Return of the Native

1. Return of the Native Thomas Hardy

2. Victorian Era • Lasted from 1837 when Queen Victoria took the throne until around 1901 • Described as “old-fashioned,” “repressed,” “prudish” • The introduction of evolution brought on an age of great religious doubt. • unsure how to reconcile Darwin’s theories with the fundamentals of the Bible • Innovation & Change • Movements towards democracy, feminism, labor unions industrialization, theories of Marx (Communism), Freud (Psychoanalysis), & Darwin (Origin of Species) • Literature: • middle class values, heroes are often rational men of virtue, human nature • basically “good” • Social Injustice • Hardy upheld some Victorian values, but for the most part his novels challenged them

3. Thomas Hardy • Born in Dorsetshire or Dorchester June 2, 1840 • A self-made man. • He had no formal education. • taught by his mother until he was 8 • Hardy felt as if he had been cheated out of the opportunities a formal education would have n him. • He was apprenticed to a church architect in Dorchester at the age of 16

4. Thomas Hardy • At 22 he moved to London and worked as an architectural draftsman • writing was a major interest of his, • He married his first wife, Emma Livinia Gifford during this time • In 1882, after he had begun writing steady as an occupation, he moved away from London back to Dorchester and built his home Max Gate. • His wife died in 1912. He then married his secretary, Florence Emily Dugdale, two years later.

5. Author Philosophies • Hardy was deeply influenced by Darwin’s theory of evolution. • He was an agnostic (humanity was subject to fate and mere coincidence) • Hardy’s struggle with this is evident in his writing – he tends to be pessimistic. • However, he called himself a “meliorist,” • humans could improve the conditions of the world if they could recognize evil

6. Writings • After first great success in 1874, Far From the Maddening Crowd, he was able to devote himself to writing • Considered himself a poet • Novels tend to be tragic: • Emphasize fate and destiny, chance and coincidence, misunderstandings, environmental factors beyond human control • Writings less accepted by the public at the time (too pessimistic/scandalous in nature) so he returned to poetry

7. ROTN • How does the community in which you live affect your daily life? How is it different than other parts of the world? • Think about your friends, family, and/or community. If the only people you come into contact with are from your community, how does it affect your life? • If someone goes against traditions or beliefs of a community, what is the result? • Hardy personifies Egdon Heath. If your home took the form of an actual human character, what form would it take? Consider its age, social status, demeanor . . . Why would you choose these characteristics?

8. ROTN • Published 1878 • The setting, Egdon Heath, is personified • Clym Yeobright is the native that returns to Egdon Heath • Mrs. Yeobright is Clym’s aunt • Thomasin Yeobright is Clym’s cousin and Mrs. Yeobright’s daughter.

9. ROTN • Diggory Venn is a reddleman, • Eustacia Vye is a beautiful young woman who is also very mysterious. • Damon Wildeve is considered a lady-killer or a player.

10. Things to watch for: • The characters are descended from the Celts, so they are highly superstitious. These superstitions often offer a bit of comic relief. • Does Hardy’s pessimism color the novel? Do we get the sense that the characters are doomed? Are there any real heroes in the novel? • Are the romantic relationships portrayed as positive or negative? Do any of the main characters seem to REALLY love each other? • The elements of the heath: earth, fire, air, water are used symbolically – be thinking about what their symbolic meanings may be while reading • Hardy uses imagery very effectively, painting a picture of the heath for the reader

11. Things to watch for: • Use of irony • Diggory Venn’s actions • Thomasin’s marriage to Damon • Eustacia’s marriage to Clym • Mrs. Yeobright’s actions • Others • The novel as a tragedy • Egdon Heath as a character • Hardy’s use of classical unities and the heath people as a Greek chorus • Unity of time • Unity of place • Unity of action

12. Themes: • The physical stage is central and enduring while the mortals who appear upon it are transient and soon forgotten • Chance and coincidence play a vital role in human affairs. • An individual’s heroic struggle against destiny, while admirable in some ways, is less likely to be rewarded on Earth than in a passive acceptance of circumstances. • The supernatural may and probably does play a role in people’s lives. • People are largely at the mercy of fate, or destiny, as they struggle to survive and fulfill their aspirations in a indifferent, sometimes hostile environment.