The Role of the Heath in Hardys Return of the Native Essay -- Return

The Role of the Heath in Hardy's Return of the Native "Nature is the most thrifty thing in the world; she never wastes anything; she undergoes change, but there is no annihilation, the essence remains - matter is eternal," philosophizes Horace Binney. Egdon Heath, in Thomas Hardy's Return of the Native, behaves as Nature does in this quotation -- it undergoes seasonal shifts, but its essential quality remains. The heath takes on the role of a static influence on the characters' relationships and circumstances, demonstrating the unchanging nature of human experience through its own seasonal shifts, but still unaltered essence of tragedy. As the story opens, it is November fifth, in the early winter. The beginning of winter is also the beginning of a troubled time for Thomasin. She goes with Wildeve to Anglebury to marry him in the morning of November fifth, but returns that evening, unmarried, in the back of the reddleman's wagon. Mrs. Yeobright, Thomasin's aunt and guardian, expresses her grief -- "When it gets known there will be a very unpleasant time for us" (49). Though it was not Thomasin's fault that she did not marry Wildeve, as there was a problem with the marriage license, people still consider it a scandal and a great disgrace to her and her family. This time of depression, in which Thomasin does not even leave the house out of shame, lasts until Thomasin finally does marry Wildeve, after an extended period of waiting. It is not until after Christmas that they finally wed. The depressing quality of the winter season reflects this dreary and disheartening time. Nature and seasonal changes reflect human natu re and situations on the heath. As spring, "the green or young fern period", begins, so does a relationshi... ...r, this time the night is darker, and the despair is greater. The heath ends Eustacia and Wildeve's life in Shadwater Weir as darkness closes in on the heath for the winter. The characters cannot control nature; it instead reflects their own relationships and situations. The seasons have come full circle and so has tragedy. The heath is back to its original state, as are Clym and Thomasin -- merely a bit older and a bit sadder, just as the heath itself. While the seasons change things for a time, the situation eventually reverts to its original state. The essence of the heath is tragic, and will always recover to that condition, just as human experience is unchanging. Indeed, "the untamable...thing that Egdon now was it always had been" and will always continue to be (14). Works Cited Hardy, Thomas. The Return of the Native. New York: Signet Classic, 1987.