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Book 1, Chapter 1
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Return of the Native, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Humans vs. Nature
Modernity vs. Tradition
Class and Morality
Deception
Summary
Analysis
An old man (Captain Vye) walks along the highway north of Egdon Heath where he comes across a reddleman and his wagon. The two walk together for a while, mostly in silence, and the old man notices that the reddleman is concerned about something in his wagon. Then, the old man hears a cry come from the wagon. When he asks the reddleman about the cry, the reddleman tells him that it came from a young woman he is transporting who cried out in her sleep because she is not used to travel. The old man presses the reddleman for more information about the woman’s identity, which makes the reddleman uncomfortable. The reddleman cuts off the conversation, telling the old man that he plans to stop and rest for a while.
A reddleman is someone who sells red ochre to farmers—red ochre is used to dye sheep wool. Because they constantly handled red ochre, reddlemen’s skin would turn red, making the job undesirable to most people. The nosiness that the reddleman exhibits in this scene suggests that an interest in knowing others’ business is typical of people who lives on Egdon Heath.
Themes
Literary Devices
As the old man continues on his way, the reddleman looks up at a large barrow sitting on Egdon Heath. There, he sees a motionless figure standing so still that it seems to be part of the structure. Suddenly, the figure moves, and the reddleman can tell that it is a woman. It’s not long before the woman vanishes. In her place appear a number of other figures carrying something, which they deposit on top of the barrow. It appears that whatever the woman was doing was unrelated to the project of the other figures, though it seems she made an effort to avoid them.
The woman appears to not want to be seen—otherwise, she wouldn’t be standing so still and making a special effort to avoid the other figures. She also seems uninterested in associating with members of her community. The reader’s first impression of her is that she flees from social interaction. At this point, for the other characters—and the reader, too—the woman remains a figure shrouded in mystery.
Themes
