The Return of the Native
Thomas Hardy
In The Return of the Native, Victorian novelist Thomas Hardy describes the tragic consequences of illicit romance and failed ambition. Clym Yeobright and Damon Wildeve become involved with exotic Eustacia Vye, but society and fate deny happiness to all. The essence of Thomas Hardy's The Return of the Native is desire, expectation, and frustration — factors that underscore Hardy's belief that man lives in a universe that is, at the very least, indifferent.