The Return of the Native

Download or read book The Return of the Native written by Thomas Hardy and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2020-11-07 with total page 554 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy The novel opens with the action of the plot already underway. Warehouse salesman Diggory Venn arrives on the moor with Thomasin Yeobright in the back of his car - his marriage to Damon Wildeve was delayed by a marriage certificate error and Thomasin collapsed. We soon learn that Wildeve orchestrated the mistake himself. He is in love with Eustacia Vye and, to some extent at least, is using Thomasin as a device to make Eustacia jealous. When Venn learns of the romance between Eustacia and Wildeve, his own love for Thomasin prompts 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 proposal to Thomasin, are unsuccessful. In this confused tangle of lovers appears Clym Yeobright, Thomasin's cousin and son of the strong-willed widow, Mrs. Yeobright, who also acts as Thomasin's guardian. Eustacia sees in the urban Clym an escape from the hated wasteland. Even before meeting him, Eustacia convinces herself to fall in love with Clym, breaking up her romance with Wildeve, who later marries Thomasin. Chance and Eustacia's machinations bring her and Clym together, and they begin a courtship that will eventually end in their marriage, despite strong objections from Mrs. Yeobright. Once Wildeve finds out about Eustacia's marriage, he again begins to desire her, although he is already married to Thomasin. By marrying Eustacia, Clym distances herself from her mother. However, soon the distance between the newlyweds also begins to grow. Eustacia's dreams of moving to Paris are rejected by Clym, who wants to open a school in her native country. Wildeve inherits a substantial fortune, and he and the unhappy Eustacia begin spending time together once more: first at a country dance, where they are spotted by the ubiquitous observer Diggory Venn, and then when Wildeve visits Eustacia at home while Clym sleeps. . During this visit, Mrs. Yeobright knocks on the door; has been waiting for a reconciliation with the couple. Eustacia, however, in her confusion and fear of being discovered with Wildeve, does not allow Mrs. Yeobright to enter the house: heartbroken and feeling rejected by her son, she succumbs to the heat and the snake bite along the way. home and die. Clym blames himself for his mother's death; she and Eustacia are separated when she learns of Eustacia's role in the death of Mrs. Yeobright and of her continuing relationships with Wildeve. Eustacia plans to escape the wasteland and Wildeve agrees to help her. On a stormy night, the action reaches its climax: on her way to meet Wildeve, Eustacia drowns. Trying to save her, Wildeve also drowns. Only through heroic efforts Diggory Venn saves Clym from the same fate. The last part of the novel sees the growth of a loving relationship and an eventual marriage between Thomasin and Diggory. Clym, greatly reduced by his tribulations and by the weakness of his eyes caused by too arduous studies, becomes a wandering preacher, only half taken seriously by the locals.