1

THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE:

HARDY AS A REGIONAL NOVELIST
THE WESSEX OF THOMAS HARDY
The Location of Wessex:
An understanding of Hardy’s Wessex is necessary for a proper understanding of his works. This
region forms the background to all that he has written. In some of his novels, as in “The return
of the Native” it is dominant influencing both character and action.
Wessex was the name of the ancient kingdom of the legendary king Alfred. Hardy used this
name for the six odd countries in the south-west part of England. His Wessex stretches from the
English Channel in the south, to Cornwall in the west, and as far as Oxford to the north. This
limited region forms the scenic background to each of his eighteen “Wessex Novels” and to his
poems and epic drama. The same physical features—hills and dales, rivers, pastures, meadows,
woodlands and heaths appear and re-appear in all his works. This gives his work a scenic conti-
nuity and a touch of realism. Every event in his novels takes place in this locality. He never goes
out of this. That is why; he is called a regional novelist.

Wessex: Its realism

The centre of Hardy’s Wessex is the country of Dorestshire. Here he was born and bred up and
it was here that he settled in after life. Here he produced the best of his works. He had a tho-
rough knowledge of this region. He had absorbed its sweet scent and substances .He has de-
scribed the physical features of Wessex with such accuracy that these places become real. He has
expressed the very spirit of this locality in his works. He has given immortality to the land of
Wessex that is why many a Hardy lovers and topographer has taken the imaginary for the real
and has gone in search of various landmarks described in the Wessex Novels.

Wessex: Its Historical Associations

The countries of the Southwestern part of England are rich in historical associations. The Ro-
mans ruled there for a number of years and have left there monuments behind. Race by race and
tribe by tribe as they came and went, they have left the traces of their arrival, which time has
failed to wipe out. Hardy is fully aware of the historic character of the region that he has cho-
sen as a background to his works. He invokes history, even pre-history and geology, to cast over
the land of Wessex a romantic glow. In “Tess”, we get the temple of Stonehenge, which the an-
cients had built to pacify the powers. Then there are the palaces of ancient Wessex families like
that of the D’Urbervilles, now in ruins but still important landmarks in Hardy’s landscapes

Life and Customs of Wessex

Hardy is closely familiar with the life and customs of the Wessex rustics. He knows every detail
of the business of the farmer, the woodcutter, the hay- trusser, the cider maker, the shepherd
and the dairy man. This knowledge is not that of a person who has studied their life from apart,
with a sense of superiority, but of one who has lived with them and mixed with them on an
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equal footing as one of them. Characters in Wessex novels are drawn not from the upper class of
society but from the lowest and the humblest rank of life. Henchard in “The Mayor of Caster-
bridge” is a hay-trusser. Clym also turns a hay-trusser and furze-cutter, Tess in the “Tess of the
D’Urbervilles” is a dairy maid. He reveals to us the intimate details of their respective profes-
sions, their skills and the hardships of their lives. He tells us about the inherent nobility of
their souls, their persistence and their struggle against heavy odds. They have to get their hum-
ble livelihood from Nature and depend upon her unexpected changes for their life.

Wessex Rustics: Their Recreations

No aspect of Wessex life escapes from Hardy’s eyes. Dancing, singing and drinking are their fa-
vourite recreations. In the evening, or whenever they have leisure, they assemble in some inn
and pass their time in drinking and singing or in idle gossip. For example, in “The Mayor of
Casterbridge” the rustics gather at the Three Mariners, drink as they gossip, and pass comments
on the events of the day. They heartily enjoy the song of Farfare, and press him to repeat his
performance. Village fares are also a good source of entertainment for them. We also get an ac-
count of such a fair in “The return of The Native”, at which Eustacia dances with Wildieve.

Wessex: Orthodoxy and Fatalism

The Wessex of Hardy is an isolated country. Railways and modern industrialization have not
yet reached it. The Wessex rustics live their own life untouched by modernism. Many quaint
customs and superstitions persist. They are still fatalistic. In “The Mayor of Casterbridge”, we
get the “Skimmity Ride”. The residents of Mixen Lane take out on an ass the effigies of Hen-
chard and Lucetta in close embrace, symbolizing their immoral relations. Elizabeth-Jane pas-
sively accepts her sorry fate because what is looted cannot be blotted. Tess when confronted with
misfortunes passively exclaims, “It was to be”, and goes on as usual about the daily business of
her life.

Wessex Superstitions

The Wessex rustics are very superstitious. Education has not yet cleared the darkness of ignor-
ance from the land. In every town, there are spirit callers and fortunetellers. In “The Return of
the Native”, Susan Nunsuch burns a wax effigy of Eustacia whom she regards as a witch. There
is also the superstition, ‘no moon, and no man’. In “Tess of the D’Urbervilles”, we find that an
evening crow is considered an ill omen as it signifies premarital sex experience on the part of
the bride. In this very novel, the cattle are supposed to withhold their yield on the arrival of a
new hand and soften only when music is played to them.

Modernism and its Tragic Consequences

Hardy is suspicious of the advance of modern civilization. Wessex is so far unaffected by it, but
sophisticated people from the town arrive to disturb the even culture of the simple Wessex folk.
The rustics are happy and contended in spite of their backwardness, their poverty and their dull
and monotonous ways. The impact of the modernism leads to tragedy. In “Tess”, it is the sophis-
ticated and self-centered Angel Clare and Alec who are responsible for the tragedy of Tess, a
pure woman more sinned against than sinning. It is the same in all other prose works of Hardy.
 3

The Universal Element

Such is Hardy’s Wessex. He has immortalized it and put it on the world map. Hardy is a great
regional novelist because he has imparted universal interest to a particular region. The scenes of
his entire novel are laid in one particular region. He treats only of its life, its history and its
geography. Still his novels are of great interest even to those who have nothing to do with Wes-
sex. This is so because he has succeeded in universalizing the regional and the topical. He con-
centrates on passions and emotions that are universal; they are real themes of his novels.
 4

HARDY: THE HUMORIST

Hardy was not a humorist in any profound sense. His mind was not humorously built; humour
did not enter into the substance of his thought. Therefore on would not expect any humour in
the Wessex Novels, but it is there alright. It has been well said, “While passing through the glo-
omy regions of Hardy, we do reach some sunlit patches”.

Evolution of His Humour

It may be mentioned in the very beginning that practically all the humour, humour which is
worth mentioning and preserving, that we get in the Wessex Novels, is rustic humour. The most
of Hardy’s humour is to be found in those scenes in which the rustics exercise their chorus func-
tion. Their remarks are not only full of rustic wisdom but also with rustic humour. And the
quality of this rustic humour grew richer and finer as the novelist acquired increasing mastery
over his craft.

Realistic and Verbal Humour

Hardy’s humour is realistic. It has been caught up with joy from the lips of the rustics them-
selves. It is pure essence of the humour of the English peasantry of the 19th century. Hardy’s
humour is verbal. It depends on its effects on the particular words used. The rustic chorus does
not act. It is content to comment in a leisurely manner on all that goes around. Hardy listens to
their comments and record what they say.

Hardy’s Rustics: Grotesque and Funny

Humour results from an observation of the incongruities of life. Incongruity may be explained
as the discrepancy between what is and what should be. Its essence is contrast. When any thing
in thought, feeling, word or action, falls below the normal level, humour arises. So, Hardy’s rus-
tics are very funny. We laugh at butts of village life, old talkative grandfathers, henpecked hus-
bands, superstitious fools and timid simpletons.

The Fusion of Humour and Pathos

Hardy’s humour grows finer by the time of “The Return of The Native”. It now mingles with pa-
thos. There is Grandfer Cantle, a new figure. His reminiscences of his old glory, of the day when
he was a soldier, “When he was afraid of nothing except Boney”, are funny as well as pathetic.
Then there is Christian, his son, who is much an object of laughter as of pity. He cannot sleep at
night for fear of ghosts; the poor fellow can get no wife, for no woman would marry him as he
was born when there was no moon: no moon, no man. He is ridiculous; he is pathetic.

Grim Humour

Hardy does not lack grim humour. Sometimes, we find him jesting in the court of death like
Shakespeare. The classical example is that of Christopher Coney, who digs out the four pence
buried with poor Susan. He says, “Why should death rob life of four pence? Death is not of such
good report that we should respect it to that extent”. Duffin remarks on this, “It is rustic philos-
ophy combined of covetousness and mother-wit”.
 5

Animal Humour

There is another kind of humour also that we get in the Wessex Novels i-e, humour arising from
Hardy’s observation of the doings of animals. Hardy’s eyes take on a merry twinkle when they
fall upon them, as do those of the grown-ups at the follies of their children. The best example of
such animal humour occurs in “Far from the Madding Crowd”, where we get an amusing analy-
sis of doggy-motives. The young sheep-dog of Gabriel, learning the sheep-keeping business, is
under the impression that since he is kept for running after sheep the more he runs after the
better.

Conclusion

Thus, Hardy’s humour is kindly and genial. Its purpose is merely to amuse and entertain the
reader. It is never satiric. Hardy was not a moralist and his aim was not corrective. As Compton
Rickett remarks, “Hardy is too much of a realist to take pleasure in caricature; too little of the
moralist to make effective use of satire.”
Thus humour runs like an under-current through the Wessex novels and does much to brighten
their dark and dull atmosphere. It provides the much needed comic relief, but does not come in
the way of the tragic effects the artist wants to create.

Written And Composed By:

Prof. A.R. Somroo
M.A. English, M.A. Education
Cell Phone: 03339971417
 6

HARDY’S PLOT CONSTRUCTION:

Hardy’s plots have a definite structure, design and plan, like Fielding have. Framework is tight
and definite too. Dramatic in quality, these plots have nothing extra and unnecessary. His plots
are much exciting, overdramatic and genuine.

Architectural Design

An architect by his early training, Hardy gives to his novels an architectural design. He is a su-
perb master on the constructive side of his plots. He builds it as mason or an architect builds a
house. As a building raises brick by brick, so Hardy’s plots rise scene by scene. They are con-
structed in scenes that are the bricks of his plots of which philosophy is the cement. The setting
of every part is calculated, every stone has its place, and every bit of mortar bears its part. The
creative work of Hardy is ruled by a dominant common sense; the logic of events is clear and
never moves by appointed sequences.

Suspense and Surprise

Hardy has matchless gift of a storyteller, that of making his stories interesting. The interest of
his stories is remarkably maintained from the beginning to the end. Effective use is made of
suspense and surprise, of hope and hopelessness, of chance and incident.

His Demerits

Followings are the demerits of Hardy’s plots:

1. His plots are melodramatic, sensational and superficial. J.W. Beach points out, there is
too much of piling up of stage tricks, a series of circumstances, violent and surprising, all
obvious and striking arrangements for providing excitement. Chance, coincidences, sur-
prises, accidents, over-heard conversations, old people turning suddenly etc., are certainly
artificial devices, and this criticism of Hardy’s plots is almost true. Hardy’s plots turn too
much upon chance and so appear forced and unnatural. Chance events in his stories are
numerous. However, it can be added to Hardy’s credit that these elements keep up the in-
terest of the story.
2. The Love element is obvious. The plots are so solidly built round a love-situation, general-
ly of a complicated nature. “The Mayor of Casterbridge” seems to be the only exception.
Duffin says , “Hardy’s plot take its rise from the fact of two or more men loving one wom-
an or two or more women loving one man, or from a combination of two varieties of com-
plications.” The typical Hardy plot is a love story and it is marked simple. It concerns it-
self with the lives of a few persons alone. The action proceeds in a few great movements,
and in clean direct lines.
3. Hardy’s plots lack of variety. As has been shown above, they are all love tales. Hardy’s
plots are under influence of his philosophy. They are all based on a conflict between Man
and his destiny. In this conflict, Man is always broken, despite the heroic struggle that he
might put up. Thus, all the plots have sameness, a sort of family likeness. They are repeti-
tive. This sameness and lack of variety also results from the fact that the scene of action is
always placed in Hardy’s Wessex. The same physical features, the same hills, dales, heath
and the same rustics, speaking the same dialect appear and re-appear successively in one
novel after another.
 7

THE PESSIMISM OF THOMAS HARDY:

Many critics have tried their best to prove and disprove too, that Hardy is a pessimist through
and through. But Hardy himself denied this charge in his prefaces, letters and diaries. He
called himself an evolutionary meliorist and a realist.
Those who charge Hardy with being a pessimist do so, on account of his gloomy view of life.
They point out that in Hardy’s view all life is suffering. Suffering is the universal law and hap-
piness is but an occasional episode. In “Jude the Obscure” a child called Father Time, murders
his step brothers and sisters and then hangs himself. He does so because he feels that life is not
worth living, and it is better not to have been born at all. Hardy himself adds the comment that
Father Time symbolizes the coming universal wish not to live.

Hardy pessimistic about the Creator

Hardy’s critics point out; he is pessimistic about the governance of the world. He rejected early
in life the Christian belief in a benevolent and omnipotent anthropomorphic God or First cause.
He rather thinks of Him as one who takes delight in the suffering of us mortals. In “Tess” we
are told, “Justice was done, and the president of the immortals had ended this sport with Tess.”
In one of his poems he speaks of the Creator as, “Godhead dying downwards, with eyes and head
all gone” and elsewhere refers to it as some “vast imbecility”. Thus in his view the supreme power
is blind, imbecile and takes joy in killing and torturing his innocent creation. In this scheme of
things, as supreme governing force, there can be nothing but, “Strange orchestra of victim shriek
and pain.” If this is not pessimism, ask the critics of Hardy, then what is?

Hardy’s Own Point of View

Hardy strongly denied this charge many times. He pointed out that he was an artist and not a
philosopher. It would be wrong to read any considered belief of life in his mood-dictated writ-
ings. Expressions like in “Tess”, regarding the president of the immortals, were simply poetic
fancies, merely poetic devices like the use of ghosts, witches, etc., commonly used in all imagina-
tive literature. These were merely impressions of the moment and not the considered view. They
should not judge him.

Hardy a Realist and Not Pessimist

The fact is that Hardy was a thorough realist. Born and bred in a scientific age, he could not
shut his eyes to the fact of suffering. Thus, the brutal and cruel struggle for survival impressed
him. He saw everywhere in Nature the starvation, hunger, sickness and disease. This made him
feel that God was not in Heaven and all was wrong with the world. He claimed that he was
nearer the truth. He could not agree with the poets like Wordsworth, who said that Nature had
a “Holy Plan” and that there was joy everywhere in Nature. How could it be so, when a number
of children were born to shiftless parents, like the Durbeyfields, to bring misery to themselves
and to others? The world was already overcrowded; there were already too many hungry mouths
to be fed. Acutely aware of this fact he felt with his own Jude that mutual butchery was the law
of Nature. This is not pessimism, but realism. The state of affairs cannot be mended by turning
the face but confronting it boldly.
 8

Hardy’s scientific view of the First Cause

Hardy was much influenced by the scientific theories of his age regarding the creation and the
Creator. He agreed with Darwin. He believed in struggle for survival. According to Darwin, a
single act of creation but a constant process of evolution could not have created out the Universe.
Thus, Hardy believed that the First Cause was the force or energy working constantly from
within. He thinks that this energy is indifferent and unconscious of any pain or pleasure. This
is his considered view. However, when carried away by his indignation, he shakes his fist and
personifies this force as a hostile Creator. For example, in “Tess” he calls the First Cause as the
president of the immortals who kill us for sport.

Emphasis on Wise Social Reform

Social reforms can go long way towards betterment of humanity. Marriage laws should be libe-
ralized in favour of the fair sex. Pure woman, like Tess, should not be looked down upon. Our
double standards of morality must go. A marriage should be dissolved as soon as it becomes a
cruelty to either of the two contracting parties, for it is then no marriage at all.

Hardy’s View of Man

Hardy does not take a degraded view of mankind. Odious villains and detestable rascals are few
in the Wessex Novels and none of them is without salvation or punishment. David Cecil says
that Hardy does not create mean persons who are unaware of any issue except gratification of
their selfish desires. It does not mean that all his characters are virtuous. Henchard and Eusta-
cia commit sin but in a grand manner. There is no calculated selfishness in them. They are
simply carried away by an overmastering passion.

Hardy is a Humanist and Not a Pessimist

Hardy says that spirit of loving kindness should be the basis of all human relations. Much of
human misery results from the imperfection of the First Cause, but much more suffering can be
avoided if we are kind and sympathetic to each other. Thus, Thomas Hardy is a “humanist” not
a “Pessimist”.

Written and composed by:

Prof. A. R. Somroo

M. a. English, m. a. education

Cell: 03339971417
 9

HARDY: ART OF CHARACTERISATION

Hardy is the creator of large number of important figures of literature. He has created larger
number of characters than any other writer except Shakespeare. His command over human per-
sonality is extensive. Angle Clare, Clym Yeobright, Gabriel Oak, Henchard, Tess, Eustacia,
Bathsheba are only a few out of the many immortal characters of Hardy. It is a gallery of ever-
lasting delight.
Almost in all the novels and all the drama, the central action is the expression of the central
character. Hardy develops the character as the other novelists, through the stress of circums-
tances. Hardy has drawn his characters by using vivid descriptive phrases, metaphors and com-
parisons. The very movements and gestures of his characters often reveal their characters. For
example the indifference of Henchard is revealed in the very turn and plant of each foot. His
character is further developed using a wealth of metaphors scattered all over the novel.
Hardy uses the method of set description in characterization. It has been used with the rare suc-
cess in the case of Eustacia in “The Return of The Native”. A complete chapter is devoted to por-
tray her personality. First, there is a succession of light touches in the usual manner of Hardy,
then follows the complete chapter of description. Thomas Hardy does not give us the descrip-
tions as an inferior artist would have done. Instead, a catalogue of Eustacia’s charms, Hardy
tells us what she suggests and what she stands for. Thus, her hair is not said to be black, but that
a whole winter does not contain darkness enough to form its shadows. Similarly, her motion
suggests the ebb and flow of the sea, and her voice the viola. Clym Yeobright, too, in this very
novel, has been given a lengthy and set treatment. Hardy rarely describe a character as a photo-
grapher, but like one who rises above the physical and tries to understand the mind and soul of
the person under study.
Thomas Hardy’s characters are real and life like. They are like ordinary human beings subject
to ordinary joys and sorrows of life and common human passions. He does not have either an-
gels or gods. His characters are gems but they are flawed. They are all of the earth.
As David Cecil says, “The fact is he cannot simply paint at full length odious people. Odious im-
plies meanness. And mean people neither feel deeply nor are aware of any issue larger than
those involved in the gratification of their own selfish desires”. Hardy simply cannot get into
the heart of such people. It does not mean that all his successful creatures are virtuous. Hen-
chard and Eustacia commit sins but they do so in the grand manner. This grand manner is the
expression of an over mastering passion, not the calculated consequence of selfish lust. More
over they know they are doing wrong – they are torn with conscience. Therefore we do not dis-
like them. Thus Hardy’s characters are life-like, realistic; they are compound of good and evil
like real human beings. They are without grossness and vulgarity. That is why they are idea-
lized.
Some of Hardy’s characters are mere types such as Clare and Jocelyn Pierston; and that is why
their appeal is limited. But Hardy’s greatest characters are neither types nor individuals, they
are universals. Each of them comprehends within itself the whole of human nature, and that is
why they appeal to all.
Limitations of Hardy’s art of characterization may now be noted. As David Cecil points out, his
imaginative range is extremely limited. Almost all his successful characters belong to Wessex
 10

and to the lower class of society. In the lower ranks of society, conduct or action is the real ex-
pression of character. He wanted to understand human nature, and so he goes to the simplest
specimen of it.
Just as Thomas Hardy cannot portray men and women from the upper class, so also he is not
successful in the portrayal of intellectuals. His intellectuals are selfish, hard-hearted and con-
temptible. There is no generous impulse in them; they show the evil effects of cold reason. Clym’s
treatment of his wife and mother is strong and unhesitant in his hardness. Clare fails Tess at
the greatest crisis of her life because of his hard logical deposit.
Another limitation of Hardy results from the impact of his philosophy on his novels. His theme
is “man’s predicament in the universe”. In each one of his novels, he shows man ranged against a
cruel destiny. Therefore his characters come to have a family likeness. Thus the same type of
characters is repeated over and over again.
It has also been said that Thomas Hardy is successful only in painting simple natures. We do
not get from him any complex characters. He is incapable of that subtle psychoanalysis, that
analysis of human motives.
To conclude, we can say that his characterization is not only external, but internal also. Hardy
goes down to the lowest ranks of society for his heroes and heroines and shows that they, too,
have souls as beautiful, as mysteriously interesting and as spiritually adventurous, as those of
kings and queens. Tess has a beautiful soul, and the tragedy arises from the fact that her pure
soul is crushed into impurity. The probing of the hidden depths of the souls of ordinary people
gives Hardy a quite extraordinary position among the great creators of character.

Written and Composed By:

Prof. A.R. Somroo
M.A. English, M.A. Education
Cell: 03339971417
 11

HARDY’S PHILOSOPHY
Hardy was an artist and not a philosopher. He repeatedly argued that the views expressed in his
novels were not his beliefs; they were simply impressions of the moment. His writings were all
mood dictated. Therefore, it was wrong to expect any philosophy of life. However, when the
reader finds certain impressions constantly and repeatedly in his works, diaries and letters, he
can easily take them as his ideas and philosophy.

Suffering: A Universal

In Hardy’s considered views, all life is suffering. Man suffers from the moment of his birth up
to his death. Happiness is only occasional; it is not the general rule. He says in “The Mayor of
Casterbridge” that happiness is but an occasional episode in a general drama of pain. There is no
one who gets more than he deserves but there are many who get much less than what they de-
serve.

Imperfection of the First Cause:

Hardy says that the real cause of the suffering of the humanity is the imperfection of the force
on high; the power that caused or created this sorry scheme of things. He rejects the convention-
al belief of Christianity. He regards this power as blind and indifferent. This power has no
sense of right or wrong.

Nature as Instrument of the First Cause

According to Hardy, this power shows itself in a number of ways. Some times, it manifests itself
as force of Nature. Nature generally remains indifferent from the characters of Hardy. For ex-
ample, sufferings of Tess go unattended by Nature. Sometimes the forces of Nature seem to act
against Hardy’s characters. “The Return of The Native” is a tragedy of character and environ-
ment. Egdon Heath plays a prominent part in the novel and is largely responsible for the trage-
dy.

The irony of Circumstances

The ruling power of Nature sometimes expresses itself as irony of circumstances. Hardy says
that in this ill-conceived scheme of things the contrary always happens. We expect one thing
and the opposite occurs. Right things never happen at the right time. They happen either not at
all, or too late. It brings nothing but misery and suffering. The heroines of Hardy, like Tess and
Eustacia and some of the male characters, like Clym, Henchard, Angel and Alec are all the vic-
tims of irony of circumstances. The wrong man comes first, and when the right man comes, it is
too late. Thus, Tess remained a vague impression to Angel Clare, until Alec had violated her,
and it was too late for them to live together happily.
In fact, Hardy’s characters in general are the victims of this irony. There intentions and hopes
are constantly frustrated, as if some hostile power were working against them.
 12

The Role of Chance and Fate

There is a great difference between the chance and irony of circumstances. Chance is entirely
unexpected and has no relation either to character or to the course of action, while the essence of
irony of circumstances or fate is its opposition to the wishes of a character. Chance may some-
time work in favour of a particular character, but in Hardy’s, it always operated against them.
Chance plays an important role in life and so in Hardy’s novels. The undesired and the unex-
pected always happen. Thus, Tess suffers because the letter she had written to Angel on the eve
of their marriage never reaches him. By chance, it slips beneath the carpet and Angel never
finds it.

Love: A Potent cause of suffering

Love is another cause of the suffering of the characters in Hardy’s novels. The women are spe-
cially its chosen victims. In “Tess”, the cruel cause of things has hardened them with the power-
ful sex-instinct that they have never desired, and because of which they have to twist with pain
and pass sleepless nights.

Human Freedom of Action: Its Limitations

Character may be destiny in Shakespeare, but it is certainly not in Hardy’s world. In Hardy’s
view, character is responsible for suffering only to a limited extent. Inborn instincts determine
the actions of a person largely. Even if he wishes, he cannot act against them. Hardy believes in
Schopenhauer’s view, “A person can do what he wills, but he cannot will what he wills”. He has
only a very limited freedom of action.

Written and composed by:

Prof. A. r. Somroo

m. a. English, m. a. education

Cell: 03339971417
 13

THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE:

THEMES, STYLE AND SETIING

Themes
Time

The role of time and effect of its passage are the major themes of the novel. The story spans over
a period of 18 months and the landscape of the heath does not change. This consistency is shown
in the people who live there in the heath. They are creatures of tradition, following the same
wedding rituals, the same harvest rituals, the same holiday traditions and the same folk reme-
dies that their ancestors have handed to them.
The characters who encounter difficulty are those who do not want to stay at the heath. For ex-
ample, Eustacia is anxious to live in Paris and wants hustle in life. Wildeve is also bored with
the monotonous life at heath. Clym is the most divided character in the novel.
When he looked from the heights, he was satisfied to think about reclamation of the wastes, til-
lage. However, he was despair to see that the furze tufts and ferns were still there asserting.

Nature

Hardy describes Nature and landscapes of the heath before the introduction of the characters in
the novel. This indicates the importance of role of Nature played in the novel. The Nature set-
tings symbolize the people living there. For example, the extreme heat of the day when Clym
turned his mother out of his home is the symbol of turmoil. When Eustacia wanders about into
the violent storm, one night symbolizes the mental anguish.
Diggory Venn is the character most in tune with Nature. He doe not look like a human being as
the red dye has seeped deep into his skin and hair.

Conscience

The characters in the novel “The Return of The Native” are motivated by their conscience more
than any other driving force. They do not avoid social confrontation that what others will
think. In the beginning of the novel, when Thomasin returns after her aborted attempt to mar-
ry, though it is shameful to elope, Wildeve and Thomasin are unconcerned about the social
stigma.
On the other hand, Wildeve is unwilling to marry Thomasin because he feels that he will have
to forget Eustacia and leave the longing for her. They got married not to fulfill the social re-
quirement, but Wildeve failed in his romantic life. Diggory Venn desires to assure Thomasin’s
happiness only to benefit him. He tells Thomasin about Wildeve’s involvement with Eustacia to
clear the way for him. He keeps silent when he does not succeed in his plan.
When Eustacia comes to know that Wildeve has become rich that she wanted as a husband, she
does not run away with him because she cannot hurt Clym.
 14

Style
Point of View
The novel is told from the third person’s point of view. He refers the characters, as “he” or “she”
However, the narrative, does not know everything. This means that he looks at the story unfold-
ing from different points of view. But when it is settled on a particular point of view it stays
consistent.
For example, when Wildeve first appears, readers are not told who he is. His character becomes
clear by what he says. Clym is a mystery for Eustacia. When they talk to each other, the narra-
tor shifts from one to the other and thus they are introduced to each other.
By limiting the flow of information to the reader, Hardy is able to create a sense of mystery in
the story. This is because the intentions of the characters are not clear. When Hardy wants to
convey an idea or opinion, he creates a scene where many people gather and talk to one another.
This occurs in the bonfire scene where people gather and discuss the best way to deal with the
snakebite.

Structure
This book was structured for the magazine serial. Thus each episode covers a complete event
leaving a point for completion in the next episode so that the further development of the story is
foreshadowed by the reader.
A good example of this technique is clear when Thomasin returns unmarried from Angelbury.
The chapter ends with her aunt asking, “Now Thomasin…..what’s the meaning of this disgrace-
ful performance?” The readers know that the explanation will follow in the next episode.
Critics have also contended that this book is structured like a Shakespearean drama. Most of the
plays of Shakespeare were organized in five acts with a climatic conclusion in the last act. “The
Return of the Native” is presented in six books; most critics say that the artistic structure re-
quires five books. The sixth book is added to please the readers who want to see everything turn
out in the end.

Symbolism
The names of the Hardy’s characters are almost symbolic of their function in the novel. The
title is also no exception. “Wildeve” suggests some thing on the edge of wildness. “Eustacia” is de-
rived from eustacy, which means a change in the level of the sea indicating the immense
changes that she is set to bring in the lives of the other people.
Clym’s last name, “Yeobright”, combines the word “Yeoman” which indicates a servant with the
indication of his natural intelligence.
 15

Setting
The sweeping topographical and historical description of Egdon Heath that opens this book is
considered to be one of the finest extended descriptions in all of English literature. The impor-
tance of this setting to the events of the novel can not be over emphasized. It is the flatness and
barrenness of the land that has made it useless for development. The residents of the Heath are
isolated and possess their own distinct culture, separate from the rest of the world.
Ordinary people are afraid of Eustacia. She keeps herself away from the other people and that is
why Wildeve and Clym are allured towards her. She is treated as if she has some supernatural
power. Clym is treated as a mystical person because he has been to Paris, even though he was
just a jeweler’s clerk there. The only way for people of the heath to gain wealth is to inherit it
from far away , as Wildeve does, or to earn it in other places ,as Diggory Venn does.

Written and Composed By:

Prof. A. R. Somroo
M. A. English, M. A. Education
Cell: 03339971417
 16

THE RETURNOF THE NATIVE

CHARACTER OF CLYM YEOBRIGHT:
The Hero of the Novel

Clym Yeobright is the hero of the novel. When the story begins, he is thirty-three years old. He
is young and attractive that Eustacia fall in love as soon as she sees him. Hardy himself loved
this character. He says, “Clym is the nicest among my characters.”

His Simplicity and Lack of Ambition

Clym’s father was a humble farmer but his mother came of a superior family. Clym had inhe-
rited the simplicity of his father. He does not like the sophistication of life. He, though lived in
Paris, yet he had no snobbery. His character is his lack of ambition. If he had been ambitious,
he would have struggled hard to win worldly success. His simplicity and lack of ambition at-
tracted him towards his native heath.

Self Centered

Clym has a self-sacrificing nature. He is willing to work for the welfare of the others. He is re-
lentless and this caused a great in his tragedy. Clym is egotist, tender and kind and these virtues
are strangely mixed in him with firmness. Mrs. Yeobright says to Eustacia about him, “Though
he is as gentle as a child with you now, he can be as hard as steel.”

A Promising Boy

As a child, Clym was promising. All expected great things from him. It was certain that he
would not remain in the circumstances in which he was born. He did all his work in an original
manner.

Unpractical Idealism

Clym appeared to take step forward towards successful life, when he went to Paris. Clym’s ideal-
ism and his unpractical nature are his ruin. He left his job and began to teach the people of his
heath. His advanced intellect is the cause of his misfortunes. He was the man much before his
time. Clym’s unpractical idealism prevents him from seeing and realizing that the people of Eg-
don are not yet ripe for a favorable response to the changes contemplated by him.

Lack sense of Proportions

Clym does not have well-proportioned mind of a prudent and successful man. He is carried away
by his own theories and pre-considered ideas. If Clym had been less idealistic and more practic-
al, he would have been a mediocre, but more successful and happy. Eustacia judges him rightly,
as he has lack of proportions, “He is an enthusiast about ideas and careless about outward
thing.” His enthusiasm towards ideas prompts him to leave his business and launch his noble
mission of educating the Egdon folk. Such people can hardly do well in life.
 17

His Tragic Grandeur

Clym’s idealism is the tragic flaw in his character. His good qualities as well as his shortcom-
ings owe their origin to this idealistic strain. His simplicity, is desire to be of use to others, his
wholehearted dedication to his cause, his kindness and tenderness, his spirit of self-sacrifice, all
result from his idealism, and from it also result his impracticability, obstinacy and lack of bal-
ance. This tragic flaw in Clym’s character combined with such “chance” events as his marriage
with Eustacia, loss of eyesight, meeting of Eustacia with Wildeve, paves the way for his ruin. As
miseries after miseries are heaped upon him, he rises to the grandeur of a tragic hero.
 18

THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE

CHARACTER OF MRS. YEOBRIGHT:
A woman of Character

Mrs. Yeobright, the mother of Clym, is a woman of firm and determined character. She is also a
tragic character and dies broken hearted in the end. She is middle aged, and it is said that Har-
dy drew her after his own mother. She is the daughter of a Curate, and regards herself as supe-
rior to the Egdon folk among whom she is obliged to live because of her marriage with a native
of Egdon. The isolation, solitude and melancholy of the Heath are concentrated on her face.

Her Superiority Complex

Mrs. Yeobright possesses strongly marked qualities of character. Hardy compares her to the pla-
nets, which carry their atmosphere along with them in their orbits. She influenced everywhere
she went. As a daughter of Curate she wanted to do something in life, but fate obliged her to
marry a farmer. She has the feeling of her own superiority and the reason is obvious. The con-
sciousness of her social superiority has given to Mrs. Yeobright an air of reserve and a feeling of
pride in her family. She is not very communicative. It was her sense of superiority that she re-
jected the proposal of Venn to marry Thomasin.

Her Firmness and Determination

She is very firm and determined woman. It is true that life did not give her the opportunity to
cultivate these inborn qualities of character. Circumstances are the obstacle against her devel-
opment. Her strength becomes the source of her weakness. The circumstances shatter her. She
herself suffers and makes other suffer only because she is determined and firm.

Loving Mother

The tragic weakness of Mrs. Yeobright is her boundless love for hr son. She regards Clym as a
part of her own self. She has sacrificed all for his sake, placing all her hopes of happiness on
him alone. She is very anxious when she comes to know that her son has fallen into the snares
of Eustacia. She is worried not because she is jealous of Eustacia but because she realizes that
Clym would never be happy with such a proud, willful and impulsive woman. Clym marries
Eustacia against the wishes of his mother. Such is her love for her son that even this disobe-
dience on his part is forgiven and forgotten by her.

Her Tragic Grandeur

The tragedy of Mrs. Yeobright is the tragedy of well meaning intentions frustrated by cruel
chance. In her death, it is the mother’s heart throbbing within her, which lends her a tragic
grandeur. All that was good in her becomes instrumental in causing her a tragic death. The tra-
gedy of so noble, so wise a character arouses the tragic emotions of pity and fear in ample meas-
ure.
 19

THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE

CHARACTER OF WILDEVE
The Villain

Wildeve has the most attractive personality. He is the character of low sensuality. He is the vil-
lain of the novel. He is the cause of unhappiness of Thomasin and is responsible for Eustacia’s
ruin. In the beginning of the novel, he is an engineer but he has reduced himself to an innkee-
per.

Fascinating Personality

Wildeve has an attractive outward form. He possesses well-polished tastes. He is fond of fine
dress. He has a gift of the gab. He is a sort of a lady-killer. Thomasin loves him and he likes
Eustacia.

Some Compensating Traits

Though Wildeve seems a villain at first sight, he has many compensating traits in his character.
He has a spirit of adventure and love of independence. He is a hard working person. He was
brought up to do better things than keeping an inn. His qualities of character, his graceful per-
sonality, polished manners, and love of adventure impress the mind of the readers, even when
they condemn him for his various faults.

The Touch of Romance

Wildeve may be sensual but he has an adventurous and romantic sensuality. Whenever Wildeve
faces obstacles in the way of his love, he makes great efforts to get the object of his desire. He
first turns from Eustacia to Thomasin, but when the license complication in the way of mar-
riage arises, he again directs his interests to Eustacia

His Character: The Cause of Tragedy

The evil in Wildeve’s nature is revealed fully, when he leaves Thomasin, even after marriage
and returns to Eustacia, who is now married to Clym. There is, no doubt, the chance plays its
own part in Wildeve’s life to make its tragedy. The sudden arrival of Clym as his rival, the
chance meeting with Eustacia at the dance, the chance fortune inherited by him, all contribute
to his ultimate tragedy. However, in his case, character is also destiny. His own evil contributes
a great deal to his tragic end.

Written and composed by:

Prof. a. r. Somroo

m. a. English, m. a. education

Cell: 0339971417
 20

THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE

CHARACTER OF THOMASIN YEOBRIGHT
A Good Contrast to Eustacia

Thomasin is young and pretty girl. She is the niece of Mrs. Yeobright. She is one of the charac-
ters of Hardy who suffer long and silently. She is a contrast to Eustacia. Her beauty is without
pride and rebelliousness. Eustacia’s beauty, on the other hand is impulsive, capricious, wayward
and rebellious. Thomasin’s character is a counterpart of Venn. She is faithful, honest, practical
and rational in her approach to life’s problem.

Delicate and artistic

She has inherited sweetness and humility from her father, a musician who died in the prime of
his life. She has something sweet and artistic. All similes and allegories concerning her began
and ended with birds. There is as much variety in her motions as in their flight.

Patient and Prudent

Thomasin has sweet, honest and pretty face suggestive of hopefulness, but clouded at times with
anxiety and grief. Hardy remarks, “The groundwork of the face was hopefulness, but over it lay
a foreign substance… anxiety and grief. Hardy suggests the possibilities of making better, that
men can make the best of the worst by adapting themselves to their circumstances through their
prudence.

Gentleness

The most distinctive feature of her character is her gentle and humble nature. She is soft and
yielding. Clym and Venn as well as Wildeve can easily influence her. Her mildness is both her
strength and her weakness. She shows remarkable patience and calm in her love with Wildeve.
When Mrs. Yeobright is angry with Wildeve, she requests her not to be angry and harsh with
him and to let her tackle him.

A Commonplace Character

Thomasin certainly doe not attain the grandeur, which Eustacia has. Eustacia’s life ends with
tragedy but she attains the tragic grandeur, which makes her unforgettable. Thomasin has no
such tragic height. She is a commonplace and mediocre character. She is a weak character and
lacks the power and ambition with her heart’s desire. One man and the other continually re-
jected her. She is of compromising attitude. She always adjusts herself to the atmosphere.

Written and composed by:

Prof. A. r. Somroo

m. a. English, M.A. education

Cell: 03339971417
 21

THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE

THE ROLE OF DIGGORY VENN — THE REDDLEMAN AND HIS SIGNIFICANCE

The Wisest Character in the Novel

Diggory Venn is the representative of the old profession and so the representative of the old
world existence. He was once a prosperous dairy farmer. He is still young with blue eyes and
beautiful figure. Mrs. Yeobright rejected her as the suitor of Thomasin. Thus, he became a red-
dleman because rejected suitors like to roam about. He is faithful in love, generous and kind. He
is the wisest character in the novel that sees through all others.

His Helpful Nature

Diggory Venn is apparently a minor character but he has the pivotal role in the novel. The
whole plot revolves around him. The actions and the movements of the plot become possible
through his plan. He appears at the unexpected places. He helps Thomasin through what he
calls the “Silent System”. Venn brings Thomasin and Wildeve together and compels Wildeve to
marry her. He gambles to help Thomasin to bring her money back. But, unknowingly he become
the cause of quarrel and misunderstanding. He is thus, the victim of irony of life.

His Sincere and Faithful Love

Venn is the cleverest character in the novel. He is superior to all the other characters in morali-
ty also. He loves Thomasin from the core of his heart. He has the highest conception of love and
helps his beloved to make her happy even at the risk of ruining his own happiness.

His Honesty and Nobility

As Clym says that, he is an honest man. His personality is of rare combination. He has a lot of
experience of the world. He is clever in the worldly sense of the term, yet he does not use his cle-
verness. He uses his cleverness not for his own good, but for the good of others.

His Ultimate Happiness

He has a calm temperament, presence of mind and clever thinking, although he has no educa-
tion. He is also considerate. In the end, he is shown happy, contended, dancing, enjoying and
drinking. In this way, he provides an element of betterment in the world of this grim and terri-
ble tragedy.

Written And Composed BY:

Prof. A. R. Somroo

M.A. English, M.A. Education

Cell: 03339971417
 22

THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE

CHARACTER OF EUSTACIA VYE
Eustacia Vye is an example of character portrait through a set description. She is representative
of tragedy of environment and of man’s rebellion against fate. If Eustacia had not been so ambi-
tious and passionate, there would be no tragedy. Eustacia’s tragedy represents Hardy’s view of
life and man’s helpless struggle against fate.

Personal Charm

Eustacia’s great personal beauty is responsible for the tragedy of Clym, Wildeve and the death of
Mrs. Yeobright. The superstitious women of Egdon Heath look upon her as witch. She has an
evil influence on life of every one in the novel. Hardy describes her beauty with a great poetic
power. She has a fair complexion and is soft as a cloud. She has dark and passionate eyes and
beautiful mouth with sensuous lips. Her musical voice, graceful motions, dignified and queenly
bearing make her look like goddess of Greek mythology. She reminds one of the lotus-eaters and
Cleopatra, of rose, rubies and tropical mid nights. She is also regarded as the queen of the
nights.

Her Capricious Nature

Eustacia Vye is capricious and inconsistent. She is a woman of changing mood. First she loves
Wildeve, the leaves him for Clym, breaks Wildeve’s marriage with Thomasin and then later
brings about the marriage herself. Duffin points out that she loves too hotly and passionately to
love long.

Self-centered and Self-willed

Eustacia is willing to sacrifice all other considerations and the happiness of every other person
for her own pleasure and satisfaction. She is very selfish. Even she loves Clym sincerely but it is
a form of self-love. When Clym becomes blind, she is sorrier for herself than for Clym.

Lack of Moral Sense

Eustacia acts upon her instinct and passions. She has no faith in morality. She is under control
of her “Id”. She has no sense of moral obligations. She wants her desires fulfilled by any means.
When she wants to marry Wildeve, she does not care for the ruin of Thomasin’s life. She does
not believe in faithfulness for loyalty’s sake.

Her Melancholy

She is gloomy and sad in Egdon Heath. She has no society and no amusement. She flirts with
Wildeve just because she wants some excitement. She hates Egdon. She wants to marry Clym be-
cause she desires to go Paris and live there a life of gaiety and merriment.
Written and Composed By:
Prof. A. R. Somoo