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The Return of the Native
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The Return of the Native - Book Three
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Dianne
(last edited Jun 18, 2017 07:47PM)
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Jun 18, 2017 07:46PM
Book Three - Clym shocks the heath dwellers by revealing that he intends to stay to open a school rather than return to the glory of Paris (which actually he didn't seem to care for too much). He loves the land, he loves the people, and he has a noble goal to educate those who are less fortunate. Clym becomes enamored of Eustacia, and eventually asks her to marry him. She demurs, and seems to have concerns about his desire to stay on the heath rather than return to Paris, which she would much prefer. Mrs. Yeobright is horrified by the relationship, and it divides mother and son. Meanwhile, in typical Wildeve fashion, he becomes jealous upon hearing of the upcoming nuptials. Mrs. Yeobright refuses to go to the wedding, but sends 100 guineas to be split between Thomasin and Clym. Unfortunately, Christian, who has been sent to transmit the money, gambles it away and loses the entire sum to Wildeve. Fortunately, Venn witnesses the whole thing (does he spy on EVERYTHING??) and manages to win back the whole sum, which he gives in its entirety to Thomasin, not realizing that half belongs to Clym.
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A few questions on this section: 1. The loss of Clym's money is alluded to as portending tragedy. What do you suspect happens? Will Eustacia stick around if there is financial demise? Why does she agree to marry Clym anyways?
2. What does this section reveal about the importance of community opinion?
3. Why do you think Eustacia does not want to reveal that she was a mummer to Clym?
4. What does Paris represent to the various characters in the novel?
More later but just wanted to say that as a completely urban born and bred Londoner, I loved the dice scene where Wildeve finds 13 gloworms to light the game!
Dianne wrote: "What does Paris represent to the various characters in the novel?"Interesting question - perhaps it represents the same things but different characters value those qualities differently. So for Eustacia, Paris is glamour and sophistication, urban activity, excitement, change, modernity, material wealth.
Clym seems to see it in the same way only where Eustacia yearns for all those things, Clym rejects them wanting to return to the rural traditions of the heath. His sense of making progress in life isn't about managing his diamond business, but educating the rural workers. Paris seems to epitomise the progressive urban life he wants to turn away from.
These two disparate, oppositional ways of reacting to geography mimics the different ways Eustacia and Clym think about the heath: she hates what he loves - doesn't bode well!
Mod
Dianne wrote: "Fortunately, Venn witnesses the whole thing (does he spy on EVERYTHING??) ."And weren't we told not long ago that he had left the Heath and wouldn't be seen again for quite a while? Yet here he is suddenly popping up at the most opportune moment.
A quiz for those who haven't read the book and haven't read ahead:1. Will Wildeve and Thomasin still be married at the end of the book? (Or in five years, if the book extends out longer than that)?
2. Will Clym and Eustacia still be married at the end of the book? (Or in five years, if the book extends out longer than that)?
3. Will Eustacia get Clym to return to Paris?
Robin wrote: "I wonder if the rural people are going to appreciate Clym's new dedication."Ha - quite telling that this doesn't occur to him. And the idea of Eustacia as a fellow teacher...! A brilliant way of illuminating Clym's illusions without telling us anything in a bald exposition.
Just finished Book 3. Hardy is certainly full of hints that things are going to get worse. The rural world is not ripe" for Clym Yeobright, who has the best of intentions, Venn's giving all the guineas to Thomasin will have repercussions we cannot imagine. Druidical stones, pots of charnel bones. And this little gem:“the cruel satires that Fate loves to indulge in."
LindaH wrote: "And this little gem:“the cruel satires that Fate loves to indulge in." "
That's vintage Hardy.
"the cruel Fates that Hardy loves to indulge in."I don't find Clym nearly as interesting as Eustacia.
Mod
I feel differently about Clym. He is so sensible, not falling for the lures of Paris when he could have had a successful business life there, struggling emotionally to maintain his relationship with his mother when she rants against him and tries to control him, wanting to help the uneducated in the backwards land he loves. It may be unfair to judge him by our current values.
LindaH wrote: "I feel differently about Clym. He is so sensible, not falling for the lures of Paris when he could have had a successful business life there, struggling emotionally to maintain his relationship wit..."I agree with you. He's not flashy, but he's solid and compassionate.
LindaH wrote: "I feel differently about Clym. He is so sensible, not falling for the lures of Paris when he could have had a successful business life there, struggling emotionally to maintain his relationship wit..."I like Clym too. I find Eustacia a fairly worthless human being but I could be being influenced by my audio reader (Simon Vance I think) who is voicing her as breathless and very OTT. As she is being voiced as a total twerp I am perhaps finding it difficult to think of her as anything but.
I do agree that his teaching scheme wasn't particulary practical but perhaps that's just his personality. At least he seems to care about others. He chose a terrible match in Eustacia though as she clearly doesn't care about anything other than herself.
Is she a twerp by 1850's standards? And what's OTT?
Rochelle wrote: "And what's OTT?"Over the Top, presumably.
Mod
Everyman, I am going to guess that something will happen to Wildeve,Thomasin will end up with Diggory Venn, Eustacia will convince Clym to take her to Paris and there run off with someone wealthier and Clym will return sadder and wiser and open his school by himself. Not a spoiler, just pure speculation!
Mod
(Yeobright) had reached the stage in a young man's life when the grimness of the general human situation first becomes clear; and the realization of this causes ambition to halt awhile. In France it is not uncustomary to commit suicide at this stage; in England we do much better, or much worse, as the case may be.
After Clym's sudden proposal to be married in two weeks
Eustacia was now no longer the goddess but the woman to him, a being to fight for, support, help, be maligned for. Now that he had reached a cooler moment he would have preferred a less hasty marriage; but the card was laid, and he determined to abide by the game. Whether Eustacia was to add one other the the list of those who love too hotly to love long and well, the forthcoming event was certainly a ready way of proving.
And finally, this explanation of Wildeve:
To be yearning for the difficult, to be weary of that offered; to care for the remote, to dislike the near; it was Wildeve's nature always. This is the true mark of the man of sentiment. Though Wildeve's fevered feeling had not been elaborated to real poetical compass, it was of the standard sort. He might have been called the Rousseau of Egdon.
Sadly, the above bodes ill for poor Thomasin.
Brit humor...
Frances wrote: I was quite taken aback by how stern and unyielding Mrs Yeobright was-I can certainly understand her disliking Eustacia and expecting the marriage will be a disaster, but to turn your son out and not attend his wedding because you dislike the bride (and she hasn't done anything terrible that is generally known) seems very harsh. She is a pretty hard woman - I think her treatment of Thomasin showed that although she cares at heart she is the type of person who believes that she has license to say whatever she likes without considering how hurtful those words can be - 'speaking her mind freely'. Having had only Thomasin to lash with her tongue has no doubt been very bad for her as Thomasin is a) a woman, b) weak natured, c) dependent on her. Without any proper opposition I think that Mrs Yeobright has likely grown harsher and more 'outspoken' until now she has all the makings of a tyrant but she lacks the power to enforce her will on her son if he rejects her authority. Now she has encountered her son's nature in a point that he isn't going to yield on (obviously not - it is arrant stupidity on Mrs Yeobright's part to think that he would) and because she has lost the ability to tolerate dissent it led to this rupture which I consider entirely her own fault.
No doubt she'll play the self pitying 'but I'm his mother, alone, bereft, woe is meeee! card. The money division is her attempt to reach out to her son without having to actually reach out. She's possibly the proudest character in a whole panoply of proud characters!
Oh My God, the DICE GAME! That was some delightful writing! I nearly choked with Venn quietly repeating, "Won back his coat. Won back his hat..." Hilarious! I loved watching Wildeve lose his cool to the cooler guy after taking advantage of poor, hapless Christian.
