Fatalism in Thomas Hardy's "The Return of the Native"

Fatalism of Thomas Hardy as Shown in His Novel Return of the Native

The theme and concept of fatalism expressed in the Return of the Native is an important and pervasive element in all of Thomas Hardy's Works. Fatalism refers to the belief that human character and action is determined not by our will or desire, or ideas, but by something larger over which we have little control. "His deliberate theory is a sheer fatalism -- that human character and action are the inevitable result of laws of heredity and environment over which man has no control." (Fletcher R.H.)

In other words, environment, character and history as well as blind will influence the lives of men and women in Hardy's works. This is the seemingly pessimistic view that forms the background to many of his woks and is essentially the central background and theme in Return of the Native.

In order to understand the novels in terms the actions and motivations of the central characters it is very important to understand the underlying philosophy or worldview that informs Hardy's literary works. Hardy did not conceive of the world and universe as benevolent, nor did he believe that society offered the individual any real hope of happiness and success.

He did not believe that life in society could be lived successfully. In his view - and he never tired of repeating it- there was something fundamentally awry in the scheme of things; he even came to think of human emotion itself as a cruel flaw and mistake in creation. Thus the attempt to find consistent moral attitude in his novels is already wasted,

Furbank, P.N. p.13)

The above quotation points out two very important aspects that affect an interpretation of Hardy's work. The first is that "...there was something awry in the scheme of things." This means that Hardy felt that there was something wrong in the way that our world was constituted. This leads to his view that we are not in charge of out fate and that we are shaped, without our consent, by various contexts and factors beyond our control. The second aspect gleaned from the above quotation is that there little use in searching for moral or personal motivation in the novels. People often do things with no clear rational reason, but these actions usually have far reaching and profound effects on their lives and the lives of others, as will be seen from the following analysis.

Another important aspect to consider is the effect on Thomas hardy of the time and social environment in which he lived. This can be seen to have had a profound effect on his philosophy of fatalism. His pessimistic view of life where the outcome always seems to be tragic or unhappy was influenced by the intellectual and scientific movements of the age. When Hardy moved to London he, began to spend whole evenings reading such authors as Darwin, Shopenhauer and Mill, who strongly affected him and undermined his religious faith. This sense of fatalistic determinism also reflected scientific studies of the time on human heredity, which seemed to deprive man of all responsibility for his action. This led Hardy to work out of the idea of a kind of predestination, quite often predestination to failure, according to which all men fulfill their destiny without finding any help either in society, which oppresses and destroys them, or in love, which often leads to unhappiness.

Later Victorians:Thomas Hardy&Naturalism)

These and other influences of the time such as the deep questioning of the existential meaning of life may have had a profound effect on his fatalistic perception of existence. Many modern critics are of the opinion they the Return of the Native is one of his most successful works. One of the reasons for its present popularity may be that it deals with problems that are particularly appropriate to contemporary thought: such as the search for meaning in life and the existential crisis in society. The essence of Return of the Native is not just about a story of tragedy and failed relationships, rather the book questions the very meaning of existence and the possibly of happiness in the modern world. It is essentially a novel about human freedom.

Hardy was in conflict with the society and the accepted norms of the time. "The novel is at once his revolt against asceticism, Christian propriety, optimism, and the traditional expectations of love and marriage..."

Jekel 89) Furthermore, what is meant by Hardy's fatalism can be discerned in the following extract from the author's writings.

In an article on the Profitable Reading of Fiction (in the Forum, March 1888), Hardy writes of the "inevitableness of character and environment in working out destiny": and the influence of environment is again strongly stressed by one of his classifications of the novels

(Grimsditch 28)

Environment is particularly important in the Return of the Native. It is more than just the setting and the mood of the novel, but is a central "character" in its own right and is essential to a deeper understanding of the actions of the l characters. In the novel under discussion, environment refers to nature and Edgon Heath.

Anther central theme is the conflict between man and nature.

This novel shows the dominance of nature over man, stressing man's impermanence against the infinity of nature. This belief, also known as fatalism, is emphasized throughout the novel. This view is shared by the character of Clym Yeobright... But is contrasted by Eustacia Vye,

Hardy's Fatalistic View of Life)

All of the above aspects add to the understanding of the novel as an integrated artistic whole.

2. Characters

2.1. The Heath

While the Heath may not be a character in the conventional sense of the word, critics have pointed out that it plays a deeply significant role in the novel. The famous writer and critic, D.H, Lawrence, in his Study of Thomas Hardy, stated that the Heath is in fact the central focus of the book and is in reality more important than the human characters.

What is the real stuff in the book? It is the Heath. It is the primitive, primal earth, where the instinctive life heaves up. There, in the deep, rude stirrings of the instincts, there was the reality that worked the tragedy. Close to the body of things, there can be heard the stir that makes us and destroys us.

Lawrence, DH p 172.)

The above lines are important in understanding the issue of fatalism in the novel. According to Lawrence's interpretation, nature, as symbolized by the Heath, is a basic, pagan instinctive force which is the source of all life and humanity. Hardy was also aware of this as can be seen in his careful exposition of the Heath at the beginning of the book. The Heath is nature or fate and humanity is unknowingly part of this his greater undercurrent of life. The central point that Lawrence makes is that without insight and knowledge of this source of life, human aspirations and hopes are essentially doomed to failure and have little or no real significance in comparison to the larger scheme of things.

Lawrence continues his exposition on the Heath and clearly indicates how the Heath relates to the central characters in the novel.

The Heath heaved with raw instinct. Egdon, whose dark soil was strong and crude and organic as the body of a beast. Out of the body of this crude earth are born Eustacia, Wildeve, Mistress Yeobright, Clym, and all the others. They are a year's accidental crop. What matters if some are drowned or dead and others preaching or married: what matter, any more than the withering heath, the reddening berries, the seedy furze and the dead fern of one autumn of Egdon? The Heath persists. Its body is strong and Fecund, it will bear many more crops than this. Here is the somber, latent power that will go on producing, no matter what happens to the product. (ibid)

In other words, the heath is the source of the lives of the central characters and much more enduring and permanent than they are. While Lawrence sees knowledge of this source of life as the redeeming factor in his novels, there is no such redemption in Hardy; and Return of the Native, like his other works, is essentially fatalistic and immersed in pessimism.

Lawrence is not the only critic who is of the opinion that the Heath is central to the novel and to an understanding of the work. Grimsditch also sees the Heath in terms of personification.

The Return of the Native, by Thomas Hardy, begins with personification of a majestic heath, the setting for this novel: "The face of the heath by its mere complexion added half an hour to evening; it could... retard the dawn, sadden noon, anticipate the frowning of storms... And intensify the opacity of a moonless midnight to a cause of shaking and dread."

Grimsditch 55)

Critics have noted that the beginning of the novel, with its description of the Heath, is immensely powerful and sets the tone and the somber and brooding tenor of the novel. The Heath is described as "Ancient, unchanging, untamable, sombre and tremendous..." (ibid) www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=6200808

Grimsditch also sees a relationship of the Heath to the characters, particularly the character of Eustacia. "It is in accord with moods of loneliness, melancholy and even tragedy, and these moods predominate in the nature of its adopted child, Eustacia... " (ibid)

In essence the Heath represents the dominant mood and symbol of the book. It is against this background that the activities and relationships of the main characters are meant to be understood.

The heath is the dominant symbol of the work; indeed, some critics have called it the dominant character. Each character's response to the heath brands him inalterably in the scheme of Hardy's world. Wild, fertile, impassive, and primal, the heath provides the backdrop and the energy against which all action must be judged.

Jekel 90)

The above assessment by Jekel is founded on the intensity with which Hardy describes the area and its inner significance. The description of the Heath is full of latent power as well as a sense of impending doom.

The place became full of a watchful intentness now; for when other things sank brooding to sleep the heath appeared slowly to awake and listen. Every night its Titanic form seemed to await something; but it had waited thus, unmoved, during so many centuries, through the crises of so many things, that it could only be imagined to await one last crisis -- the final overthrow.

Hardy T. p 12).

The Heath has an almost malevolent and insidious quality. Jekel states that "The heath, then, is the major embodiment of all that is pagan in the novel, all that is nocturnal, untamed, rebellious, and the acceptance of its power is its inhabitants' only source of joy. "

Jekel 90)

An important aspect of the heath, which also plays a role in the character development in the novel, is the pagan quality that pervades the descriptions and the implied opposition to all Christian and conventional social standards. This aspect was essentially part of Hardy's word view in that he saw modern society and its ideologies as essentially bereft of meaning and substance.

Each choice in the novel opts for the pagan, for the non-Christian view. The city is seen as a false illusion, one to which Eustacia is drawn by its false glitter and one from which Clym has escaped back to his true "native" home. The heath, with its heathen rather than cultured associations, retains the real power in the novel, and its inhabitants

Jekel 91)

Grimsditch 58)

An interesting contrast to Eustacia and an important figure in terms of the theme of fatalism is Thomasin. She is described as mild, accommodating and subservient to those around her in many ways. She is not rebellious like Eustacia and she accepts her lot in Edgon Heath with a fatalistic attitude - even when she marries Wildeve, who she knows is not really the right partner for her. She is also described as being close to nature. It seems as if Hardy created an opposite to Eustacia to show the link between the Heath and compliant human nature; as opposed to the rebellion and desire for advancement that we see in Eustacia. Hardy uses numerous phrase ad images to suggest Thomasin's closeness to nature.

A fair, sweet, and honest country face was revealed, reposing in a nest of wavy chestnut hair. It was between pretty and beautiful. Though her eyes were closed, one could easily imagine the light necessarily shining in them as the culmination of the luminous workmanship around.... The scarlet of her lips had not had time to abate, and just now it appeared still more intense by the absence of the neighbouring and more transient colour of her cheek. The lips frequently parted, with a murmur of words. She seemed to belong rightly to a madrigal -- to require viewing through rhyme and harmony.

Hardy T. p. 44)

Her subservience and acceptance of life is also underlined by the fact that she seems unperturbed by being under her husband's thumb.

Tragedy and compromise

Tragedy in the novel results from the desire to escape the Heath and is aligned to flaws of character as well as to circumstances and situation.

There is a sense of doom and fatality that pervades the relationships and the occurrences that take place between the four central characters. On the one hand Eustacia and Wildeve are united in their hatred of the Heath which they feel "...presses like an incubus" on them Grimsditch 59). On the other hand characters like Thomasin and Venn feel at home on the Heath. There is an essential difference between the characters, marked by rebellion and the search for greater meaning as opposed to compromise and compliance. Those who accept the demands and disappointments of life on the Heath, and are satisfied with what nature dispenses, like Thomasin, lead a comfortable enough life; but one without any assertion of the self. Those who desire more than what fate and nature offer, seem doomed to tragedy in their strivings. Thomasin and Venn are "...simpler natures, whose spiritual and emotional needs are satisfied even in this grim place, and the desire for the intellectual and social movement of town circles has no part in their lives."

Grimsditch 59)

Clym is a character who is essentially less rebellious and more fatalistic than Eustacia. Tragedy strikes when he is blinded and although Eustacia is devastated by this, Clym tends to take this as part of life's plan. He is forced to make changes to his lifestyle as result of his blindness. This is of course a radical setback to his plans for teaching and educating the people of Egdon Heath. Estacia sees this, mainly from an egotistical point-of-view, as a destruction of any aspirations she might have had of leaving the Heath.

The semi-blindness of Clym is the last blow to all Eustacia's hopes of escape from Egdon. She has known that Clym intends to keep a school, but has trusted to her womanly persuasion to divert him from the project; and his misfortune adds one more burden to those she already bears. Clym's cheerfulness under privation, which would have been heroic had he only had himself to consider, amounts almost to callousness where Eustacia is concerned.

(Grimsditch 57)

Clym on the other hand does not despair and continues his life as best he can. He becomes a lowly furze-cutter. There is a sense of stoic and fatalistic compromise here that appalls the determined and rebellious Eustacia - and she later turns to Wildeve in a bid to escape the Heath.

Clym on the other hand compromises with the circumstances of his fate and even sings while he works. He is in unison with the fatalistic notion of reality that Hardy projects throughout the novel. In this sense he has more in common with the fatalism and acceptance of things as they are displayed by Thomasin.

Thomasin is a good example of the meaning of the fatalistic acceptance of life and circumstances in her relationship with Wildeve. She is well aware of his character and that he is not a perfect partner for her - especially after their first non-marriage. However she agrees to marry him again.

She is more concerned with the fact that if she does not marry Wildeve there will be gossip about her on the Heath, which she wishes to avoid. This is an example of her expectations of life. Her reason for accepting Wildeve clearly displays these aspects of her character, "I agreed to it... [because] I am a practical woman now. I do not believe in hearts at all. I would marry him under any circumstances..." (Hardy T. p.161) She is finally rewarded with happiness after Wildeve's death at the end of the novel,

The common people of the Heath celebrate their connection and closeness to nature though various rituals and dances. It is illustrative of the difference between the people of the Heath and Eustacia that she does not participate in these rituals but constructs a separate and individualistic ritual of her own. This also emphasizes her social isolation.

Eustacia's social isolation is reinforced in this scene when she builds her own bonfire, a symbol of man's Promethean rebelliousness and, particularly, her own egoism. At first the fire is thought to have been set by her grandfather, old Captain Vye; in reality, the bonfire has nothing to do with the community's traditional celebration.

Giordano 59)

In contrast to the passive acceptance of the people around her, Eustacia rails against circumstance and fate. At the beginning of the novel we encounter her as a lonely figure but one who seems to aspire to a higher ground than the Heath that surrounds her. Her willfulness and refusal to accept fate and a life on the Heath results in the final tragedy of her death. This is made even more tragic by the death of others, including Wildeve. Her death and its cause have been the source of much critical debate. Some critics are of the opinion that it is an accident and others see it in the light of a natural outcome and consequence of her rebellion and aversion to the Heath, and as an act of suicide. The suicide theory however fits more appropriately into the trajectory of the novel as a fatalistic tragedy.

As Giordano states "The idea that Eustacia commits suicide seems preferable to the "accidental" thesis. From start to finish, Eustacia is self-destructive."

Giordano 57)

Giordano goes on to present some interesting views about the reasons for her death, in terms of the themes of the novel

Because her adoption of various roles fails to satisfy her permanently, she is seen as vacillating between imaginative projections of herself and submissiveness to external ideals she herself creates, such as her lover Wildeve and her husband Clym. As neither of these forms of idealization satisfies permanently, she despairs and ends her life. Paradoxically, the consistency and integrity of Hardy's portrait of a suicide require that we acknowledge the ultimate irreconcilability of alternative forces in Eustacia's nature.

Giordano 57)

In essence she dies because she cannot attain any sense of true self -identity or selfhood outside of the Heath. In terms of Hardy's pessimistic view of life, she has to die as she transgresses or attempts to go against the fate that the Heath, as nature, prescribes for us. Unlike other characters like Thomasin, Eustacia is driven to a fate that was predetermined from the beginning of the book by her very character as an outsider. "From her initial appearance in the novel, when she is seen standing 'so dead still' in her 'extraordinary fixity, her conspicuous loneliness,' Eustacia Vye is separated from the community and associated with isolation and death."

Giordano 58)

4. Conclusion

The novel seems to suggest, though an analysis of the characters, that there is no escape from the Heath. In symbolic terms this means that there is no escape for the innate nature of the reality of character and circumstance and that our desires and dream are relatively insignificant in the larger scheme of things. Fatalism is expressed through the various characters in their relationships with one another and in the central flaws and mistakes that they make.

Hardy uses the atmosphere and the solid organic life of the Egdon Heath as a background and support on which to paint his literary impression of modern life. Part of the fascination that many critics have for his work is the sense a larger and alien world that surrounds and informs the peculiarities and small details of human life.

This is the wonder of Hardy's novels, and gives them their beauty. The vast unexplored morality of life itself, what we call the immorality of nature, surrounds us in its eternal incomprehensibility. And in its midst goes on the little human morality play, with its queer frame of morality and its mechanised movement; seriously, portentously, till one of the protagonists chances to look out of the charmed circle, weary of the stage, to look into the wilderness raging round. Then he is lost, his little drama falls to pieces, or becomes mere repetition, but the stupendous theatre outside goes on enacting its own incomprehensible drama, untouched.

Lawrence, DH p. 176)

In these words, I think Lawrence captures the mystery and the fascination of Hardy's sense of fatalism. In the end it is Hardy's pessimism as well as his realism that disturbs us and which makes us question the meaning of existence.

The novel presents us with a range of complex issues to think about. For example, Clym's fate is to be resigned to the Heath and his blindness. However, while his composure and acceptance of things that he cannot change is laudable to a certain extent, there is a sense of loss and denial of his true nature in his actions. The question that the novel leaves us with whether we should surge and fight against the restrictions of fate, as Eustacia does, or accept our confined world as fate seems to decree. Grimsditch sums up this dilemma with reference to Clym.

There is something great in the serenity with which he follows his fixed purpose and bears his misfortune, but there is also something chilly and adamantine. The great man, according to Carlyle, must be consumed by an inward fire.

Grimsditch 122)