HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

The Return of The Native [821-311.2] by…
Loading...

The Return of The Native [821-311.2] (original 1878; edition 1960)

by Thomas Hardy

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
7,879921,112 (3.93)469
Dip into a classic work of fiction that many critics regard as one of the novels that helped to usher in the modern era of literature. When it was originally published, Thomas Hardy's The Return of the Native rocked Victorian England with its frank discussion of titillating subjects such as out-of-wedlock relationships. Today, the novel offers readers a fascinating glimpse into the mores and moral constraints of a bygone era.… (more)
Member:amcorner
Title:The Return of The Native [821-311.2]
Authors:Thomas Hardy
Info:Signet (1960), Paperback, 413 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:classical novel

Work Information

The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy (Author) (1878)

  1. 20
    Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy (Porua)
    Porua: I would like to recommend another Thomas Hardy novel, Far from the Madding Crowd. When I first read The Return of the Native it kind of surprised me to see how very similar it is to Far from the Madding Crowd. They are very similar in their story lines, characterization and narrative style.… (more)
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 469 mentions

English (91)  French (1)  All languages (92)
Showing 1-5 of 91 (next | show all)
Couldn't put it down! ( )
  CADesertReader | Feb 12, 2024 |
This is being read as part of the local Hardy reading group.

This is the first book that I've been able to read with some level of ease - the others' I have struggled at one level or another.

It is a story of mixed connections, lost (and re-found) loves, disappointments and misunderstandings. Very few lives are not altered in some way. Eustacia Vye wishes to escape the desolation and isolation of Egdon Heath, and believes that Clym, returning from Paris, will be the ticket to her escape. However, his dislike of Paris - the main cause of his return - plus a subsequent illness, ensures that Eustacia is further chained to the Heath, her chances of escape ruined.


Clym's cousin, Thomasin, becomes married Wildeve, despite his previous and unresolved dalliance with Eusticia. No one really ever settles, and it all ends in disaster. The heath is another character in this book, presenting an isolating force in the book and enforcing a loneliness on the likes of Eusticia by living so far from her nearest neighbours. Had she - had anyone - lived closer to each other, would things have happened differently?
( )
  nordie | Oct 14, 2023 |
This classic of British literature was great, despite everyone in it being a hot mess, each in their own way. I loved the tension between love vs. possession and nature vs. society, and Hardy's descriptions of the heath were very evocative, if occasionally over-long. Eustacia is a piece of work, Clym is a boring milquetoast, Wildeve is a d-bag, and Thomasin would benefit from some 21st century ideas of agency. Yes, I'm being a bit flip and reductive, but I truly did enjoy listening to this, especially as read by Alan Rickman. It was my first Hardy but I don't think it will be my last. ( )
4 vote katiekrug | Jan 14, 2023 |
Hardy at his best. First tier in storytelling, character development, and use of language and description. It is like being served a feast to listen to Hardy entone over the features of the heath. The wet young beeches were undergoing amputations, bruises, cripplings, and harsh lacertations, from which the wasting sap would bleed for many a day to come, and which would leave scars visible till the day of their burning. Each stem was wrenched at the root, where it moved like a bone in its socket, and at every onset of the gale convulsive sounds came from the branches, as if pain were felt" So real and bleak and unforgiving a place, yet so full of love and loveliness and longing.

Was there ever a more heartbreaking woman than Eustacia Vye? I feel so deeply for her angst at being misplaced in Egdon and pity her dreams and desires of another world (which most likely does not exist in the way that she believes it does). She makes a poor bargain, and she makes it over and over again. She always takes the wrong course and is so thoroughly misunderstood by everyone, with the possible exception of Damon.

Was there ever a man more inept than Clym Yeobright? While he dawdles over who should make the first move, who is owed forgiveness most, and what is the best action to take, he lets every opportunity to stem disaster slide through his fingers. He is so sadly on that path of good intentions that leads to a sure hell, that he makes you scream in your head, "do something".

Was there ever a man harder to fathom than Damon Wildeve? He is neither good enough to love nor evil enough to hate. In the end, he is the catalyst that sets all the sadness in motion and makes it inevitable that no one can be truly happy who falls within his sphere. He seems incapable of any real love until his choice seals his fate.

So much misunderstanding and misadventure is overwhelming, as if it were God playing with Job or perhaps just winking at the way the humans stumble into one avoidable quagmire after another. The sense of doom hangs over everything, even the joyful wedding parties, in such a typically Hardy fashion. One cannot help wondering if happiness is even possible in this environ or if the heath itself does not eschew human delights and loves.

Living in a time when so few options were open to women, Hardy is a master of capturing the sadness and despair that can accompany them in their lot. Eustacia fights against this norm, and finds herself more trapped than most. Thomasin might find herself in the same situation but for a kinder fate guiding her steps (and the interferences of Diggory Venn). That a woman can be too easily ruined is obvious; that she is at the mercy of the morality of men leaves her in constant danger. She has, in fact, very little control over her own fate.

I loved this novel. Like [b:Jude the Obscure|50798|Jude the Obscure|Thomas Hardy|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389403264s/50798.jpg|41342119] and [b:The Mayor of Casterbridge|56759|The Mayor of Casterbridge|Thomas Hardy|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388276915s/56759.jpg|2390173], this left me heart torn and feeling very vulnerable and human. I kept wanting to warn the characters, especially Clym, to be more aware of the possible consequences of their choices, to hurry or to slow down, to make one small change and save themselves and all around them. But, of course, none of Hardy's characters ever listen to me. ( )
  mattorsara | Aug 11, 2022 |
Ezt a könyvet azóta el akarom olvasni, amióta a Rozshegyezőben... neeeem... szóval a Zabban a fogó-ban... vagyis a Rozszabálóban... a fene... tehát a The Catcher in the Rye -ban Holden hivatkozott Eustacia Vye-re, de mivel Hardyval amúgy nem zökkenőmentes a kapcsolatom, ezért eddig toltam magam előtt. Ám most eljött az idő.

A Hazatérés egy szerelmi négyszög története, ami idővel ötszöggé válik. Hardy tisztes távolságból közelít a téma felé: előbb lefesti nekünk a hangával borított, lápos Egdon Heath tájait, aztán bemutat nekünk pár mulatozó helybélit, akik erős tájszólásban vázlatolják az olvasónak, milyen sztori is fog mindjárt következni – csak ezután csapunk bele a lecsóba. (Ez a hosszas felvezetés amúgy már jelzi, hogy a könyv főszereplője legalább annyira a délkelet-angliai vidék és lakói, mint azok, akik a cselekményt bonyolítják. És meg kell hagyni, Hardy művéhez valóban sokat hozzátesz a fenyér erőteljes ábrázolása.) Az van, hogy Tamsin* kisasszony és Wildeve, a fogadós menyegzőre készül, de a férfi szíve legalább annyira dobog Eustaciáért, akit a bennszülöttek úgy általában véve boszorkánynak tartanak. Aztán itt van még Venn, a szimpatikus ürge, aki piros festékkel házal, és maga is nagyon szereti Tamsint, de elég komoly hátránnyal indul: ugyanis a munkája miatt vörös mindene. És hát ki menne szívesen hozzá egy vörös emberhez? Ebben a mai átpolitizált világban? Ez idáig a négyszög. Aztán megérkezik a messzi Párizsból Tamsin kisasszony unokabátyja, Clym, akiben Eustacia meglátja a nagyvilági fickót, aki kimenti majd a semmi sivár világából, úgyhogy ejti miatta Wildeve-t – elég lassan esik le neki, hogy Clym igazából hazatért, a szó bibliai értelmében, és esze ágában sincs visszamenni a nagyvilágba. Íme, az „egymás-mellett-elbeszélés” tankönyvi esete.

Hardy prózája súlyos, helyenként költői, helyenként viszont igen nehézkes szöveg, párbeszédeiben pedig érdekesen keveredik a sorsszerűség a kötelességtudással, és a szív szava a racionalitással. (Ahogy felteszem, a való életben is.) A fő- és mellékszereplők ábrázolása az, ami egyértelmű erényként említenék: emlékezetes alakok ők, de közülük is kiemelkedik Eustacia Vye alakja, akiben Hardy kiválóan ábrázolja a sorsával elégedetlen, nagyot álmodó nőt, aki bármit, de tényleg bármit megtenne azért, hogy kiszabaduljon az unalmas lankák közül. Tagadhatatlan, érezni némi lelki rokonságot Eustacia és Holden között – ugyanaz az elvágyódás, a „többre-hivatottság” jellemzi őket. Bár szerepe szerint Eustacia a regény bajkeverője, így igényt tarthatna a negatív főszereplő címkéjére, de Hardynak sikerül úgy bemutatnia őt, mint akiért szorítani lehet – lebírhatatlan vágyaival vívott titáni küzdelme miatt mindenképpen pályázhat az olvasó szimpátiájára, vagy ha nem is a szimpátiájára, de legalább a szánalmára. Ha egy dolgot kéne említenem, ami miatt érdemes volt elolvasni ezt a regényt, akkor őt említeném. (De amúgy több dolog miatt érdemes.)

* Igazából Thomasin, de ezek a csávók így elharapják a szavakat. ( )
  Kuszma | Jul 2, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 91 (next | show all)

» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Hardy, ThomasAuthorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bayley, JohnIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Boumelha, PennyIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Dillon, DianeCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Dillon, LeoCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Forsblom, HarryTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gatrell, SimonEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gindin, James JackEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gregory, HoraceAfterwordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gregory, HoraceAfterwordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Higonnet, Margaret R.Introductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ingham, PatriciaForewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Leighton, ClareIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lynd, SylviaIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mallett, PhillipEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
May, DerwentIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Meyers, JeffreyAfterwordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Milne, JohnEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Parker, Agnes MillerIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pérez, EstherTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Rickman, AlanNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Seymour, ClaireIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Slack, Robert C.Introductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Slade, TonyEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Smiley, JaneIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Taylor, WarnerIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Theroux, AlexanderIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Walsh, LaurenIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Winterich, John T.Prefacesecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Woodcock, GeorgeIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

Is contained in

Has the adaptation

Is abridged in

Has as a study

Has as a commentary on the text

Has as a student's study guide

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
"To sorrow
I bade good morrow,
And thought to leave her far away behind;
But cheerly, cheerly,
She loves me dearly;
She is so constant to me, and so kind.
I would deceive her,
And so leave her,
But ah! she is so constant and so kind."
Dedication
First words
A Saturday afternoon in November was approaching the time of twilight, and the vast tract of unenclosed wild known as Egdon Heath embrowned itself moment by moment.
Quotations
Human beings, in their generous endeavour to construct a hypothesis that shall not degrade a First Cause, have always hesitated to conceive a dominant power of lower moral quality than their own; and, even while they sit down and weep by the waters of Babylon, invent excuses for the oppression which prompts their tears.
As for Thomasin, I never expected much from her; and she has not disappointed me.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
The Return of the Native was first published in Belgravia magazine in 12 parts in 1878 and revised by Hardy in 1895 and 1912, when he produced a definitive Wessex Edition of all of his novels.
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

Dip into a classic work of fiction that many critics regard as one of the novels that helped to usher in the modern era of literature. When it was originally published, Thomas Hardy's The Return of the Native rocked Victorian England with its frank discussion of titillating subjects such as out-of-wedlock relationships. Today, the novel offers readers a fascinating glimpse into the mores and moral constraints of a bygone era.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.93)
0.5
1 18
1.5 3
2 52
2.5 12
3 191
3.5 48
4 366
4.5 56
5 296

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

Penguin Australia

2 editions of this book were published by Penguin Australia.

Editions: 0140435182, 0141199741

Tantor Media

An edition of this book was published by Tantor Media.

» Publisher information page

Recorded Books

An edition of this book was published by Recorded Books.

» Publisher information page

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,239,167 books! | Top bar: Always visible