Victorians! discussion

Thomasin goes to live with her cousin Clym, both shattered by the deaths of their spouses. When Thomasin recovers, she gets into closer contact to Diggory who has bought the dairy that once belonged to his father, and is no longer a reddleman. When the people set up a Maypole at her house, Thomasin discovers Diggory waiting for the moonlight to look for a girl´s glove that she has lost. Thomasin wonders who she may be, only to find out it was her own glove that her maid lost. Clym, who has withdrawn, thinks Thomasin wants to fulfil his mother´s wish and offers her marriage. Before he can do so, she asks him if she can marry Diggory, now he´s no longer a reddleman. The chapter and novel ends with people stuffing a feather mattress for the newlyweds. Clym who doesn´t feel like attending Thomasin and Diggory´s celebrations after their marriage goes to live as a preacher.

Poor Thomasin has to live with a girl called Eustacia, but she doesn´t seem to mind, and finds new happiness in the girl and a new marriage. Clym on the other hand feels like he has used all his loving ability. A pity he can´t realize his hopes to build a school.

I wonder what you thought about the "happy ending", which obviously Hardy hadn´t planned, but later said he wanted the reader to choose?
It was a bit peculiar to me to see Diggory get into a "middle-class" life.

Despite the pleasant endings for the survivors, The Return of the Native is a pretty dark story. I'm fine with that.
During a walk with my dog today, I was thinking about Hardy's writing. For some reason, even though I've been in love with Hardy for 30 years, and maybe because of that, it never occurred to me how little he makes use of humor. I don't know if he was a funny man to be around. If he was, then he made a conscious decision to minimize humor in his works. I'm not saying there's none, but it's not a prominent part of his novels. And plenty of writers have used humor to counterbalance serious or tragic stories. I need to look closer at this as I start my way through his books for second readings.
The other thought that occurred to me is how my tastes have probably changed over the years. To me, each of Hardy's books is a treasure, but earlier favorites, including The Return of the Native, seem to have been surpassed in my mind by others, even some less famous ones like The Woodlanders and Two on a Tower.

From what I understand it was common for authors who were writing in the serial form to make changes from the initial plan based on fan feedback.

Clym's ending seems to me an example of "Be careful of what you wish for". He ends up trying to improve the locals not as a teacher with a school but as an lonely itinerant preacher. Ad Hardy notes it is not so much what he preaches but his life story that people are drawn too.

Thank you Michaela for organizing this. Please pardon my horrible spelling and grammar. I have never quite learned to type on a smart phone keypad. My thoughts tend to outpace my typing. It is so nice to make new acquaintances.

I found it soothing that Hardy had two funny stories in the end that brought out smiles. I smiled at Clym who left the area all together, so as to avoid Thomasin finding him at the maypole dance. And I smiled at Hardy’s humorous placement of the glove, of Thomasin glooming disappointed and warm relief when she found out it was hers.

Thank you so much for the discussion, Michaela, Michael and Brian!

Thanks, everyone!

Thanks Charlotte, Michael and Brian for adding your thoughts, and I hope more will decide to read this novel, as the threads will stay open. :)

If you are interested someone on YouTube uploaded the only adaptation of the novel. It was produced in the late 1980s1994. A young Catherine Zeta Jones and Clive Owen play Eustacia and Wildeve. The acting is very wooden. Although the scenery is nice as it was filmed at Dartmoor National Park.

Yeah, my wife and I watched it again the night before last. The only thing I disliked was the scenery chosen to portray the heath. I think they got the hills right, but the landscape was too barren - not enough dense vegetation. I liked the casting choices.

Thanks for the tip Michael!

MichaelK19thCFan wrote: "If you are interested someone on YouTube uploaded the only adaptation of the novel. It was produced in the late 1980s. A young Catherine Zeta Jones and Clive Owen play Eustacia and Wildeve. The act..."

When we started reading the book I regret that I saw a picture of Catherine Zeta-Jones. That disturbed me when reading, because I think she is the most beautiful woman on earth. The reality of Catherine interfered with developing a fantasy of Eustacia.

Was she the vision you had in mind when reading?

When I first read the novel around 1992 I did not know about Catherine Zeta-Jones. I never really had a specific vision just more focused on the eyes, hair, alabaster skin, and some Junoesque presence.

The closest visual I have is this painting I love from the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC:

https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-ob...

I imagine Eustacia more proud and cold whereas my impression of Catherine is more sweetness and likeability. But she has the exact mouth that I envisioned.