Thomas Hardy’s Return of the Native is concerned with the endless despair in the life of humanity. In the story, fate plays an important part in determining the destiny of each character. Often, characters try to control the future and plan out their own happiness, along with that of others. Just as often, fate comes between a character and his plans. In the novel, fate does not seem to care about human beings. In fact, it is more powerful than the desires of individuals. The characters’ efforts to strive against their fate result in the downfall of the individual’s life. Man may protest against his fate, but it makes no difference for he cannot master his own destiny. In The Return of the Native, the characters’ pride and ambition to change circumstances given to them by the world leads to catastrophe, and those who accept fate end up with some degree of contentment.
After returning to his village in Egdon Heath, Clym’s life starts to deteriorate. He eventually ends up as a wandering preacher, who feels responsible for the deaths of both his wife and mother. Clym (Clement) Yeobright neglects the fact that he has a prestigious life in Paris as a diamond merchant. He believes that he is not made to be a big-city merchant. “He was brought up to better things … but he threw away his chance.” (Hardy, p.30). As a result, he drops his illustrious Parisian life and begins life all over again in Egdon Heath. Although he has no qualifications, he opens a school and educates the poor and ignorant. He feels very comfortable in Egdon Heath, especially with his loving mother, Mrs. Yeobright. His mother loves him very much and directs most of her attention to her family. Even though she loves her son, Mrs. Yeobright is opposed to the idea of him marrying Eustacia Vye because she knows that they are not right for each other.
“’I am going to be married on the twenty-fifth.’ ‘I thought you were going to be married.’
‘And then – and then you must come and see us. You will understand me better after
that, and our situation will not be so wretched as it is now.’ ‘I do not think it likely I
shall come to see you.’ ‘Then it will not be my fault or Eustacia’s, mother. Goodbye!’”
(Hardy, p.211)
Clym marries Eustacia, against his mother’s wishes. The marriage begins with a bad start as Eustacia wishes to leave Egdon Heath. Clym does not want to leave. In fact, his very reason for leaving Paris is to return to his native land.
“’…Yes, take me to Paris, and go on with your old occupation, Clym! I don’t mind how
humbly we live there at first, if it can only be Paris, and not Egdon Heath!’ ‘But I have
quite given up that idea,’ said Yeobright, with surprise. ‘Surely I never led you to expect
such a thing?’ … ‘Clym, I am unhappy at what I hear.’”
(Hardy, p.244)
He is ignorant of his wife’s needs, which ruins their marriage. Eustacia inevitably finds another man to leave the country with. Because Clym leaves his luxurious Parisian life, he destroys not only his life, but also the lives of two others. If he had stayed in Paris, his mother would still be alive and content with her son’s job. Also, Eustacia would not have been filled with false hope, as she was while courting Clym. In the end, Mrs. Yeobright dies broken-hearted, “… a passionate quarrel that would have broken my heart.” (Hardy, p.213), and Eustacia dies on the journey. Clym becomes a preacher after these tragic incidents. Surely Clym has never thought of becoming a preacher -- perhaps he should have stayed in Paris. His character is camouflaged within the village where nobody takes notice of his absence, not even at Thomasin Yeobright and Diggory Venn’s wedding.
“The party is lively; no one misses Clym. Symbolically, perhaps, Clym has already
begun his solitary life as a preacher, separated from the activities of ordinary people.”
(Flowers, p.104)
Clym turns to the single life, and travels widely to continue his new career. It is rather ironic since his sole purpose of leaving Paris is to return to Egdon Heath, where he is comfortable.
Eustacia and Damon Wildeve are destined to be with each other, yet they decide to marry other people. Eustacia marries Clym, who she thinks can bring her to a luxurious life in Paris. However, Clym has already chosen to live in Egdon Heath, even before their first meeting. Egdon Heath is the primary reason why he moves back from Paris. Thus, they move into an isolated cottage on the heath and proceed with their failing marriage. On the other hand, Damon and Thomasin’s marriage should not have happened. Many events happen before the wedding in desperate attempts to prevent the marriage. Mrs. Yeobright, Thomasin’s aunt, is worried about the wedding and does not want the wedding to proceed. She is not the only one who believes that they were not ‘meant to be’. A few other villagers also agree with Mrs. Yeobright. “’Well, I can’t understand a quiet lady-like little body like Tamsin Yeobright caring to be married in such a mean way.’” (Hardy, p.30) Nature itself also plays a part in preventing the marriage when Damon fails to get the marriage license. “’… wouldn’t marry us because of some trifling irregularity in the license.’” (Hardy, p.44) Mrs. Yeobright explains to her niece that, “’Such things don’t happen for nothing.’” (Hardy, p.50) Despite what her aunt says, Thomasin follows her heart towards the wrong direction as “’… her feelings got the better of her.’” (Hardy, p.42) Even with all these incidents trying to intervene with the marriage, Thomasin is blind and cannot see that Damon is marrying her only to save his own reputation.
“… ‘You must stay now, of my sake, till they are gone, so that it may seem as if all was
right. Come, Tamsie dear, don’t go making a scene – we must marry after this; that you
can see as well as I. Sit still, that’s all – and don’t speak much. I’ll manage them.
Blundering fools!”
(Hardy, p. 52)
This quote hardly reflects the reaction of a man who is ‘head over heels’ in love. Damon is working against fate by marrying Thomasin. Their choice to love other people leads themselves to misery, falling in love with each other again, and attempting to escape from the heath.
“’In getting away from here.’ ‘Where do you wish to go to?’ ‘I have a place in my mind.
If you could help me as far as … do all the rest?’ ‘Will it be safe to leave you there
alone?’ ‘Yes, yes. I know Budmouth well.’ ‘Shall I go with you? I am rich now.’”
(Hardy, p.333-4)
It takes Eustacia and Damon a long time to end their fight against fate but they were too late. Instead of escaping to a foreign land, they escape into death. All throughout the novel, they try to keep apart but “Man is ‘sport of the gods’.” (Gindin, p.487) and they are finally brought together at the end, in death.
“Early in the morning, Charley appears for news of Eustacia. Looking dead himself,
Clym allows Charley to view her corpse. Ironically, both Eustacia and Wildeve look as
Handsome as ever in death, although Wildeve’s finger show telling scars of a desperate
failed attempt to hold on to life.”
(Flowers, p.99)
So, what happens to those who accept their fate, like Thomasin and Diggory? Diggory loves and has always loved Thomasin. He has selfless love for Thomasin and will do anything for her. “’Oh Diggory Venn, I thought ‘twas you: will you help me? I am in trouble.’” (Hardy, p.44) Like a handyman, he performs many services for her. He even watches out for her and wins back all the money from Damon. Even though Diggory loves Thomasin, he tries to keep Eustacia and Damon apart so that Damon can be a good husband to Thomasin. He falls in love with Thomasin for reasons that may cause love to last. It is too bad that Thomasin takes so long to open her eyes to see that Damon does not belong with her. Fortunately, Diggory loves her and is committed to her. She knows that they are meant for each other, places her trust in him, and falls in love. “… ‘for it makes it easier for us to be friendly.’ Thomasin blushed again.” (Hardy, p.384) Because both of them accept their fate, they marry and live happily ever after – the only happy couple in the novel.
"’Yes. She do seem happy. She is red in the face, and laughing at something Fairway has
said to her. O my!’ ‘What noise was that?’ said Clym. ‘Mr. Venn is so tall that he knocked
his head against the beam in gieing a skip as he passed under. Mrs. Venn has run up
quite frightened and now she's put her hand to his head to feel if there's a lump. And
now they be all laughing again as if nothing had happened.’"
(Hardy, p.394)
“One’s destiny is determined by cold, indifferent forces that rule nature.” (Seymour-Smith, p.234) This is a quote by Thomas Hardy. He is trying to state that you cannot change your fate because destiny has already been set. There is no way you can change it. It is quite possible that this is the reason the story turns out the way it does. It is possible that Hardy is trying to tell his readers that fate is permanent – there is no way one can avoid it. It is already set into our lives and there is no escape. Through his novel, Hardy has proven that it is truly unattainable for one to reach happiness when overlooking the role of fate that is playing in their lives. That is why Eustacia, Clym and Damon submit to misery. In order to attain happiness and love, one must utilize their fate carefully and wisely, such as Diggory and Thomasin did – leading to tranquility and satisfaction.
Bloom, Harold. Thomas Hardy’s The Return of the Native, Chelsea House
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Series, Inc.: New York, 1984.
Hardy, Thomas. The Return of the Native: An Authoritative Text, Background and Criticism, W.W. Norton and Company Inc.: New York, 1969.
Howe, Irving. Thomas Hardy, Macmillan Publishing Company: New York, 1967.
Seymour-Smith, Martin. Hardy, Bloomsbury Publishing Place: London, 1994.
