The Return Of The Native

Tempestuous Eustacia Vye passes her days dreaming of passionate love and the escape it may bring from the small community of Egdon H eath. Hearing that Clym Yeobright is to return from Paris, she sets her heart on marrying him, believing that through him she can l eave rural life and find fulfilment elsewhere. But she is to be disappointed, for Clym has dreams of his own, and they have little i n common with Eustacia?s. Their unhappy marriage causes havoc in the lives of those close to them, in particular Damon Wildeve, Eust acia?s former lover, Clym?s mother and his cousin Thomasin. The Return of the Native illustrates the tragic potential of romantic il lusion and how its protagonists fail to recognize their opportunities to control their own destinies.

• author: Thomas Hardy