuss this topic.
15. Not excluding Eustacia, Hardy's women characters lack real depth. They are passive, conventional, and incapable of growth. Agree or disagree, using examples from the text.
ANSWERS
TEST 1

1. C
2. A
3. B
4. A
5. B
6. B
7. A
8. B
9. C
10. B

11. Most of our knowledge of Egdon's prevailing moral code comes indirectly from the words, thoughts, and actions of those who care most about what other people think: Thomasin, of course, and Mrs. Yeobright. Go back and study what bothers them about Thomasin and Wildeve's first marriage attempt, for example, or look at Mrs. Yeobright's reaction to the rumors about Eustacia and Wildeve. But morality is not just a matter of appropriate conduct between men and women. What do the common people say about family responsibilities, about religion, about friendship? What do their actions show about communal loyalty? It might also be useful to look at the thoughts of those who seem to defy public morality. What, exactly, does Eustacia or Wildeve do that is inappropriate? And what does each refuse to do, because of a lingering belief in the morals of the day?
12. This question has no easy answer, and you may enjoy arguing both sides. In the eyes of many readers, Hardy himself wants to have it both ways. The way to approach this question is to look at Eustacia's crucial moments of decision, critical turning points in the action. What brings on tragedy- Eustacia's willfulness or an accidental turn of events? Is she forced to act in certain ways, or is she trapped by circumstances? Take several examples- her decision to marry Clym, her decision not to open the door for Mrs. Yeobright, her decision to leave with Wildeve, her decision to commit suicide in the end. In each case, discuss the relationship between Eustacia's will, her desire, and the actual options open to her. The question of any possible "guilt" is not the issue here, but "responsibility" is. You will want to re-read, too, what Eustacia herself felt about the issue.
13. Each reader will have his or her own favorite examples of Hardy's use of natural imagery. For variety, however, you will want to choose at least one that predicts the course of events, as for example when the wind moans through the trees at Devil's Bellows just before Mrs. Yeobright is turned out to her death. You will also want to write about the use of nature to mirror a character's mood, as on the dreary day when Clym leaves home to find a cottage for Eustacia and himself. You will want to talk about natural imagery used as symbol, as when the lush green ferns are used to symbolize the fervent young love of Clym and Eustacia. The most challenging and interesting natural symbol is, of course, the heath itself. It will be well worth the effort to go back through the novel and decide for yourself how this important symbol is used, how it changes, and whether or not it is finally effective.
14. If you enjoy mythology and ancient history, you may readily understand Hardy's purposes in using so many classical references. Looking particularly at his descriptions of the heath or of Eustacia, you will see that his principal technique is to make a parallel. What would we think of the characters and events of the novel, if these ancient comparisons were not used? You do not, by the way, have to agree that Hardy is always successful; you might decide that some allusions work well, others do not. No matter what you judge to be the case, be sure to explain why you have come to your conclusions. Some readers feel that the classical references raise a simple country tale to the level of epic. You may want to add your own opinion on this score.
15. Concentrate on the unusual aspects of Venn's character and upon his unusual abilities, as demonstrated many times in the story. Think of how the other characters react to him, as when Eustacia cannot believe that anyone would love as unselfishly as he seems to love Thomasin. What about his magical capacity for turning up just in the nick of time? Think how different the story would be if he did not show up; in other words, does he act as a kind of agent for good? If Diggory is supernatural, his powers are certainly limited; you can point to many occasions when he cannot change someone's mind. You will find much to talk about in the nighttime gambling scene with Wildeve, however. Also, consider Hardy's use of symbols associated with Diggory. Finally, discuss how Hardy's original ending for the novel affects your view of Diggory.
TEST 2

1. A
2. A
3. B
4. B
5. B
6. A
7. B
8. C
9. A
10. B

11. When do the people of Egdon go to church, and what happens when they do? Are their major celebrations Christian, pagan, or a blend of the two? When strange and terrible events occur, do these people tend to call on the Christian God or do they fall back on ancient superstitious beliefs? The answers to these questions are closely related to this topic. Remember that Christianity can be interpreted differently by different believers. You will also want to look at the actions of the main characters, at their reactions to the bad things that happen to them, and judge whether or not they behave and think as Christians do. (Most of Hardy's original readers, of course, would have thought of themselves as believing, practicing Christians, and that fact may have affected his portrayal of Christian ideas.) Look at Clym and his ministry. How does he resemble Christ, and how does he differ? Does he decide to preach the 11th Commandment because it is basic to Christian belief?
12. To write this essay, you must decide what a hero is: the most interesting character, the one who changes the most, or the one who represents the author's ideas? Refer to the major events of the book and show how they relate to Clym and to his development as a human being. Explain Clym's relationship with Hardy's important unifying symbol, the heath. Do you see a comparison between the author's voice, which we hear clearly so often, and the thoughts of Clym? Think, too, of the end of the novel. It is Clym's life, alone, that seems to continue to grow and enlarge, leaving the reader behind. How does the sadness that has settled upon Clym mirror Hardy's own attitude toward the action of the novel? You may also want to discuss how Hardy puts the character he respects most to the severest tests.
13. Humor is very difficult to write about. Nonetheless, you will find that there is more than one kind of humor in this novel, and you can compare them. There is the lively joking of the country folk; there is the biting sarcasm used by major characters when they are under stress; and there are at least two kinds of humor directly from the author- his ironic comments to the reader, and his manipulation of the plot for grotesquely comic effects. Like Shakespeare, Hardy sometimes uses humor for "comic relief", to give our emotions a rest from the tension of tragedy. He also uses humor, which is an attention-getting device, to emphasize his themes.
14. Coincidence occurs frequently in the story, but you will want to choose only important moments. Probably the most important incident is when Mrs. Yeobright stands at the closed door at Clym's cottage, but there are the others- Clym's return just when Eustacia is considering Wildeve's proposal, the raffle which Christian wins at The Quiet Woman, Charley's lighting of Eustacia's bonfire. These incidents may be intended as examples of fate, but are they believable in terms of the story? You may want to explain how the chance occurrences of the plot are intended, in your view, to work upon the reader; for example, what happens to the reader's emotions when one of the coincidences is about to have an important effect upon the action? You may also want to define "fate" and "free will" in your own terms, so that your argument will be clearer.
15. For such a topic, as you discuss the women characters, compare them with the men; in other words, consider also just how interesting and profound the male characters are. Note that Clym, Wildeve, and Diggory have certain advantages given them by society- education, an inheritance, and freedom of action, respectively. You will want to explain both men and women in terms of the values of the world in which they live. Why is Eustacia considered mannish? Why do we see Mrs. Yeobright almost entirely in her role as mother? How does Thomasin change after marriage? To discuss the women is to discuss their place in society, so point out those occasions when their actions are hampered by convention. You will also want to discuss the thoughts of the women, so far as we know them. Are they limited by lack of education or experience? And what about the women's moral depth? You can find many examples of decent motive and behavior which show a largeness of soul in Thomasin, for instance, that even the idealistic Clym cannot really match.
GLOSSARY
"BARLEY MOW"    A famous and racy country song
BUSTARD    A big, long-legged game bird
COURSER    A particularly lively and graceful horse
DAB    An expert
DOMESDAY    Domesday Book, an ancient British record of land values and ownership compiled in 1086
FURZE    A dark evergreen shrub found on wastelands
GALLICROW    A scarecrow
GALLOWAY    A small, very hardy horse
HEATH    A large open area of wasteland; a moor
KNAP    The top of a hill
LAMMAS-TIDE    The 1st of August (Lammas Day), traditional celebration of the first harvest
MICHAELMAS    The 29th of September, feast day of St. Michael and the beginning of autumn
MUMMERS    Masked actors in Christmas pantomimes
OGEE    A curve shaped like an S
PIS ALLER    The last resort
PITT DIAMOND    Crown jewel of the last kings of France
RAMES    A skeleton
REDDLE (REDDING)    An orange-red dye used on sheep
SERPENT    An old-fashioned snake-shaped wind instrument, sounding like a modern bassoon
SKIMMITY-RIDE    A boisterous rural procession staged to make fun of a spouse who has been unfaithful or has been betrayed
SLACK-TWISTED    Lethargic, inactive
STAVE    A song
TUSSAUD COLLECTION    Madame Tussaud's, a world-famous London wax museum
VICINAL WAY    A small local road
VLANKERS   Sparks
ZANY A simpleton or fool
Rainbarrow: The largest barrow on the heath--the villagers refer to it as 'Rainbarrow.' Eustacia is first seen standing on top of its summit in the beginning of the novel, and later Clym preaches from this same place, using the summit as his pulpit. The heath-folk light the first bonfire here on the 5th of November.
Budmouth: The fashionable seaport city where Eustacia is from. She misses the vitality and the excitement of life there--the music, the dancing, the various cultures of the officers passing through. Venn offers Eustacia a job in Budmouth as a paid companion, but Eustacia refuses, as she is too proud to accept a job. She later schemes to escape the heath and flee to Budmouth.
Paris: Eustacia longs to escape the heath and settle in Paris. When she learns that Clym Yeobright is arriving from Paris--the most cosmopolitan and modern city in her eyes--Eustacia schemes to marry him. Clym, however, is frustrated and disgusted by the shallow, superficial business he runs in Paris and rejects the idea of returning. He hates the life of glamour and socializing that Paris represents, the life that Eustacia longs for. The more Eustacia yearns to live in the glittering world of Paris, the more Clym is determined to stay in the heath and do something significant with his life.
Blooms-End: Mrs. Yeobright's home is located here. Eustacia catches her first glimpse of Clym when he passes by her on his way here and later meets him again at the Yeobrights' Christmas party when she performs as a mummer. Mrs. Yeobright lives here alone after Clym moves out to marry Eustacia. Later, Clym moves back into his mother's home when Eustacia leaves him, and Thomasin joins him after Wildeve's death. Thomasin and Venn celebrate their marriage here.
Mistover Knap: Captain Vye's home is located here. Eustacia lives with him until she marries Clym and later returns when she and Clym argue. The Christmas mummers practice at the Vyes' fuel-house because the Vye property is roughly the center of the heath. Captain Vye chooses this spot to live because he can see the English Channel in the far distance.
Quiet Woman Inn: Wildeve is the owner of the inn. The heath-folk gather here many times, to gossip and gamble.
Shadwater Weir: The dam in the pool of water where Eustacia falls and drowns. Clym and Wildeve jump in to save her, but they, too, get caught in the current. Venn pulls all three out, though only Clym is revived.
Mrs. Yeobright's money: Mrs. Yeobright divides the 100 pounds of guineas her husband left between Thomasin and Clym. She does not trust Wildeve to pick up Thomasin's share and instead sends both Clym's and Thomasin's shares by a heath-boy, who promptly gambles the money away to Wildeve. Upon hearing that Wildeve has the money and that Clym did not receive his share, Mrs. Yeobright mistakenly accuses Eustacia of having Clym's share. Meanwhile, Venn wins the money back, and believing that the money belongs to Thomasin, gives it all to her.
Wax effigy of Eustacia: Susan Nunsuch, believing Eustacia has caused her son's illness, responds by making this effigy, a voodoo doll. She molds it from wax, dresses it like Eustacia, sticks pins in it, and burns it with satisfaction.
Wildeve's bank-notes: Wildeve inherits a fortune of eleven thousand pounds from a relative. He does not tell Thomasin that he is now a wealthy man; instead he schemes to flee the heath with Eustacia and elope with her. When he takes the bank-notes and runs, Thomasin suspects that her husband may be eloping with Eustacia, for he would not take so much money if he was only going on a short trip. After Wildeve's death, Thomasin inherits the fortune and spends all the money on their daughter.
Thomasin's glove: Thomasin's nurse loses one of Thomasin's gloves at the May-revel. Thomasin, unaware that the nurse wore her gloves, sees Venn searching for a missing glove belonging to his lover. When the nurse tells Thomasin that Venn had been searching for her missing glove, Thomasin knows that she must be the object of Venn's affections.
Eustacia's hair: After Eustacia dies, Clym gives Charley a strand of her hair, which the lovesick boy cherishes. Clym keeps several strands of Eustacia's hair, as they are his only reminder of his wife.

Fate:
Fate 1: By chance, Captain Vye and the reddleman, Diggory Venn, walk on the same road. Captain Vye suspects that Thomasin Yeobright is in Venn's wagon, and unmarried. He will later tell his granddaughter, Eustacia, that Thomasin and Wildeve are not married.
Fate 2: It is a combination of fate and scheming that brings Eustacia and Clym together. Eustacia hears from Charley that the Christmas mummers will be performing at the Yeobrights', and she schemes to meet Clym by performing as a mummer.
Fate 3: Clym also takes advantage of fate to meet Eustacia. He learns from Sam that Captain Vye's bucket has fallen and that the heath-men are convening to fetch his bucket. Clym joins the rescue team so that he might meet Eustacia.
Fate 4: By chance, Venn is at the inn when Christian tells Wildeve and the other heath-men that he has Thomasin's and Clym's money. Venn will later win the money back from Wildeve after Wildeve ruthlessly gambles against the naïve heath-boy.
Fate 5: Venn sees Wildeve and Eustacia together. When he asks Thomasin where her husband is, she answers that he's left to buy a horse. Venn tells Thomasin that he saw her husband leading a beauty, but he means he saw Wildeve with Eustacia. Venn suspects that Wildeve might be seeing Eustacia.
Fate 6: It is fate that both Wildeve and Mrs. Yeobright call on Clym and Eustacia at the same time, and it is fate that Clym is asleep when the visitors call. Mrs. Yeobright believes that Eustacia ignores her for her other visitor, Mrs. Yeobright believes that her son has cast her off, and Eustacia believes that Clym will awaken and let his mother in.
Fate 7: Clym dreams that his mother is crying for him to help her inside her house, but in the dream, she cannot allow him in her house. His dream makes him resolve to reconcile with his mother, but it also symbolizes the trouble and turmoil his mother really is in. Clym's dream comes too late, for he never gets the chance to reconcile with her before she dies.
Fate 8: Charley lights a bonfire for Eustacia on the 5th of November as a surprise. Wildeve comes to call on her, thinking that he was summoned. Eustacia explains that she did not want him to come, but she easily falls into conversation with Wildeve and they scheme to flee the heath.
Fate 9: Clym writes Eustacia a letter begging her to return to him - but he sends the letter too late. Eustacia does not see the letter before she leaves to flee with Wildeve. If she had, she might have stayed on the heath to be with Clym.

Fate 10: Captain Vye places Clym's letter in the parlour, assuming that Eustacia will read it in the morning. He believes that Eustacia is asleep when he checks on her closed bedroom door, but when he sees the light flashing on the flagpole, he knows that she must be awake. He calls to her that she has a letter, but finds that she has already left.
Fate 11: Eustacia bemoans her desperate life and pleads with the heavens to change her life. She exclaims that she has done nothing to deserve her miserable fate - lonely, isolated, out of place, with nowhere to go and no one to turn to. She asks why fate is so miserable to her.
Fate 12: Thomasin stumbles upon Diggory Venn's wagon by chance when she is blown off course. She asks Venn to take her where Clym and Wildeve are; Venn intimately knows the heath and can head in any direction, undistracted by heavy rains or harsh winds. It is fate that Thomasin finds Venn, for he pulls Clym, Wildeve, and Eustacia out of the water - and manages to save Clym's life.
Fate 13: Clym is devastated by the deaths of his wife and mother, believing that he drove them to their deaths. He thinks that fate is cruel to him, for taking his life in this direction, but he manages to calm himself by taking walks on the heath. Being on the heath comforts him, and he is thankful that he is where he belongs.
Fate 14: Venn's search for a missing glove arouses curiosity and jealousy in Thomasin. It is fate that she catches him finding the missing glove and kissing it. Unbeknownst to Thomasin, it is one of her gloves that is missing. That she sees Venn holding the glove affectionately makes her wonder who Venn loves - and wish that she might be the one.

Heath Customs

Heath Customs 1: On the night of November 5th, the heath-folk gather furze and make them into bonfires. All across the heath, bonfires can be seen, the light from the fire shining brightly against the night sky. Once the heath-folk light the first bonfire on Rainbarrow, the other heath inhabitants light their own fires.

Heath Customs 2: The villagers gather around the bonfires, sing, and dance wildly. The tradition of lighting bonfires on November 5th is a holiday for the heath-folk. This holiday tradition is a celebrated custom of Egdon Heath, a custom which Eustacia Vye detests.
Heath Customs 3: Some children of the heath believe that reddlemen have connections to the devil. Johnny Nunsuch is no exception; he is scared of Diggory Venn and gives as much information as he can about Eustacia Vye before he can finally leave and feel safely out of the reddleman's reach.
Heath Customs 4: Another heath custom is the Christmas mummers' play performed every year. Eustacia usually despises the Christmas mumming, as she does with every heath custom, but this year she is interested in it, once she hears that the first Christmas performance is at the Yeobrights'. That the mummers are masked completely means that Eustacia can scheme to find a way to perform as a mummer and spy on Clym.
Heath Customs 5: Thomasin braids her hair in seven strands on her wedding day. She and the other heath-women braid their hair according to the importance of the day (the more important the day, the more strands in the braid).
Heath Customs 6: The heath-men gather at Timothy Fairway's place for their weekly hair-cutting. The hair-cutting custom is another tradition that the heath-folk cherish and value.
Heath Customs 7: Susan Nunsuch believes that Eustacia is bewitching her son. To exorcize the bad spirit of Eustacia, she sticks a needle in Eustacia's arm during church.
Heath Customs 8: The bucket-fetching process is yet another important heath custom. When Captain Vye's bucket has fallen into the well, the heath-men gather rope from their homes and lower the men into the well with the rope tied around them.
Heath Customs 9: The raffle at the Quiet Woman Inn is a heath tradition the men participate in. They each put a shilling in the raffle and one man wins the money for his sweetheart.
Heath Customs 10: Furze-cutting is an important tradition to the heath-folk. Many men cut and gather furze for bonfires, but Eustacia and Mrs. Yeobright are horrified and ashamed that Clym becomes a cutter.
Heath Customs 11: The gipsying is a custom the villagers enjoy heartily. The heath-folk very much enjoy singing, dancing, and socializing; this gipsying, which is a picnic and dance, allows them the chance to take advantage of the heath landscape.
Heath Customs 12: The villagers make a remedy for Mrs. Yeobright's adder wound. The remedy consists of boiling the oil of a freshly-killed adder and applying it to the wound. Clym is doubtful that the remedy will work, but applies it because he trusts the villagers.
Heath Customs 13: Susan Nunsuch makes a voodoo effigy of Eustacia and inflicts pain on the effigy by sticking needles in it and then melting it--with satisfaction. Susan wants to counteract the evil curse she believes Eustacia set on her ailing son.
Heath Customs 14: The May-pole revel is a favorite tradition of the heath-folk. Thomasin especially takes delight in the beautiful flowers and the sight of the May-pole. Thomasin's delight and happiness at the May-pole revel coincides with her uplifted and cheerful spirits.
Heath Customs 15: The heath-folk celebrate Thomasin and Venn's wedding with certain heath customs: they make a fresh feather-bed for the newlyweds and they serenade them.

Man Against Nature

Man Against Nature 1: The setting of the novel, Egdon Heath, never changes--it is as forbidding and desolate as it may be toward its inhabitants and its visitors. The heath never yields to anyone.
Man Against Nature 2: The reddleman notices the lone figure standing on top of Rainbarrow, watching for something or someone. He also notices that the figure departs as soon as the turf- and furze-cutters and gatherers make their ascent to the top of Rainbarrow. The reddleman sees that the solitary figure does not want to talk to the heath-folk, and is therefore rebelling against the customs and nature of the heath.
Man Against Nature 3: Eustacia hates everything connected to Egdon Heath--especially the turf and furze-gatherers and cutters. She feels that any job or object connected to the heath is degrading and miserable. Eustacia's rejection of the heath shows her rebellion against nature.
Man Against Nature 4: Eustacia and Wildeve both share a deep disgust for the heath. They both yearn for exciting, cosmopolitan cities where excitement and mystery attract them, rather than the isolated, barren landscape of the heath.
Man Against Nature 5: Knowing how much Eustacia yearns to escape the heath, Venn offers Eustacia a job as a paid companion to get her out--and away from Wildeve. Eustacia, however, has too much pride to take a job, even if the job would get her out of Egdon. She declares that she would rather live on the miserable heath than work.
Man Against Nature 6: Eustacia believes that Clym Yeobright is the answer to her prayers--if he marries her, she will be able to escape the heath for Paris, where Clym is from. She is sure that Clym's love will elevate her from the drudgery of the heath and change her life forever.
Man Against Nature 7: Eustacia declares that she would be content being married to Clym and living with him on the heath, if they are not able to return to Paris soon. She wants to believe love is worth more than anything, even her desire to leave the heath. However, her words are untrue; her deep hatred for the heath will reveal itself to Clym.
Man Against Nature 8: Clym and Eustacia argue about Clym's new job as a furze-cutter. While Clym is content with his job, Eustacia is bitterly shamed by it. She cannot fathom working at a job so intimately connected with the heath. When Clym asks if she regrets marrying him, now that he is a furze-cutter, Eustacia cannot deny her true feelings and admits that she still dreams of leaving the heath for a better life.
Man Against Nature 9: Mrs. Yeobright dies after walking with a weak heart in the sweltering heat. Her death shows the insignificance of the human world against the expansive, forbidding heath.
Man Against Nature 10: When Eustacia and Clym argue about his mother's death, Clym suddenly realizes that Eustacia has never been and will never be happy with him, as long as they continue to live on the heath. He is hurt that his wife does not share his love for the heath; he had believed that Eustacia had reconciled herself with the idea of living there.
Man Against Nature 11: Eustacia feels that her life is meaningless and worthless, now that she has left Clym and is still on Egdon Heath. She knows that he will never return to Paris for her. Eustacia contemplates killing herself, to escape the futility of her life.
Man Against Nature 12: Eustacia's vision of the heath as repulsive and isolated now broadens to the whole world; she feels that the world, not just the heath, is against her. Eustacia feels that she never can or will belong to anyone or anything. She feels defeated and resigned to her fate; she knows she can never win as long as the heath rejects her.
Man Against Nature 13: Eustacia feels that fate has been unjust. She asks the heavens what she has done to deserve such a terrible fate, to be bound to the heath forever without any chance of escape, in desperation and bitterness. The heavens and the heath are indifferent to Eustacia's tragic life.
Man Against Nature 14: Venn pulls Eustacia's cold, lifeless body out of the water. Whether she purposely fell in or slipped, Eustacia has drowned. Because Eustacia could not accept the heath, the heath has rejected her for all eternity.

Natives' Attitude Toward Heath

Natives' Attitude Toward Heath 1: The heath is comfortable for those who live there. The inhabitants of the heath are accustomed to its forbidding, wild landscape.
Natives' Attitude Toward Heath 2: The Yeobrights are content living on the heath. Captain Vye tells Eustacia that she might find them to be too "countrified," for they enjoy what the heath offers.
Natives' Attitude Toward Heath 3: Clym, having been born and raised on the heath, loves Egdon. He is a "product" of the heath--he understands and appreciates it for what it is. Clym is accustomed to the country ways and customs of the heath and would rather live simply than live in a flashy, glamorous environment like Paris. He is glad to return, to Eustacia's surprise.
Natives' Attitude Toward Heath 4: Clym wants to make a significant contribution to the home and the people he loves rather than work and make a large fortune. He is as passionate about staying on the heath and giving back to the land as Eustacia is desperate to leave Egdon.
Natives' Attitude Toward Heath 5: Although Mrs. Yeobright is comfortable living on the heath, she wishes that Clym would return to his flourishing diamond trade occupation. She feels that the heath is degrading for Clym, but he does not view it that way.
Natives' Attitude Toward Heath 6: Eustacia is shocked when Clym tells her that the heath soothes and inspires him. She cannot imagine how anyone can think the heath has a positive influence on them. Also, Eustacia is floored when Clym remarks that he would not like to live anywhere else but Egdon.
Natives' Attitude Toward Heath 7: Eustacia is greatly shamed by Clym's furze-cutting job. Although Clym views the job as an occupation that makes him feel useful and earns him money, Eustacia feels that the job is the lowest form of degradation and humiliation possible. She cannot deny her hatred for the heath when Clym asks if she regrets marrying him, now that he is a furze-cutter.
Natives' Attitude Toward Heath 8: The heath landscape helps Venn in thwarting Wildeve. Venn rigs a trap for Wildeve, using two tufts of grass. The dark bushes and furze also camouflage him from Wildeve's sight. Venn, a native of the heath, knows it as well as Clym does and the heath rewards him.
Natives' Attitude Toward Heath 9: Wildeve is surprised to hear that Thomasin is comfortable living on the heath. While he has made it known that he greatly dislikes the heath, Thomasin tells him that she is used to the heath and does not mind its isolated, wild. She, like Clym and Venn, is a product of the heath and can live on it with satisfaction and pleasure.
Natives' Attitude Toward Heath 10: To Thomasin, the heath on a dark, stormy night is not malicious or disturbing--it is simply land and bad weather that might lead to a cold. She does not believe the land to be against her, as does Eustacia.

Natives' Attitude Toward Heath 11: Venn knows the heath so well that he is not distracted by high winds or heavy rains. Venn understands and accepts the heath as much as Clym does.
Natives' Attitude Toward Heath 12: Thomasin uses the heath, taking her baby out on it to practice walking. The grass and turf provide a soft cushion for the baby to walk on and fall against. Thomasin's acceptance of the land is in accordance to her matter-of-fact manner about the heath: the heath is a comfortable place where she can raise her child, but it is also a place where she might fall ill.
Natives' Attitude Toward Heath 13: Clym uses the summit of Rainbarrow to serve as his pulpit when he preaches. The barrow is his agent for reaching out to the heath-folk; at all points of the heath, the villagers can see and hear him.
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Context
Thomas Hardy's long literary career witnessed and encompassed the most important artistic and literary changes of the modern era. Hardy was born in 1840 near Dorcester, England; before his death in 1928 at the age of 87, the genre of the Victorian novel had flowered and faded, and the erstwhile avant-garde movement known as modernism dominated the English literary landscape. In his ornate, wordy style and his sensitivity to issues of class, Hardy seemed a characteristic Victorian novelist. But his writing increasingly revealed a sensibility and a moral code that seemed to discard the strict Victorian social and sexual mores, and that tended towards atheism and subjective morality rather than an absolutist Christianity. His philosophy was out of place in Victorian England, and presaged the coming social and cultural upheaval of modernism.
Trained as an architect, Hardy was at first unsuccessful in breaking through in the London literary world. His first poems and novels went unpublished or unappreciated. It was only after Hardy's return to his native Bockhampton that his novels began to attract attention and commercial success. Far from the Madding Crowd, published in 1874, ushered in his most productive period; it was soon followed by many other novels, including The Return of the Native--published serially in monthly installments in an English magazine--in 1878. Controversy over the moral stance of his later novels Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891) and Jude the Obscure (1896) led Hardy to abandon writing novels, and to concentrate on poems and--to a lesser extent--short stories, for which he also won deserved fame.
It is not at all coincidental that Hardy's success as a novelist followed his return home to Dorcester. Setting is of crucial importance in Hardy's novels, and his finest novels are all set in the region of "Wessex," which, while fictional, is based upon Hardy's own native corner of England. Wessex follows the geographical contours of Dorset, England, with only a few changes made by Hardy: it is not hard to see how the culture, language and geography of Hardy's home country shape his novels. The Return of the Native takes as one of its central themes--and, arguably, as its central character--the tract of windswept upland in Hardy's Wessex known as Egdon Heath. The novel is deeply rooted in the folk customs of the residents of the Heath, and attempts to imitate their attitudes and even their patterns of speech. It is the return to the heath of the educated Clym Yeobright that supplies the novel's title and catalyzing crisis. This surely derives from the experience of Thomas Hardy himself, who only a few years before the publication of the novel made his own return to his native country.
Characters
Clym Yeobright - The "Native" of the novel's title, Clym is the son of Mrs. Yeobright and the cousin of Thomasin Yeobright. He goes abroad to work as a diamond merchant in Paris, but comes home when he realizes that his ambition is not towards material wealth. He is pursued by Eustacia Vye, and eventually marries her, but their marriage turns sour when her ambition to move to Paris conflicts with his plan to stay on Egdon Heath and teach school. Clym is intelligent, cultured and deeply introspective. He is patient and generous, but also deeply determined, and fierce when angered: it is this determination that leads to his eventual split with his mother, and separation from Eustacia. At the end of the novel, weakened by a degenerative eye condition and by the trauma of losing his mother and Eustacia--for whose deaths he blames himself--he becomes an itinerant preacher, sermonizing about simple moral topics.
Diggory Venn - Throughout most of the novel, Venn works as a semi-nomadic "reddleman": he travels throughout the region selling the dye that farmers use to mark their sheep. As a consequence of his exposure to the dye, his entire body and everything he owns are dyed red. Entirely red, camping out on the heath in his wagon, and emerging mysteriously from time to time, Venn functions as an image of the heath incarnated. He watches over Thomasin Yeobright's interests throughout the novel, but also preserves his own interests: he has long been in love with her, and at the end of the novel they marry. Venn is very clever and insightful, and can be a devious schemer.
Eustacia Vye - Born in the busy port town of Budmouth and transplanted to Egdon Heath to live with her grandfather, Eustacia despises the heath, and searches for a way to escape. However, even as she hates the heath, Eustacia seems in her deep, brooding passion, to be a part of its wild nature. She has an amorous relationship with Damon Wildeve, but enters into a tragic marriage with Clym Yeobright when she realizes that he is the more interesting, and urbane, of the two men.
Damon Wildeve - A local innkeeper, Damon is described as a "lady-killer." At the start of the novel, he puts off his marriage to Thomasin Yeobright in order to pursue a relationship with the woman he truly wants, Eustacia Vye; when he is jilted by Eustacia, however, he marries Thomasin, and has a daughter with her. He drowns at the end of the novel just before making an escape with Eustacia. He is interested throughout in possession rather than love.
Thomasin Yeobright - Clym Yeobright's cousin and Mrs. Yeobright's niece and ward. Thomasin is an innocent and goodhearted, if somewhat vacuous, woman who seems genuinely to care for Damon Wildeve--who, however, is merely using her to make Eustacia Vye jealous. She eventually marries Wildeve--over the objections of her aunt--and has a child, which she names Eustacia. At the end of the novel, she marries Diggory Venn, who has long loved her.
Mrs. Yeobright - Clym Yeobright's mother, and Thomasin Yeobright's aunt and guardian. A proper, class-conscious, proud woman, Mrs. Yeobright objects to the marriage of both her charges; as it turns out, she is entirely correct. She dies when, exhausted, she is bitten by an adder on the heath, believing that Clym has utterly rejected her. The daughter of a parson, Mrs. Yeobright considers herself--and is considered--of a higher class than the local laborers.
Christian Cantle - An awkward, superstitious young man who works for Mrs. Yeobright. Christian provides comic relief throughout the novel with his dolorous over-certainty that he will never marry and his petty phobias. He fails in his mission to bring Thomasin her inheritance, thus contributing to the degeneration of the family relationships.
Captain Vye - Eustacia's grandfather and guardian, a former captain in the British navy. A reclusive and silent man.
Johnny Nonsuch - The son of Susan Nonsuch. The boy has the knack of being in the right place at the right time: he reports Eustacia and Damon Wildeve's tryst to Diggory Venn, and is also the one who tells Clym Yeobright of his mother's damning last words.
Charley - A local youth who works for the Vyes, and who falls hopelessly in love with Eustacia.
Local laborers - Local laborers whose simple dialect and observance of local customs form the cultural backdrop for the novel.
Summary
The novel opens with the action of the plot already underway. The reddleman Diggory Venn rides onto the heath with Thomasin Yeobright in the back of his wagon: her marriage to Damon Wildeve was delayed by an error in the marriage certificate, and Thomasin collapsed. We soon learn that Wildeve orchestrated the error himself. He is infatuated with Eustacia Vye, and is, at least to some extent, using Thomasin as a device to make Eustacia jealous. When Venn learns of the romance between Eustacia and Wildeve, his own love for Thomasin induces him to intervene on her behalf, which he will continue to do throughout the novel. But Venn's attempts to persuade Eustacia to allow Wildeve to marry Thomasin, like his own marriage proposal to Thomasin, are unsuccessful.
Into this confused tangle of lovers comes Clym Yeobright, Thomasin's cousin and the son of the strong-willed widow Mrs. Yeobright, who also serves as a guardian to Thomasin. Eustacia sees in the urbane Clym an escape from the hated heath. Even before she meets him, Eustacia convinces herself to fall in love with Clym, breaking off her romance with Wildeve, who then marries Thomasin. Chance and Eustacia's machinations bring Clym and her together, and they begin a courtship that will eventually end in their marriage, despite the strong objections of Mrs. Yeobright. Once Wildeve hears of Eustacia's marriage, he again begins to desire her, although he is already married to Thomasin.
In marrying Eustacia, Clym distances himself from his mother. Yet distance soon begins to grow between the newlyweds as well. Eustacia's dreams of moving to Paris are rejected by Clym, who wants to start a school in his native country. Wildeve inherits a substantial fortune, and he and the unhappy Eustacia once again begin to spend time together: first at a country dance, where they are seen by the omnipresent observer Diggory Venn, and then later when Wildeve visits Eustacia at home while Clym is asleep. During this visit, Mrs. Yeobright knocks at the door; she has come hoping for a reconciliation with the couple. Eustacia, however, in her confusion and fear at being discovered with Wildeve, does not allow Mrs. Yeobright to enter the house: heart-broken and feeling rejected by her son, she succumbs to heat and snakebite on the walk home, and dies.
Clym blames himself for the death of his mother; he and Eustacia separate when he learns of the role that Eustacia played in Mrs. Yeobright's death, and of her continued relations with Wildeve. Eustacia plans an escape from the heath, and Wildeve agrees to help her. On a stormy night, the action comes to a climax: on her way to meet Wildeve, Eustacia drowns. Trying to save her, Wildeve drowns as well. Only through heroic efforts does Diggory Venn save Clym from the same fate. The last part of the novel sees the growth of an affectionate relationship, and an eventual marriage, between Thomasin and Diggory. Clym, much reduced by his travails and by weak eyesight brought on by overly arduous studies, becomes a wandering preacher, taken only half-seriously by the locals.
Analysis
Contemporary readers tend to take for granted the notion that literature does not convey, or even attempt to convey, absolute truth. Since the modernist movement at the beginning of the 20th century, literature has tended to pose questions rather than define answers. One of the hallmarks of modern literature can be said to be unreliability: authors and readers recognize that literature is difficult; it is not to be trusted, or to be taken at its face value. In 1878, when The Return of the Native was first published, ambiguity was hardly understood to be the cornerstone of the novelistic edifice. And yet, while The Return of the Native is formally conventional, thematically it thrives on doubt and ambiguity. With its extensive narrative description, abundant classical and scriptural references and stylized dialogue, the book adheres closely to the high Victorian style. Thematically, however, the novel is original and ingenious: not trusting perceptions, the book questions moral and ethical truths, implying the superiority of relative to absolute truth. It is an eminently unreliable novel, peopled with unreliable characters; even its narrator cannot be trusted.
Take, for instance, the example of Egdon Heath, the first "character" introduced into the book. The heath proves physically and psychologically important throughout the novel: characters are defined by their relation to the heath, and the weather patterns of the heath even reflect the inner dramas of the characters. Indeed, it almost seems as if the characters are formed by the heath itself: Diggory Venn, red from head to toe, is an actual embodiment of the muddy earth; Eustacia Vye seems to spring directly from the heath, a part of Rainbarrow itself, when she is first introduced; Wildeve's name might just as well refer to the wind-whipped heath itself. But, importantly, the heath manages to defy definition. It is, in chapter one, "a place perfectly accordant with man's nature." The narrator's descriptions of the heath vary widely throughout the novel, ranging from the sublime to the gothic. There is no possible objectivity about the heath. No reliable statement can be made about it.
For Clym, the heath is beautiful; for Eustacia, it is hateful. The plot of the novel hinges around just this kind of difference in perception. Most of the key plot elements in the novel depend upon misconceptions--most notably, Eustacia's failure to open the door to Mrs. Yeobright, a mistake that leads to the older woman's death--and mistaken perceptions. Clym's eventual near- blindness reflects a kind of deeper internal blindness that afflicts all the main characters in the novel: they do not recognize the truth about each other. Eustacia and Clym misunderstand each other's motives and true ambitions; Venn remains a mystery; Wildeve deceives Thomasin, Eustacia and Clym. The characters remain obscure for the reader, too. When The Return of the Native was first published, contemporary critics criticized the novel for its lack of sympathetic characters. All of the novel's characters prove themselves deeply flawed, or--at the very least--of ambiguous motivation. Clym Yeobright, the novel's intelligent, urbane, generous protagonist, is also, through his impatience and single-minded jealousy, the cause of the novel's great tragedy. Diggory Venn can either be seen as a helpful, kind- hearted guardian or as an underhanded schemer. Similarly, even the antagonistic characters in the novel are not without their redeeming qualities.
Perhaps the most ambiguous aspect of the novel is its ending. The novel seems to privilege a bleak understanding of human nature. Given the tragedy of the double drowning, it seems impossible that the novel could end happily. And yet, Diggory Venn and Thomasin are contentedly married. This is not, however, the way the novel was first conceived; Hardy was forced to give the novel a happy ending in order to please the Victorian public. In an uncharacteristic footnote, Hardy remarks, "The writer may state here that the original conception of the story did not design a marriage between Thomasin and Venn… But certain circumstances of serial publication led to a change of intent. Readers can therefore choose between the endings." Thus, even the true conclusion of the novel is left in doubt, a fitting end for a novel that thrives on uncertainty and ambiguity.
Book I, Chapters 1-5
Summary
The Return of the Native opens with a chapter describing sundown on Egdon Heath, the stage upon which the drama of the novel unfolds. The heath is a "vast tract of unenclosed wild," a somber, windswept stretch of brown hills and valleys, virtually treeless, covered in briars and thorn-bushes: "the storm was its lover, and the wind was its friend." It is characterized by a "chastened sublimity"--impressive but not showy grandeur--rather than any obvious aesthetic appeal. The heath is described as "a place perfectly accordant with man's nature... like man, slighted and enduring... It had a lonely face, suggesting tragical possibilities." It is an ancient space shaped by nature, seemingly impervious to the efforts of man.
Along a road on the heath walks an old man, who soon encounters a "van"--a wagon--driven by a reddleman (we later learn that these characters are Captain Vyeand Diggory Venn, respectively). Fishing for gossip, the old man discovers from the recalcitrant reddleman that there is a young woman asleep in the back of his wagon. The two men, still nameless, part ways, and the reddleman proceeds through the darkening heath. Raising his eyes towards the highest point on the heath, Rainbarrow, the reddleman sees a woman, standing alone, profiled against the sky, "like an organic part of the entire motionless structure."
The woman leaves Rainbarrow, and is replaced by a gathering of local men and women, who, in observance of local custom, are involved with building a huge bonfire on top of the barrow; all the villages for miles around do the same, and the night-sky is illuminated by the many torch-like fires. The locals-- including Timothy Fairway, Grandfer Cantle and his son Christian Cantle, and Susan Nonsuch--gossip in their clipped local dialect about the latest news: the marriage of Damon Wildeve and Thomasin Yeobright, which they presume to have occurred that same day. We learn that the girl's aunt, Mrs. Yeobright did not approve of the wedding, and that Clym Yeobright, Mrs. Yeobright's son, is returning from Paris in a few months for Christmas. The locals also notice that towards the end of the evening, the only fire that remains lit is a small one nearby at Mistover Knapp, where Eustacia Vye lives. The gossipers begin to dance and sing reels in the local custom, but are interrupted by reddleman encountered earlier, who asks for directions to Mrs. Yeobright's house, Blooms-End. Just minutes after the reddleman departs, Mrs. Yeobright arrives at the bonfire.
Walking home from the bonfire, Olly Dowden has a conversation with Mrs. Yeobright in which they discuss Mrs. Yeobright's resistance to her niece's marriage, and eventual acquiescence. When they part ways, Mrs. Yeobright runs into the reddleman, whom she recognizes as Diggory Venn, the son of a local dairyman, and who reveals to her that Thomasin Yeobright is the woman asleep in the back of the wagon. It turns out that Thomasin and Damon Wildeve were not married that day: they had gone to Anglebury to be married, but there was a technical problem with the marriage license, and Thomasin, upset, had run away. Mrs. Yeobright believes that the family, and especially Thomasin, will be disgraced by this failed marriage; they go to Damon Wildeve's home, the Quiet Woman Inn, and insist that Damon go through with marrying Thomasin. He is somewhat casual about the whole affair, but eventually agrees. The serious discussion in interrupted by the entrance of the local farmers and workers, who sing wedding tunes in honor of the couple, believing them to be already married. After everyone finally leaves, Damon notices that the bonfire at Mistover Knapp is still burning, and resolves, "Yes, by Heaven, I must go to her."
Commentary
It is fitting that the novel open with a chapter characterizing Egdon Heath. Throughout the novel, the rugged and unforgiving terrain of the heath plays a crucial role, not just in shaping the culture and attitudes of the local peasants but also in motivating the main characters and even in shaping the outcomes of crucial events. The residents of the heath might imagine themselves to have civilized their native terrain, but in truth the heath remains wild, with a character of its own that asserts its will over its human denizens. Mrs. Yeobright dies of exposure due to the ruggedness of the heath; Damon Wildeve and Eustacia Vye are drowned during one of the frequent storms that sweep the heath. More subtly, all of the characters seem defined, emotionally and even physically, by their relationships to the heath. The heath is named before any of the characters are: indeed, in the second chapter, Diggory Venn and Captain Vye remain anonymous, merely outgrowths of the heath (especially the nomadic Diggory, who, dyed entirely red, seems an incarnation of the savage heath itself). And the reader soon realizes that the unnamed woman who Diggory sees standing on Rainbarrow in the second chapter, looking like "an organic part" of the great mound, is in fact Eustacia Vye, who, despite her loathing for the heath, nonetheless embodies or symbolizes--by virtue of her powerful, tempestuous passions and her dark beauty--the untameable nighttime heath.
But even while the heath as a physical object is described as "inviolate," untouchable and unalterable by man, as a symbol it is highly pliable: it becomes what the various characters want to make of it. It is ugly for Eustacia, beautiful for Clym Yeobright, comforting for Thomasin Yeobright, and home for Diggory Venn. And it is described differently by the narrator at different times, depending on the perspective of the character being focused on; it is not just the attitudes of the characters that change, but, in the narrator's perspective, the entire heath itself that seems changeable. It is both "an installment of night" and an object of delicate, intricate beauty. This may be seen as an instance of the unreliability of the narrator, but it may also be seen as proof of the heath's evasion of all simple descriptions: it is so much greater than civilized man that it defies his attempts at limiting and defining it.
In this first section, too, we are introduced to the supporting cast of the novel, the working-class locals who live on the heath. When The Return of the Native was published, Thomas Hardy was criticized by many reviewers for the unnatural language he puts into the mouths of these uneducated locals. This criticism deeply upset Hardy, who placed great importance in a realistic depiction of local life, custom and language. A native returning to his own birthplace of Dorchester, the area in England on which the fictional Wessex is based, Hardy wanted to recapture the feel of the country in his novels. Thus he spends a good deal of time in these opening pages describing the locals, who seem more pagan than Christian in their attitudes: they never attend church, celebrate a pagan custom by lighting bonfires to ward off the oncoming winter, and enjoy dancing and drinking above all else. Paganism in general is a recurrent theme throughout the novel. It should not be ignored that Rainbarrow itself is a barrow--an artificial burial mound raised by the ancient pagan Celtic tribes--that has become a part of the landscape. There are frequent references made throughout not just to native British paganism but to Roman and Greek influences: the bonfire, for instance, is said to be "Promethean." Eustacia Vye, especially, is described as some kind of goddess or demigoddess, a pagan "Queen of the Night," and it is on Rainbarrow that she is first discerned, albeit anonymously. To a large extent, this novel uses the ancient, pagan world--unchecked by Christianity and civilization--as its psychological and physical setting.
Book I, Chapters 6-11
Summary
Now that the bonfire on Rainbarrow is abandoned, the still-unnamed woman seen earlier by Diggory Venn returns to the top of Rainbarrow. The wind dominates the heath at this hour, drawing a whisper from the withered blades on the heath. But the woman is not listening to the wind: through a telescope, she watches a lighted window on the heath below. Seeing nothing of note, she returns to the small fire on Mistover Knapp, which is being tended by a local boy, Johnny Nonsuch. The woman--now named as Eustacia Vye--is evidently waiting for something: soon, after the boy departs, she is visited by Damon Wildeve, with whom it quickly becomes apparent that she has an amorous relationship. In the course of their conversation, it comes out that Damon abandoned her to marry Thomasin Yeobright, although Eustacia believes that Damon still loves her, and that this is the real reason that his scheduled marriage to Thomasin did not take place. The two squabble pettily, with Eustacia coquettishly manipulating him, and Damon refusing to admit that he loves Eustacia more deeply than Thomasin.
Hardy then spends a brief chapter describing Eustacia, the "Queen of Night." Her hair, eyes and perfect lips--"formed less to speak than to quiver, less to quiver than to kiss"--are her most prominent features. Her eyes are said to be "Pagan, full of nocturnal mysteries." She is a melodramatic and deeply passionate romantic, forever pining nostalgically for kingdoms she has not lost. She despises the heath, and blames "Destiny" for putting her there, in the care of her grandfather Captain Vye.
On his way home from tending Eustacia's bonfire, Johnny Nonsuch stumbles upon the encampment of Diggory Venn, whom he at first takes for a blood-red ghost. The boy reveals to Diggory that he has seen Eustacia and Damon Wildeve talking together, and that they are conducting a hidden love affair. Diggory later verifies this by eavesdropping on another meeting between Damon and Eustacia, during which Damon toys with Eustacia, reminding her that she is merely one of many options available to him, but also asking her to run away with him to America. The reader is privy to Diggory's thoughts as he recalls how he once proposed marriage to Thomasin, Damon's betrothed, and how he still loves her; he dedicates himself to preserving her dignity by forcing Damon to marry her. To this end, he visits Eustacia, revealing to her that he knows of her plans to lure Damon away from Thomasin. She angrily rejects his pleas to allow Damon and Thomasin to marry, asserting that she and Damon were in love before Damon became engaged to Thomasin, and that she will follow "her inclination." She does reveal, however, that her love for Damon does not run very deep: "I should have cared nothing for him had there been a better person near."
When Damon later relates this exchange to Mrs. Yeobright, he also renews his offer to marry Thomasin. Shrewdly, Mrs. Yeobright rejects the offer, but then represents the situation to Damon Wildeve as if there is a mysterious competitor for Thomasin's affections, intending to force Damon into marriage through playing upon his jealousy. Damon indeed becomes jealous, and, thinking himself cast aside for another man, renews his offer of love to Eustacia. She, however, also thinking that Damon has been dropped in favor of another man, is now relatively uninterested in him, because he is merely "a superfluity," no longer an object of desire. Book I--titled "The Three Women"--ends with a preview of what is to come: Eustacia hears that Clym Yeobright is returning to the heath.
Commentary
The first section of the book served to introduce the reader to most of the main characters; this second section exposes their psyches. Diggory Venn, it seems, had other than purely altruistic motivations in caring for Thomasin in his wagon: he has long been in love with her; moreover, he is willing to engage in scheming and deviousness in order to further her cause. Diggory will prove a difficult character throughout the novel. Is he purely generous, or is he always plotting his own advancement? Is he underhanded, or does he merely use the means necessary? As for Eustacia Vye and Damon Wildeve, this section reveals them to be conducting a strange and ambiguous love affair, in which love itself seems to be far removed from the equation.
One of the central themes of this novel is the difficult relationship between love and possession. For Damon and Eustacia, love is more motivated by a desire for ownership and conquest, the zeal of competition, or by pure boredom, than it is any deep emotional bond. This section is filled with their childish squabbling and arguments, which seem more concerned with self-interest than any real affection. Damon, it is suggested, proposed to Thomasin only in order to make Eustacia jealous; this scheme was, of course, wildly successful. Eustacia then denies him physical affection in order to assert her own power over the relationship. When it seems that Thomasin no longer desires Damon--through the scheming of Mrs. Yeobright, who made it seem as if Thomasin wanted to marry Diggory Venn--suddenly Eustacia's affection for Damon cools. It seems that her love for Damon was motivated in part by her belief that he was a man desired by many women; now, she muses, "what was the man worth whom a woman inferior to herself did not value?" (Note the language of financial transactions: "worth," "value.") The love affair between Damon and Eustacia in fact seems rather childish, as does the entire soap opera--the scheming, the plotting, the intertangled relationships--that is catalyzed by their love. It is love motivated by isolation and inexperience, by Eustacia's desire for romance and her boredom on the heath: she is represented as "filling up the spare hours of her existence by idealizing Wildeve for want of a better object." And it is suggested at the end of this first book that the "better object" is on his way: Clym Yeobright is returning from Paris, the traditional city of romance.
It is interesting to ask ourselves throughout the novel whether Damon and (especially) Eustacia show signs of rising beyond the selfish immaturity and petty emotions that they display early on. They are portrayed early in the novel as almost without redeeming actions; and yet the narrator accords Eustacia a certain amount of nobility, reveals a grudging admiration for her passion and the depth of her emotion and ambition. Indeed, Hardy's novel is consistently sympathetic toward paganism, naked passion, and rebellion against social boundaries and mores. Moreover, the final analysis of Eustacia places her among the great: the narrator concludes, "In heaven she will probably sit between the Heloises and the Cleopatras."
Book II
Summary
Local workers are building a pile of firewood outside Captain Vye's house. From indoors, Eustacia Vye hears them talking about the imminent return to the heath of Clym Yeobright, who has been working as a diamond merchant in Paris. The local laborer Humphrey mentions that Eustacia and Clym would make a good couple, an innocent remark which sparks in Eustacia's mind intricate fantasies of a romance with Clym.
In the meantime, Clym's mother Mrs. Yeobright and niece Thomasin are preparing for Clym's return to their home, Blooms-End. Mrs. Yeobright remains obsessed with the damage that Thomasin's prolonged and painful engagement with Damon Wildeve has done to the family honor. She genuinely cares for Thomasin, however, and notices that Thomasin herself seems no longer to love Wildeve, ever since he managed to delay their first attempt at marriage; however, Thomasin neither denies nor confirms the truth of this.
The Yeobrights go to meet Clym, and Eustacia contrives to spy on them, in an attempt to get a look at Clym, who has become the object of her fascination in her attempt to find someone better than Damon Wildeve. Eventually, she settles on a scheme in order to see him. The Yeobrights are throwing a Christmas party, at which a group of locals will put on a traditional play (this performance of a ritual play with set roles and lines is known as "mummery"). Eustacia convinces the local laborer Charley to let her play his part, that of the Turkish Knight in a play about St. George. Disguised as the knight, Eustacia goes to the Yeobrights' party; after playing her part--and being recognized by some of the actors--she gets a good look at Clym. Hardy takes advantage of the opportunity to describe Clym for the first time. He is a young man with an extremely handsome face that is being worn away by his internal conflicts: "An inner strenuousness was preying upon an outer symmetry."
Uncomfortable with the revelry of the party and excited at being in Clym's presence, Eustacia goes outside for air, where Clym meets her and guesses that she is a woman playing a man's part. By this time Eustacia has whipped herself into a frenzy: she has "predetermined to nourish a passion" for Clym. A new problem presents itself to her, however. At Blooms-End, Clym is living with Thomasin, and Eustacia is concerned that he might fall in love with his pretty cousin. She therefore sends Damon Wildeve a message--through the omnipresent Diggory Venn--informing him that she will no longer see him. Scorned by Eustacia, Damon is left with only one option to salvage his pride (and, hopefully, to generate new jealousy in Eustacia): he once again promises to marry Thomasin. This time he goes through with his promise, and the two are finally married. It is Eustacia--who happens through no sheer coincidence to be in the church at the time of marriage--who gives the bride away, to the consternation of Damon.
Commentary
More than a quarter of the way through the book, the title character finally makes his appearance, although even in this section--titled "The Arrival" by Hardy--he hardly does anything of note. But his very presence works a charm on the impressionable and imaginative Eustacia, who conceives of an infatuation with him based not upon his personality or even upon his looks: she is determined to love him even before meeting him. This kind of love, it is implied, is more self-love--or selfish love--than anything else: it is grows out of what Eustacia wants, rather than what Clym is. Thus, Eustacia is incapable of understanding Diggory Venn's putatively unselfish desire to help Thomasin be happy even at the expense of his own happiness: she thinks, "What a strange sort of love, to be entirely free from that quality of selfishness which is frequently the chief constituent of the passion, and sometimes its only one!"
But we do learn a set of important things about Clym in this novel. Aside from Thomasin--who is virtually a non-character, acted upon but never showing any personality of her own--Clym is the only character in the novel who acts without any deviousness whatsoever. In contrast with the other main characters-- Diggory, Wildeve, Eustacia and Mrs. Yeobright--for whom trickery is an accepted means of obtaining a desired goal, Clym seems almost entirely incapable of any sort of disingenuousness: "people who began by beholding him ended by perusing him. His countenance was overlaid with legible meanings." Clym can literally be read like an open book. His thoughts leave actual imprints upon the flesh of his face. Moreover, as a pathologically honest person, he is almost incapable of seeing trickery or imagining deviousness in others. This is the cause of his eventual disagreement with his less honest and more insightful mother, who recognizes in Eustacia a deviousness that Clym refuses to accept.
Mrs. Yeobright is worthy of some discussion. After her death Clym conceives of her as a kind of saint: righteous, quick to forgive, deeply caring and generous. But Clym is a fool for appearances, and is himself overly generous in evaluating character: in fact, the reader sees a great deal of mixed evidence as to Mrs. Yeobright's character. She is entirely willing to alienate herself from her son and niece because she disapproves of their marriages; she is quick to judge others and bears fierce grudges; she can be manipulative and deceitful, as when she summarily rejects Diggory's suit and then uses it as a weapon against Wildeve; and she is painfully and constantly aware of class. She dies upon the heath, when--exhausted by the heat and by exertion--she is bitten to death by an adder; the involvement of this particular animal in her death does not seem altogether random. Clym's misunderstanding of his mother's character may be read as another shortcoming of the ingenuous and over-charitable Clym himself. However, Clym does seem to repudiate his mother to an extent at the end of the novel, when he permits the marriage between Thomasin and Diggory despite his awareness that his mother would not have approved of her niece's marriage to a farmer.
Book III, Chapters 1-4
Summary
Book III, "The Fascination," begins with a more detailed description of Clym Yeobright than we have yet been given. Clym is a thoughtful and morose young man, who tolerates life rather than truly enjoying it. It was believed from Clym's youth that he had great potential, and he became something of a local celebrity, widely discussed among the peasants. The narrator's investigation of Clym's personality and history is interrupted by a discussion among the peasants about why Clym has remained in Egdon Heath for so long. Clym himself happens on this discussion, and reveals his plan, to the disbelief of the locals: he is dissatisfied with his work as a diamond merchant in Paris, and wants to return permanently to the heath, to start a school for the local children. He is motivated in this by his native love of the heath and its inhabitants, for whom he is willing to sacrifice his personal financial advancement.
Clym's mother, Mrs. Yeobright, is at first confused and then angry when Clym reveals to her his plan not to leave Egdon Heath again: "It is right," she says, "that I should try to lift you out of this life into something richer, and that you should not come back again, and be as if I had not tried at all." Their argument over Clym's future is interrupted by a local boy, Sam, who arrives to tell them that in church that morning Susan Nonsuch had pricked the mysterious Eustacia Vye with a knitting needle, to break the imagined spell that the "witch" had cast over her son Johnny.
Clym soon has an opportunity to speak with Eustacia directly. He goes to her house, Mistover Knapp, to help some of the locals fish a bucket out of the Vye well. Afterwards he and Eustacia meet, and her beauty entrances him. He begins a schedule of reading throughout the day--in preparation for his duties as a schoolteacher--and visiting Eustacia at night; his mother, unsurprisingly, disapproves. She believes that he is ruining his life by staying in the heath, and that he is only staying because of his infatuation with Eustacia; in the course of their argument, Clym maintains his composure, but Mrs. Yeobright becomes furious and abusive. Despite her vociferous disapproval, however, Clym continues to meet with Eustacia. One night, while watching an eclipse, they discuss their future together. Even though he feels that she loves him "as a visitant from a gay world," as a means to escape from the heath to Paris, he still proposes marriage to her; and eventually she accepts, although not without first expressing her preference for leaving Egdon Heath and moving to Paris.
Commentary
As has been noted, The Return of the Native is a peculiarly modern book. It is, indeed, almost prophetic in its characterization of the modern attitude, which is typified by Clym and shared to a certain extent by Eustacia. Hardy calls Clym's face "the typical countenance of the future." He explains that Clym's face evidences "the view of life as a thing to be put up with." Clym is afflicted with a peculiarly modern world-weariness that has replaced the "zest for existence which was so intense in early civilizations." With the growth of knowledge that accompanied the flowering of the modern era, Hardy writes, "old- fashioned reveling in the general situation grows less and less possible as we uncover the defects of natural laws." This is a complaint that has been echoed and re-echoed throughout the 20th century: modernity--characterized by the burgeoning of civilization, complication and knowledge--robbed life of originality and vitality. The Return of the Native, to a certain extent, celebrates the pagan and the primitive while mourning the emerging modern cynicism that, in Hardy's view, makes life a thing to be tolerated rather than celebrated. Hardy has a definite tenderness for the primitive lifestyles, the earthy humor, the superstitions and the incessant celebrations of the working people who live on the heath; they represent a dying breed, vanishing in the face of modernity.
Indeed, the humor with which the locals are treated contrasts sharply with Clym's stoic dourness. Just after Hardy's exposition of Clym's typically modern attitude, we are given a scene of relaxed comedy, in which Timothy Fairway is clumsily cutting the hair of the local workers. Hardy pokes fun at the rustic practice, but a certain fondness peeks from behind his gentle irony: "A bleeding about the poll on Sunday afternoons was amply accounted for by the explanation, 'I have had my hair cut, you know.'" Hardy often treats the locals ironically, and exploits them for comic effect, but he never passes vicious judgment on them, or looks down on them for their ignorance and superstition.
The narrator's ironic voice, which he employs regularly throughout the novel, is an intriguing betrayal of personality from a narrator who generally seems emotionally removed from the events of the plot. He uses his irony to denote a humorous or ridiculous attitude in his characters, without referring to these qualities overtly. His irony is yet another instance of his refusal to speak in a consistent tone, or from a consistent perspective. At times he is all- knowing, as when he renders a lengthy disposition on Clym's psychological makeup. At other times he is reticent, revealing gradually and coyly what an omniscient narrator might have revealed instantly, as when he describes Eustacia only obliquely until she reveals herself to Damon Wildeve. Hardy layers his narrative not only via irony, but also by speaking in many voices (another method typical of modern narratives): he writes from many perspectives, allowing himself the luxury of omniscience while preserving the integrity of each character through a rendering of their own perceptions, and a use of their own voice.
Book III, Chapters 5-8
Summary
Again, Clym Yeobright fights with his mother over his career plans, and his relationship with Eustacia Vye. Their fights, which have gone on for a while, escalate to the point where Mrs. Yeobright implies that Clym is no longer welcome in her house. Despondent, Clym meets with Eustacia, and during their walk on the heath they plan to marry very soon, and so live in a small, isolated cottage on the heath until Clym is prepared to move to the busy port town of Budmouth, where he will go through with his plan of starting a boarding school. Accordingly, Clym obtains a cottage, and moves out of his mother's house; she continues to refuse to reconcile herself with him, and tells him she will not come to see him after the wedding. The day of Clym's departure, Mrs. Yeobright is visited by her niece Thomasin, who tries unsuccessfully to convince her to forgive Clym. Thomasin also tells Mrs. Yeobright that Damon Wildeve, her new husband, is reluctant to give her any spending money, and Mrs. Yeobright promises to send Thomasin her share of her inheritance, 50 guineas.
The day of Clym's wedding finds Mrs. Yeobright at her home, Blooms-End. She is visited there by Damon Wildeve, who was also absent from the wedding: Eustacia's marriage has rekindled his old passion for her, and he is jealous. Damon inquires after the "article" that Thomasin has asked him to fetch from Mrs. Yeobright, but Mrs. Yeobright, unwilling to give Thomasin's inheritance money to Damon, refuses even to tell him what the article is. Instead, she sends the inept Christian Cantle to bring the money to Thomasin; since both Thomasin and Clym are at Mistover Knapp celebrating the wedding, she gives Clym's share of the inheritance to Christian as well, to be brought to Clym.
On the way to Mistover, however, Christian falls in with a group of locals headed to Damon's inn, the Quiet Woman, to enter a raffle for a valuable piece of cloth. Christian too enters the raffle, and proves himself uncharacteristically lucky by winning the toss of the dice for the cloth. He inadvertently tells Damon that he is carrying Thomasin's money, and Damon becomes resentful; he awaits the opportunity to claim the money for his own. This opportunity comes when, on the walk to Mistover Knapp, Damon and Christian begin gambling; Damon proves the luckier man, and takes all the money--50 guineas belonging to Thomasin, and 50 belonging to Clym--from Christian.
The scene was witnessed by Diggory Venn, who in turn challenges Damon to a match of dice-throwing. The two men gamble until surrounded by pitch darkness; eventually, Diggory wins all the money back from the frustrated Damon. Not realizing that 50 guineas belong to Clym, he immediately gives all 100 guineas to Thomasin, who--unaware of the actual size of her inheritance--also does not recognize the mistake.
Commentary
Among the many love triangles in The Return of the Native, the least obvious is the triangle established between Clym, Eustacia and Mrs. Yeobright. As the arguments between Clym and his mother continue, it becomes clear that there is an element of jealousy in Mrs. Yeobright's hatred of Eustacia. She proves herself incapable, at the beginning of Chapter Five, of adducing any rational proof of Eustacia's unsuitability; indeed, in the course of the argument, she becomes increasingly jealous and irrational, essentially asking Clym to choose between a marriage and his mother. Love, for many of the people throughout this novel, is more accurately characterized as possessiveness. And it is evident that Mrs. Yeobright, as much as Eustacia, wants to possess Clym. "You give up your whole thought--you set your whole soul--to please a woman" she complains to Clym. And she is shocked at his correctness when he inverts her complaint: "I do. And that woman is you." There is a striking similarity between their argument and a lover's quarrel: "You think only of her," Mrs. Yeobright complains, "You stick to her in all things." The idea that Clym can love only one person is a jealousy typical of love affairs, not of family relationships; but Mrs. Yeobright cannot reconcile herself to sharing Clym's love, and she eventually proclaims "I wish that you would bestow your presence where you bestow your love." The reader will recall that the first book in the novel is called "The Three Women," a parallel between Eustacia, Thomasin and Mrs. Yeobright that becomes clearer by this point in the novel, with the revelation that Clym's mother, like the two younger women, is inserting herself into a love triangle, and is consumed, as the others are, with possessiveness and jealousy.
One of the more interesting and revealing episodes in the novel is the gambling match between Diggory Venn and Damon Wildeve. It is interesting, of course, because it serves to explain the confusion behind the delivery of the 100 guineas, which later in the novel drives an even deeper wedge between Clym and his mother. But it is also crucial because of the shadow it casts over Diggory's character: up to this point in the novel, although Diggory has often appeared as a ghost or demon--he is initially taken for a ghost by Johnny Nonsuch and mothers invoke "the reddleman" when threatening naughty children--he has acted in a more or less benevolent manner--if perhaps more self-serving than might be immediately apparent. Here, however, this fantastical appearance seems to be borne out in action: the red man shows remarkable skill in manipulating the dice, which Christian Cantle-- superstitiously but perhaps correctly--calls "the devil's playthings." Rising unexpectedly out of the heath, preternaturally lucky at dice, Diggory is unbothered by the descent of darkness and unfazed by the encroaching of the nighttime denizens of the heath. He seems, truly, a supernatural character.
What bears consideration, in this context, is the fantastical nature of the entire novel. The Return of the Native is in most senses a naturalistic novel: the fantastical is invoked, but mainly in terms of folk superstitions. The novel strives for accuracy in portraying human lives, and limits itself to conformity with natural laws. And yet, the gambling episode signals that there is also a great deal in this novel that depends upon remarkably unusual circumstance. The following series of circumstances is the prime example: Christian, walking on the vast and trackless heath, just happens to run into a group bound for gambling; he happens to win; he happens to lose badly to Damon; Diggory Venn happens to be watching; and Diggory, in turn, wins dramatically against Damon. This string of events suits the purposes of poetic justice, and furthers the impending conflict between Mrs. Yeobright and Clym, but--taken together with the string of just-missed opportunities, lucky or unlucky coincidences and fortuitous bounces that fill the novel--seems beyond the bounds of the purely realistic. Perhaps The Return of the Native should be read as an experiment with human emotions and character that takes place in a laboratory setting designed by Hardy; in this world, events depend not so much on a naturalistic reality of causation but rather on a realism of emotional reaction.
Book IV, Chapters 1-4
Summary
Summertime finds Clym Yeobright and his new wife Eustacia installed in their cottage on the heath; they are happy for the meantime, but Eustacia has not given up her ambitions to move to Paris, while Clym remains dedicated to becoming a schoolteacher on the heath. Mrs. Yeobright has become resentful because she has not received any recognition from Clym that he has received the money she sent to him. When she learns from Christian Cantle that Damon Wildeve won the money at dice--what she does not know, of course, is that Diggory Venn won the money back, and gave it to Thomasin--she confronts Eustacia, believing that Damon, Eustacia's former lover, has given her the money privately to regain her favor. Mrs. Yeobright's suspicion is incorrect, and Eustacia is indignant. They have an angry argument, during which Eustacia proclaims that she would not have married Clym if she had believed they were really going to live in a cottage on Egdon Heath rather than move to Paris. Although the confusion over the money is soon resolved when Thomasin is consulted, the rifts between Clym and Eustacia and between Clym and Mrs. Yeobright have grown too deep to bridge easily.
A further misfortune strikes Clym: his incessant studying by dim light has ruined his vision, and he can no longer read, at least temporarily. Deprived of his studies, he takes interim work as a furze-cutter (furze is a prickly bush prevalent on the heath). Eustacia is appalled at his new choice of work, and at his ability to find contentment in manual labor. Indeed, Clym appears truly happy: he loves the heath and appreciates its subtler beauties, and he does not believe that manual labor is any less noble than his previous occupation, selling diamonds. The couple have a confrontation over what Eustacia sees as Clym's lack of ambition, and the two realize that their love is beginning to fade away.
In an effort to stave off her feeling of disappointment and depression, Eustacia goes to a country dance. She has difficulty incorporating herself into the atmosphere of almost pagan revelry until she comes upon Damon Wildeve, who by coincidence is also at the dance. They dance together, and Eustacia reveals how unhappy she is in her marriage. They walk back to the heath together, where they are met by Diggory Venn and Clym; although Clym's poor eyesight prevents him from recognizing Damon, Diggory deduces that Damon once again has designs on Eustacia. In order to dissuade Damon from visiting Eustacia, Diggory sets out on a policy of less-than-subtle intimidation. When Damon tries to meet Eustacia, Diggory calls Clym's attention to their trickery by creating loud noises; he sets snares to trip Damon, and even fires shots at him, in order to scare him away from Eustacia's house. These crude efforts prove effective in temporarily frightening Damon. Diggory also visits Mrs. Yeobright, and convinces her to make up to her son and daughter-in-law; at the same time, Clym resolves to reconcile himself with his mother.
Commentary
Clym, as has been noted, represents to the mind of the narrator the typical modern man: he is philosophically and intellectually progressive, but he is also portrayed as stoical and largely joyless. From this vantage point, Clym's physical misfortune could be said to be his psychological and moral salvation: when he loses his eyesight, he responds with more than his characteristic stoicism--as the title of the second chapter has it, "He Is Set Upon by Adversities; but He Sings a Song." Clym is a scholar, not a singer. Until this point in the novel, sobriety in all things has been his golden rule. But it seems as if, by resigning himself to his fate, he has developed a kind of joy that was previously foreign to him: we read that "a quiet firmness, and even cheerfulness, took possession of him."
Clym's newfound happiness is best seen through his changing attitude towards Egdon Heath. When we first hear from Clym--in the third chapter of the novel's second book--he comments on the "friendliness and geniality" of the hilly heath. After being stricken by his temporary blindness, and going to work as a furze- cutter, he seems to appreciate the beauty of the heath on a much deeper level. For the first time, the blind man sees "bees... amber-coloured butterflies... tribes of emerald-green grasshoppers... snakes in their most brilliant blue and yellow guise... litters of young rabbits." The emphasis on color in these descriptions is not unimportant. Before, the heath was uniform in its withered brown; now, when he allows himself to see truly--not clearly, for he is nearly blind, but truly--Clym recognizes a rainbow of color in the heath. This philosophy of happiness through acceptance of what is rather than soaring ambitions for what could be, is known as quietism. This philosophy flourished in the second half of the 19th century--especially in literature, where it influenced novelists from Hardy to Thoreau to Edith Wharton to Henry James--largely in response to the vaulting ambitions and psychological stresses of the emerging modern era. In many of its forms, quietism stressed the superiority of the pastoral--the quiet, idealized countryside--to the confusion of the modern city. The countryside of The Return of the Native does not quite conform to the pastoral ideal: in contrast to the peaceful countryside imagined in most pastoral settings, Egdon Heath is fierce, wild and generally unwelcoming. Rather, The Return of the Native transplants the pastoral ideal--which generally involves finding contentment and a kind of joyful simplicity--into a setting better described as sublime, somehow fearsome, but at the same time impressive and transcendentally powerful.
Book IV, Chapters 5-8
Summary
Mrs. Yeobright, honoring her agreement with Diggory Venn, sets off across the heath to visit her son Clym and her daughter-in-law Eustacia, in an attempt to reconcile with them. It is the hottest day of summer, and the older woman becomes exhausted. On her way, she sees an anonymous furze-cutter walking in front of her: she soon realizes that this man is her son, and she bewails how low he has sunk. Sitting in the shade of some trees near Clym's house, she sees first Clym, and a little while later another man, enter the house.

The other man, as it turns out, is Damon Wildeve, who--frightened out of his nighttime visits by the machinations of Diggory Venn--has resolved to visit Eustacia in broad daylight. Eustacia lets him into the house, where Clym is fast asleep on the hearthrug. The two former lovers discuss their predicaments. Eustacia is unhappy in her marriage, living in a tiny cottage on the heath with an invalid, furze-cutter husband; Wildeve imagines himself still in love with Eustacia, who does not entirely rebuff his advances. While they are speaking, Mrs. Yeobright knocks on the door. Looking out the window, Eustacia recognizes her, and decides that she cannot open the door for her, because of their enmity and because she is afraid that Mrs. Yeobright will be suspicious of Damon's presence within the house. Withdrawing into a back room, Eustacia waits for Clym to wake up and open the door; indeed, she hears him moving, and hears him say the word "Mother." She is shocked when, after letting Damon out the back and waiting a little while, she comes into the front room to find Clym still asleep--he was merely talking in his sleep--and Mrs. Yeobright long gone.
Mrs. Yeobright is heart-broken. She knows that Eustacia saw her out the window, and had seen Clym enter the house; unaware of the confusion within the house, she imagines that the couple consciously decided to turn her away. She walks home across the heath, and finding Johnny Nonsuch instructs him to tell his mother that he has "seen a broken-hearted woman cast off by her son." Soon afterwards she collapses, too exhausted to continue. Back at his house, Clym, awaking from his nap, resolves to go visit his mother; he is unaware that she visited and was not admitted to the house. Eustacia does not tell him about his mother's abortive visit, but tries unsuccessfully to convince him not to go. Walking across the heath, Clym comes across the prostrate form of an unconscious woman: his mother. Clym picks up his mother and carries her to a cottage, before running to get help. Not only is she exhausted and stricken by heat, she has been bitten by an adder; the locals, assembled to help, try the folk-cure of rubbing her wound with the fat of fried adders.
Eustacia, in the meanwhile, leaves her cottage, intending to walk towards Blooms-End and meet Clym on his return. She runs into her father, Captain Vye, who tells her that Damon Wildeve has just inherited a substantial fortune--11,000 pounds. Soon afterwards she runs into Wildeve himself. Her attraction to him is all the more powerful because he now has the means of effecting her great dream: a move to Paris. As they walk together towards Blooms-End, they come upon the cottage in which the locals are gathered to minister to Mrs. Yeobright. They listen as, despite the efforts of the local surgeon, Mrs. Yeobright dies; just afterwards, Johnny Nonsuch arrives at the cottage and tells them Mrs. Yeobright's last words, that she is "a broken- hearted woman cast-off by her son."
Commentary
One of the most troubling aspects of this novel's tragic element is that it is caused not by evil or bad intentions, but by misperception, misunderstanding and unfortunate coincidence. As the novel progresses, Clym will blame first himself and then Eustacia for his mother's death. But in fact, as the reader well knows, the tragedy is not really anyone's fault. The worst of which Eustacia can be accused is confusion and misunderstanding: she honestly believed that Clym would open the door for his mother. And she could not have known that the consequence of not opening the door immediately would have been Mrs. Yeobright's death. Indeed, throughout the novel the narrator goes out of his way to observe that the characters--even Eustacia or Damon Wildeve--rarely act with any planned malice or immoral intentions. Of all the characters, it is most often Diggory Venn and Mrs. Yeobright who actually plot; the others merely follow circumstance and passion. The meeting between Eustacia and Damon at the dance is pure coincidence; the bonfire which draws Damon to Eustacia late in the novel, when they plan their escape, was set by Charley, who did not understand the significance of his actions; Damon himself never tells Eustacia of his newfound fortune.
Although The Return of the Native abounds in romantic and fantastic elements, it is in some senses a quite naturalistic novel as well. The school of naturalism was one of the dominant novelistic schools in the last quarter of the 19th century. Naturalist novels sought to portray reality without filters, plainly and pitilessly, without literary euphemism. They often depict a world in which characters are placed at the mercy of the unseen and infinitely powerful forces that govern society. The Return of the Native partakes of the naturalist perspective. With its unflinching look at a tragedy that--arguably, at least--seems to have no villains, the novel places its characters at the mercy of larger forces.
When we first encounter Eustacia, in the chapter entitled "Queen of Night," we are informed: "She could show a most reproachful look at times, but it was directed less against human beings than against certain creatures of her mind, the chief of these being Destiny." In this section of the novel, when Eustacia and Damon meet, he tells her, "The fates have not been kind to you," and she responds, "I have nothing to thank them for." This is a somewhat melodramatic passage, but it is not clear from the rest of the novel that Damon and Eustacia are entirely wrong. In some sense, it is fate and destiny that has damaged Eustacia, whose misfortune was a product of her own foolishness, but also of larger forces of unavoidable coincidence. This is a novel that pays close attention, as we have noted, to the force of modernity in governing the lives of individuals; here we see its concern with the similarly potent forces of destiny and misfortune.
Book V
Summary
Devastated by his mother's death, and imagining himself responsible, Clym falls into a long period of illness and depression. Eustacia, who has kept secret her role in Mrs. Yeobright's death, feels unhappier than ever, and increasingly takes solace in Damon Wildeve's company. When Clym recovers from his histrionics, he slowly reconstructs the events leading to his mother's death. From Christian Cantle and Diggory Venn he learns that his mother had planned to visit him. From Johnny Nonsuch, the boy to whom Mrs. Yeobright delivered her last words, Clym finally learns the truth. Johnny saw a man--who Clym rightly suspects was Damon Wildeve--enter the house; he saw Mrs. Yeobright knock and Eustacia look out the window but not open the door; and he saw Mrs. Yeobright walk away, dejected. The normally patient Clym becomes furious. He blames Eustacia for his mother's death; she explains the nature of the confusion, but will not tell which man visited her on that day. After their fight, she leaves the house, moving back to Mistover Knapp with her grandfather. There, she is cared for by Charley, the servant who has come to love her; when she contemplates suicide, he locks away the pistols in the house.
In his attempt to entertain Eustacia, Charley makes a bonfire on the anniversary of the fateful day on which the narrative started, November 5th. Seeing the fire--which Charley, of course, had not intended as a beacon--Damon responds to the old lover's signal by visiting Eustacia. Once again she bemoans her fate, and he professes his love. They plan for him to help her escape to Paris, although it is not resolved whether or not he will join her. Meanwhile, Clym has gone to visit Thomasin. They discuss Clym's predicament--he is still in love with his estranged wife--and Clym writes Eustacia a letter asking for a reconciliation. When Damon returns, Thomasin, vaguely suspecting that something is afoot between Eustacia and him, asks him where he goes on the heath at night, and he becomes angry.
The next day, November 6th, Eustacia sends Damon the appointed signal: they are to leave that night. The letter from Clym arrives at about 10 PM, but it is not given to Eustacia. At midnight, Captain Vye notices that Eustacia is not in the house. She has slipped out the door with her things, and she is headed towards the Quiet Woman Inn, to meet with Damon. Eustacia's inner torment is no less violent than the stormy weather: she realizes that she has no money, and that she will need to take Damon with her to Paris, to provide for her. But she also bemoans the fact that Damon is not ambitious or grand enough for her. In a cottage nearby, the superstitious Susan Nonsuch is busy working a countercharm against Eustacia's supposed witchcraft. Nonsuch fashions a wax doll likeness of Eustacia, and, filling it full of pins, melts it in the fire. The sense of foreboding is indisputable.
Sitting alone at home and waiting for a response to the letter he sent to Eustacia, Clym is visited by Thomasin, who tells him that Damon Wildeve is to run away with Eustacia. Captain Vye, too, visits, and tells Clym that Eustacia has vanished. Frightened and concerned, Clym goes out on the heath, despite the storm, to find Eustacia. Thomasin, after a delay, follows him, bringing her infant daughter. She loses her way on the darkened heath, and is lucky to stumble upon Diggory Venn, who joins her in her search. Together, they head towards the Quiet Woman inn. The action soon comes to a climax. Clym encounters Damon Wildeve, who is prepared to meet Eustacia and flee the heath. They hear the sound of somebody falling into the nearby weir, (an artificial pool formed by a dam). They dive into the whirlpooling weir, in an attempt to save Eustacia. Diggory Venn soon arrives on the scene and, sending Thomasin for help, attempts a rescue of his own: he pulls Damon and Clym out of the water, and later, with the help of the locals, finds Eustacia's body. It is discovered that Damon and Eustacia are dead, but that Clym will recover: as is characteristic, he blames himself for all the deaths.
Commentary
This is a slow-moving novel: it is not unusual for Hardy to spend an entire chapter discoursing on the personalities of his main characters. But this "book," "The Discovery," is characterized by quick movement and dramatic--even melodramatic--situations. In a novel in which events take months to unfold, the greater part of the crucial action takes place within the space of a few days, and is packed into a few small chapters. Indeed, Hardy's narrative art seems better suited to lengthy exposition than to action and drama: these are also, arguably, the weakest chapters in the novel. In contrast to the lyrical stillness of Hardy's descriptions of the heath, here we encounter a prose-style veering toward the overwrought. Note the dialogue in this section, which, while often overly ornate throughout the novel, here seems to evade Hardy's control entirely. Listen to the raving Clym, emoting with all the histrionics of a soap-opera hopeful: "If there is any justice in God let Him kill me now. He had nearly blinded me, but that is not enough. If He would only strike me with more pain I would believe in him forever!" At the same time, it should be borne in mind that Hardy has a purpose to his melodramatic writing style. The characters--especially Clym, who throughout has been a model of stoicism and deliberation--lose their senses of proportion and perspective in this section: note Clym's anger, Thomasin's bizarre decision to bring her infant child on her walk through the storm, Eustacia and Damon's desperate plot. Thus perhaps it is only fitting that the prose, in its intemperate passion, imitate the wildness of the characters.
This section is also atypical of the rest of the novel in its failure to reveal a crucial detail: did Eustacia jump into the weir, or was her death an accident? This lack of information is all the more remarkable in a novel otherwise so careful in revealing psychological truth. We know that Eustacia had contemplated suicide earlier, leading Charley to hide Captain Vye's pistols in order to ensure her safety. And we know that Eustacia, in her despair while walking across the heath to meet Damon, was conceivably suicidal. "There is something grievous the matter," the narrator informs us; and her "Can I go, can I go?" may be taken as a reference either to her voyage to Paris or to her suicide. This reluctance to reveal the truth of what occurred may be taken as another instance of the narrator's unreliability, his refusal to play the role of authority, even within his own narrative. It may also be a clever narrative move designed to more fully realize the characters in the mind of the reader. The reader does not know whether or not Eustacia committed suicide; thus, the reader is forced to extrapolate based on his or her prior knowledge of Eustacia. The character assumes a reality of her own; her actions are based on her own personality rather than the decrees of a narrator.
Book VI
Summary
Thomasin is deeply shaken by the sudden death of her husband, Damon Wildeve, whatever his faults. She moves to Blooms-End, to live with Clym. Predictably, given his mournful demeanor and deep sensitivity, Clym is shattered by the death of his wife Eustacia. He withdraws deeply into himself, living in solitude in his half of the house. With the passage of time, Thomasin begins to recover from her sadness, and to take joy in her infant daughter. One summer, nearly two years after the tragic deaths of Damon and Eustacia, Diggory Venn makes his reappearance at the house. He no longer works as a reddleman, having bought the dairy that belonged to his father; consequently, he is no longer entirely red. He secures Thomasin's permission for the local people to set up a maypole near Blooms-End, although she does not join in the revelry. That evening, after the maypole dance is over, Thomasin finds Venn waiting for moonrise by the maypole, so that the light might enable him to find a glove that some girl has dropped. Thomasin, whose interest in Diggory is rising, wonders which local girl Diggory could be so concerned about as to wait hours to find her lost glove. She eventually discovers, however, that the glove was her own, dropped by her servant Rachel. When she sees Diggory one day while strolling with her daughter, she asks for the glove back, and they begin talking rather flirtatiously.
Clym, meanwhile, has become concerned that Thomasin's girlhood affection for him has rekindled. In obedience to his dead mother's wish, he resolves to ask Thomasin to marry him, even though his own capacity for love has been largely extinguished. Thomasin pre-empts him, however, by asking whether she should marry Diggory. Clym is surprised, and he is inclined to tell her not to marry, out of respect for Mrs. Yeobright's long-held belief that Diggory was not gentlemanly enough for Thomasin. Eventually, however, Thomasin convinces Clym that the marriage is less objectionable now that Diggory is no longer a reddleman, and the two become engaged.
The final chapter of the novel shows the local workers--Fairway, Christian Cantle, Sam and the others--stuffing a feather mattress as a gift for the newlyweds, who have a joyous wedding and celebration which Clym does not feel like attending. Instead he goes for a walk, and finds himself at Mistover Knapp, Eustacia's old home, where he meets Charley, the servant who developed a love for Eustacia. They return to Blooms-End together, and Clym gives Charley a lock of Eustacia's hair. Looking into the window of Thomasin's half of the house, Charley describes the party to Clym: the celebrants appear to be enjoying themselves, without a thought to Clym's absence.
Diggory and Thomasin depart for Diggory's home, and Clym is left alone in the house, where his mother's memory remains a tragic presence. He becomes an itinerant preacher, giving lectures to local peasants about moral subjects; his listeners have mixed feelings about his preaching, but as a tragic figure he is received with sympathy wherever he goes.
Commentary
Given the tragedy that pervades the great majority of The Return of the Native, the novel's happy ending seems a bit jarring. And, indeed, the original plan for the novel did not call for the marriage with which Thomasin, the novel's most virtuous and perhaps least interesting character, is rewarded. In a footnote to the text, Hardy comments on the change; it is worth reprinting the entirety of the footnote:

The writer may state here than the original conception of the story did not design a marriage between Thomasin and Venn. He was to have retained his isolated and weird character to the last, and to have disappeared mysteriously from the heath, nobody knowing whither--Thomasin remaining a widow. But certain circumstances of serial publication led to a change of intent. Readers can therefore choose between the ending, and those with an austere artistic code can assume the more consistent conclusion to be the true one.
As was common with British novels of the time, The Return of the Native was originally published in serial form, with part of the novel appearing in a magazine each month. To please the popular readership of the magazine, Hardy was advised to give the story a happy ending. It is commonly assumed among critics--and easily inferred from the text--that the happy ending was not the ending he would have given his novel.
It is noteworthy, however, that whatever Hardy's personal preferences, he makes no sort of authoritative moral judgment in his footnote. He merely advises the reader to choose his or her own ending, based on aesthetic criteria, implying that a more "austere" aesthetic would yield a more "consistent conclusion"--presumably, the conclusion that does not involve a marriage between Thomasin and Venn. But the brilliance of this novel is in its ambiguity and its multiplicity of meanings. Would Venn's mysterious disappearance and Thomasin's eternal widowhood really have constituted a more "consistent conclusion"? After all, it can be argued that all the characters in this novel are served with their proper rewards. If Eustacia and Damon Wildeve are seen as vicious conspirators, if Mrs. Yeobright is understood to be an inflexible and bitter old woman, if Clym is a shortsighted and somewhat foolish ingénue, then they all receive their just deserts--and Thomasin, who was never anything but kind and faithful, deserves her reward as well. When reading The Return of the Native, it is important not to be tricked into accepting a single interpretation of the characters, or presuming the existence of a single moral message.
Even if the novel had ended without Thomasin and Venn's marriage, it is to be presumed that Clym's fate would not have changed. He becomes an itinerant preacher, spreading not Christian religious ideas but humanistic moral notions. He is a figure not entirely to be admired or heeded by his listeners. In the picture we have of him as the novel ends, he is preaching atop Rainbarrow, and his listeners are hardly paying rapt attention: "they listened... while they abstractedly pulled heather, stripped ferns, or tossed pebbles." The novel ends with the information that "Some believed him, and some believed not." It is only his tragic history that assures Clym a kind reception wherever he goes. He was a man of vast potential, referred to at times throughout the novel in almost Christ-like terms, willing to sacrifice himself for the good of the multitude. His speeches from Rainbarrow are referred to--somewhat ironically--as "Sermons on the Mount." His mission to the people has not been entirely successful; he has been weakened and lessened by his tragedy. The "Native" of the title must be seen as a tragic hero if he is a hero at all.

Study Questions
1. Try to characterize the nature of the love relationships that fill this novel. Are there any true love affairs in the novel? Does the novel even believe in the possibility of these affairs' success?
2. Based on the evidence provided in The Return of the Native, do you think Thomas Hardy has a negative or positive view of human nature? Of the future of civilization?
3. In what ways does Egdon Heath function as an important force--perhaps even another character--within The Return of the Native? Is it a sinister force?
4. Who are the heroes in this novel? Who are the villains? Are there any truly sympathetic characters in the novel? Why or why not?
5. What role do superstition, pagan culture and fantasy play in this novel? In what ways is the novel at times more naturalistic?
6. What is the relationship of the narrator to his characters? (What type of narrator is he? Is he an omniscient narrator? Does he make moral or aesthetic judgments?)
7. In some sense, The Return of the Native can be read a commentary on the conflict between modern ideas and attitudes--represented by the returning native, Clym Yeobright--and the more primitive and pagan attitudes of the heath-dwellers. What do you think is the novel's attitude towards modernity?
8. Is Clym Yeobright portrayed as an admirable character? Does he get what he deserves?
9. What is Hardy's attitude towards the residents of the heath? Does he condescend to them? Does he valorize them?
10. At the end of The Return of the Native, Hardy writes in a footnote that the marriage of Thomasin and Diggory Venn was not the originally planned ending to the novel. He asks the reader to choose the more "consistent" end for him- or herself. Which do you think is the more consistent, credible and/or pleasing end to the novel?