The Return of the Native Study Guide

Thomas Hardy was the son of a stonemason and a well-educated woman who served as his teacher throughout his early childhood. Hardy’s family wasn’t particularly wealthy, and though he received some schooling, his parents did not have the means to send their son to college. Instead, Hardy became an architect’s apprentice; he worked as an architect into the 1860s, when he began his writing career. He started off writing poetry but remained unsuccessful. In 1868, he finished his first novel, The Poor Man and the Lady, but couldn’t find anyone to publish it. Hardy’s next attempt was 1871’s Desperate Remedies, which did find a publisher, although it wasn’t successful. Hardy finally achieved success in 1874 with Far from the Madding Crowd, which allowed him quit his day job and focus entirely on writing. Over the next two decades, Hardy published a number of works that are now considered classic works of English literature, including The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891), and Jude the Obscure (1895). Although Hardy never found success as a poet in his lifetime, he never stopped writing poetry. After his death, poets such as Ezra Pound and W. H. Auden revived Hardy’s poetry, and it played an important role in shaping the landscape of modernist poetry.

A crucial feature of Egdon Heath, the setting of The Return of the Native, is that it has not been touched by civilization. As such, most of the characters in the novel are not affected by notable historical events. The one exception is Clym, who does get a taste of the outside world by traveling to Paris. The novel takes place in the middle of the 19th century, during which time Paris was considered one of the cultural capitals of the world. Along with London, Paris was where one would go to start a business, take in great works of art, and marvel at technological advances. Clym shuns Paris, however, and prefers the simple life of the heath to the hustle and bustle of a big city. Another important historical context to consider when reading The Return of the Native is that it was published in Victorian England, which was noted for its sexual repression. Although it may seem relatively tame today, The Return of the Native was shocking to many of its initial readers because it features passages about adultery.

The Return of the Native is a work of literary naturalism, a movement that is similar to literary realism, although with a number of key differences. In particular, literary naturalism is interested in determinism and the overwhelming power of nature in comparison to humankind. The leader of literary naturalism is French author Émile Zola, and other notable authors include Stephen Crane, Frank Norris, Jack London, and Edith Wharton. Important naturalist works include London’s The Call of the Wild, Wharton’s The House of Mirth, and Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage. Many of the important literary naturalists are American, which makes Hardy something of an outlier. Hardy was also influenced by the British realist tradition, notably the novels of George Eliot. Additionally, The Return of the Native’s relatively frank portrayal of adultery paved the way for modernist novels like Henry James’s The Golden Bowl and D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover, which featured frank depictions of sexuality and infidelity.