Product Description

"The Return of the Native" was written towards the beginning of Hardy's career as a novelist and can be considered one of his most representative works. In this novel, Hardy's tragic vision is powerfully and narrowly focused on Egdon Heath and the men and women who live on it. Set against the backdrop of the Heath and the impersonal and eternal forces it represents, the fates of Eustacia Vye, Diggory Venn, Clym Yeobright - the returning 'native' - and others are inexorably played out.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #83034 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 496 pages

Synopsis
"The Return of the Native" was written towards the beginning of Hardy's career as a novelist and can be considered one of his most representative works. In this novel, Hardy's tragic vision is powerfully and narrowly focused on Egdon Heath and the men and women who live on it. Set against the backdrop of the Heath and the impersonal and eternal forces it represents, the fates of Eustacia Vye, Diggory Venn, Clym Yeobright - the returning 'native' - and others are inexorably played out.

About the Author
Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) was a prolific novelist and poet whose works include 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' and 'Jude the Obscure'. Penny Bouhmelha is Professor of English at the University of Adelaide and has published work on Hardy and women.

Customer Reviews

A very fine novel
I had to read this one at university, ten years ago, and it was my first taste of Hardy. I found it quite difficult to get though at first, mainly due to those long Hardy sentences, but undoubtedly it is a very fine novel, full of haunting and powerful images. I love, in particular, the way that Egdon Heath becomes almost a living, breathing entity.

The description of the Native's mother walking on the Heath in the scorching sun is one of the best pieces of writing I have read in the English language, and has stayed with me, as other vivid images from the book have done - even if I can't remember exactly how they fit in with the rets of the novel.

Let it grow on you, and you'll never forget the characters and setting
It took me a while to love this book. It was a set text for my A-levels, which is never the best way to meet a book, and the first chapter was not exactly encouraging. Hardy's language, which is filled with allusions to classical mythology, takes some getting used to. And the first chapter is entirely about a heath. Egdon Heath, and some references to obscure mythology for good measure. Throughout the school year, it grew on me - what melodramatic sixteen year old girl would not identify with melodramatic seventeen-year-old Eustacia Vye? - but it wasn't until I took it out in the sun and just simply read it without it being interrupted by class discussions that suddenly I realised I loved this book!

Rerurn of the Native is the story of two mismatched couples and a mother-in-law. Clym is the returning native, back from selling diamonds in Paris and disillusioned with that world. To Eustacia, who longs for excitement, he represents escape. Thomasin is Clym's cousin, a sweet country girl who has got herself entangled with Damon Wildeve, local rake. Oh, and Eustacia and Wildeve have history. And then there is Diggory Venn, an impoverished 'reddleman' (whose job it is to paint the colours on sheep!) one step outside society, who is Thomasin's staunchest and secret advocate.

I loved - if that's the right word - Eustacia's conflicts with Mrs. Yeobright, Clym's mother. The relationship between these two proud women, and a rather oblivious son, really rings true. The characterisation overall is fantastic, and every character is three-dimensional. We watch them fall out over misunderstandings and conflicts of interest, all the while empathising with each party. Even Wildeve, although you've got to love to hate him too.

I also loved the rural world that Hardy evokes, Egdon Heath, which it seems you can never really leave! It was interesting to read about that lost way of life, skimmity-riding and reddlemen! At times, it seems like the heath is alive and interacting with events and characters. A lot of the most important moments are deeply entrenched in the living nature of the heath. All very pagan, in keeping with the novel's intended purpose as a modern tragedy, in keeping with the traditions of Greek tragedy. The rustic characters are pretty funny too. I always smile when I think of Susan poking Eustacia with a knitting needle in church to see if she's a witch!

the ending is a shame
I studied this for my English AS-level and so obviously approached this novel in a cynical fashion. However, due to the study of the text and language and themes, I realised what a great work of literature this is.
The first chapter is off-putting: Hardy describing in great detail the setting for the story, Egdon Heath. However from there things become more interesting.
It is a tragic story. Eustacia Vye wishes to escape from Egdon Heath, she is an outsider viewed with suspicion by her fellow dwellers and indeed this is shown in the symbolic description of her solitude. She is infatuated with Wildeve who is smarmy and has failed to marry the naive Thomasin Yeobright, a quintessential country girl who is amiable in her nobility.
Enter Clym, who has come from the glamorous Paris. He is a diamond merchant who has become indifferent to the superficiality of his occupation and now wishes to become a teacher here in Egdon, much to his mother Mrs. Yeobright's and Eustacia's disgust.
Mrs. Yeobright is a typical Victorian mother. She is obsessed with status and relies on reputation for her well-being. Hence she is embarrassed at Thomasin's failed marriage. She also dislikes Eustacia especially when Clym and Eustacia become lovers and live together.
But because Eustacia wishes to escape she becomes annoyed with Clym and you wonder if she loves him or loves the opportunity presented by him originally. Clym becomes blind, symbolic perhaps of his blind ambition to teach at Egdon. Eustacia arranges to escape via Wildeve but becomes depressed and one night wanders across the Heath towards the Weir. It is unknown if she commits suicide or simply falls but she drowns in the weir after the failed efforts of Clym and Wildeve, who also drowns.
Hardy originally intended the story to end here and the title of my review suggests a disappointingly happy ending to a tragic story. His publishers told him to write a chapter focussing on Thomasin and Diggory Venn, a reddleman who is constantly rejected by Mrs. Yeobright and Thomasin simply for being of his lower status. They marry and have a child together called Eustacia. It is a happy ending for the two philanthropists but still this does lose some of the tragic theme.
The book then is a great work of tragic literature that has characters that represent the class-conscious, the superficial, the outcasts, the sufferers, the dreamers and the naive lovers.