When Mrs. Yeobright and Clym quarrel over his love of Eustacia and he feels forced to leave his mother's house, he decides he and Eustacia should marry right away and live for a time on the heath. Clym finds a cottage and moves from home, leaving his mother disconsolate and bitter. Wildeve's interest in Eustacia revives when he hears of her approaching marriage.
On the occasion of their marriage, Mrs. Yeobright decides to send a gift of money. Her son, Clym, is marrying Eustacia against her wishes, and she hopes that, by offering this gift, she and her son can repair their relationship. The other half of the money is to go to her niece, Thomasin, who has recently married Damon Wildeve, Eustacia's former lover. Unfortunately, Mrs. Yeobright selects as her messenger the inept Christian Cantle, the village simpleton. Cantle loses the money gambling with Wildeve, who wants revenge on his wife's aunt for not trusting him with the money. Venn, protecting Thomasin, wins it back from Wildeve, but not understanding that part of it should go to Clym, Venn he delivers it all to Thomasin.
Eustacia and Clym for a time live a secluded life. When Mrs. Yeobright receives no response from Clym about the money, she calls on Eustacia, and they quarrel bitterly. Clym, hurrying his study to be a teacher so as to pacify the impatient Eustacia, develops severe eye trouble and is forced to suspend his work. To his wife's dismay, he takes up furze cutting (furze is a low, prickly shrub) as a way of making a little money and getting exercise. To Eustacia, this is a far cry from what she yearns for — the gay life of the great world, especially as represented by Paris — and since Clym had business and connections in Paris, Eustacia saw him as a way out of her constrained life on the heath. To compensate, she goes to a gipsying (a dance) and unexpectedly encounters Wildeve and dances with him. Venn sees them together and attempts to discourage Wildeve's loitering around Clym's house at night.
