The Return of the Native
by
Thomas Hardy
(Egdon Heath)
Egdon
Heath is the fictitious name given by Hardy to Shadland Heath which is an area of
moorland between Dorchester and Bournemouth in Dorset in England. It is the
background for the whole of Hardy’s novel The Return of the Native. The
novelist views the place in its historical perspective. “It is pleasant” says
the novelist, “to dream that some spot in the extensive tract whose
south-western quarter is here described may be the heath of that traditionary King
of Wessex––Lear which is the place described in Shakespeare’s tragedy of that
name.
The
novel opens with a description of Egdon Heath. It is the place which had
existed even prior to Roman and Norman conquests of England. It presents a face
upon which time has made no mark and civilization has never been its ally. It
nature is dark and except in summer it is hateful of day light.
Because
of the vividness of its description it has been suggested that instead of being
only the background for human drama Egdon Heath is a living identity that makes
its contribution as an active agent in that drama. It has its own character.
Night falls here earlier than anywhere else. Furze -cutting has been the
traditional occupation of its favorite inhabitants and they have never been
ambitious. “Looking upward”, writes Hardy about the place, “a Furze-cutter
would have been inclined to continue to work: looking down he would have decided
to finish his faggot and go home”. Since night falls here earlier lighting
bonfire in the evening has been the customary practice of the people of this
place. It is only when March approaches that there is some visible change on
the face of Egdon. Egdon then shows “its first faint signs of awakening from
winter trance. The awakening was almost feline in its stealthiness” and the
sound of bumblebees that “flew hither and thither in the thickening light,
their drone coming and going like the sound of a gong”.
The
powerful influence of the Heath is pervasive. The Greek drama with the unities
of place and purpose is enacted here. The rustic characters, as in a Greek
drama, provide the chorus and they are free to comment on the behaviour and
action of the major characters. Civilization is the villain and it comes to
disturb the placid quality of its unruffled life. Those who love it and
surrender to its charms are its chosen sons and daughters and those who are
against and hate it cannot escape its powerful hold.
What
is most hateful to Egdon is the onslaught of civilization on it. From this
point of view Wildieve is the only villainous character in the novel. It is he
who plays havoc with his modern ideas and disturbs the peaceful life of its
inhabitants. The hateful point from Egdon’s point of view is that Wildieve
being himself married plays sexual politics with Eustacia who is herself
married to Clym.
But
apart from the reddleman Egdon Heath is much better represented by its simple folk
consisting of low characters like Timothy Fairways, Olly Dowden, Willy Orchard,
Christian Candle and others. They are the true representatives of Egdon for
they represent the eternal life of Egdon. Characters like Clym, Wildieve,
Euastcia may come and go but these low rustic characters have been living there
forever. These low characters maintain the traditions, customs, superstitions,
the simple and unadorned ways of their living and their archaic and their
unsophisticated low expressions and their rustic language keeps Egdon eternally
alive, living and animating.
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