Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) was an English novelist and
poet. «The Return of the Native» illustrates the tragic potential of romantic illusion and how its protagonists fail to recognize their opportunities to control their own destinies. Tempestuous Eustacia Vye passes her days dreaming of passionate love and the
escape it may bring from the small community of Egdon Heath. Hearing that Clym Yeobright is to return from Paris, she sets her
heart on marrying him, believing that through him she can leave rural life and fi nd fulfi lment elsewhere. But Clym has dreams of
his own, and they have little in common with Eustacia’s. Their unhappy marriage causes havoc in the lives of those close to them: Damon Wildeve, Eustacia’s former lover, Clym’s mother and his
cousin Thomasin.