In the scene of the first meeting between Clym and Eustacia, Hardy makes the young woman the instigator of the encounter; however, since she has disguised herself as a mummer, she is not at first recognized as even a woman. When she is, she is in no position to reveal her identity since her appearance may strike Clym as merely whimsical. But in the scene of the second meeting, Clym is the instigator, though of course Eustacia makes sure she is available to meet him. She is more than willing to prolong the conversation with him and puts up with an injury to her hand with very little complaint. She shows her interest in him, in part, by frankly expressing her opinion of Egdon Heath, perhaps thinking he will share it or at least challenging him in her comment.
The scene in which Eustacia finally agrees to marry Clym occurs on Rainbarrow and is lighted by a moon that slowly moves into an eclipse. The symbolism of Rainbarrow has already been mentioned, and certainly Clym's meeting Eustacia here, as Wildeve has before, is a sign of his moving into her orbit. If Rainbarrow symbolizes her view of life, Egdon Heath might be said to symbolize Clym's. It might be added that Paris appears here and elsewhere as an ambiguous symbol: it represents all that is lively and worth living for to Eustacia and all that is idle and valueless to Clym.
Hardy's use of the moon as a symbol is noteworthy. When Eustacia makes her appearance on Rainbarrow, the moon begins to go into eclipse; by the time she has promised to marry Clym and they part, the eclipse is almost full. The significance for both their lives is plain enough. When Clym observes the moon before the eclipse and Eustacia's arrival, he sees it as perhaps "some world where personal ambition [is] not the only recognized form of progress" and imagines himself exploring its solitary wildness. Eustacia, after agreeing to marry Clym, reads into it her own meaning: "Clym, the eclipsed moonlight shines upon your face with a strange foreign color, and shows its shape as if it were cut out in gold. That means that you should be doing better things than this." Both readings are idealistic and romantic but represent conflicting images.
