Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy

Return of the Native is a novel written by English author Thomas Hardy. It is his sixth published work. It first appeared in the sensational magazine Belgravia in January 1878. The magazine had a reputation for showcasing sensational fiction and the novel was presented in twelve installments. The novel was very popular and sold over one million copies in its first year.

Thomas Hardy's novel

The Return of the Native is Thomas Hardy's sixth novel, and it was published in the sensationalist magazine Belgravia in January 1878. The story is told over a twelve-month period. The novel is about the disappearance of a native, and is set in an Australian wilderness.

While it has many plot lines and characters, the novel is also very strange. Its oddness stems from the mixture of Hardy's naturalistic interest in nature with the demand for romance and drama. Hardy also draws from the tragedies of Shakespeare and the Greeks in creating the novel. These elements combine to produce a novel that explores enduring themes.

Clement (Clym) Yeobright as "native"

Clement Yeobright is a native of Egdon Heath who gave up his promising career as a diamond merchant in Paris to become a schoolmaster for the poor and ignorant. He meets Eustacia Vye, a beautiful young woman who is desperate for the fast life and glamour. The two fall in love and Clym decides to marry her.

Tamsin is Clym's cousin. She is also the wife of the young damon Wildeve. She is Clym's cousin and is a beautiful young woman by local standards. Clym has a troubled past and blames himself for her mother's death, but is forced to make amends. The young woman is torn between two lovers, Clym and Eustacia.

Catherine as "actress"

Catherine Black is a Canadian actress and artist. Her memoir, Close Up and Personal, explores her personal life. She grew up in London and moved to California with her Iranian mother when she was two years old. She acted in many TV commercials as a young child but never considered herself an "actress." She later attended UCLA and studied biology.

Her first film was as a child, in the 1957 movie Les Collegiennes, directed by Roger Vadim, who had previously brought Brigitte Bardot to stardom. Her career grew in 1964, with her role in the hit French film The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, which earned her a Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award nomination and the highest prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Diggory Venn as "agent"

The novel opens with the protagonist, Diggory Venn, who is deeply in love with Thomasin. After two years in the reddledom wilderness, he returns to Thomasin. They were about to get married, but Thomasin's foolish mistake prevents the wedding. Diggory Venn persuades her that she is not interested in him, and also helps her to get married to Wildeve.

Hardy introduces the Venn as a link between two types of life. In the rural world of heath, he fills the void left by the dodo. He serves as an agent of change and doesn't represent a separate species, but a medium for mutation.

Eustacia as "guardian"

Eustacia was born in the port town of Budmouth but was transplanted to a remote, wild location where she despises everyone. She searches for escape, but seems to be an extension of Egdon Heath's wild nature. While she has an amorous relationship with Damon Wildeve, she also enters a tragic marriage with Clym Yeobright.

Eustacia's ruined dreams are a constant source of anxiety for her. The loss of love and marriage is devastating to her, and it's hard to imagine how she'll ever see Paris. In the end, she returns home to the center of the heath, where she lies for days. Eustacia's grandfather, Captain Vye, tells her that Wildeve has just inherited a fortune from his uncle in Canada. While she doesn't know it yet, she wonders why Wildeve didn't tell her when he visited her last.

Eustacia's relationship with Clym

Eustacia and Clym's relationship is not one of love and passion. Though they have already met, Clym is not interested in Eustacia, and he never decides to return to Paris. In fact, the relationship between them is rather dark, as Clym imagines a world free from ambition, a secluded place where they can talk and be alone.

In The Return of the Native, Eustacia is imprisoned at Egdon, while Clym is free on the heath. Clym sees Eustacia not as a lover, but as a potential helpmate to educate rustics. Their relationship is one of the few examples in the novel where love and marriage are based on societal expectations rather than personal feelings.