The novel The Return of the Native
Published in 1878, it is an important achievement of Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) in the middle of his creation. Hardy, 19, a great English novelist at the end of the 9th century and a great poet at the beginning of the 20th century, has always been familiar and appreciated by readers in China. His representative novels and poems, such as Tess of the D 'Urbervilles, Jude the Obscure, The Return of the Native, The Mayor of Casterbridge, The Three Wonders, The King, etc. Since the 1920s and 1930s, there has been a Chinese version. In his creative career, Hardy consciously pursued the idea of "reflecting life, exposing life and criticizing life" in literature; At the same time, consciously explore and innovate in art, and The Return of the Native is the embodiment of this dual consciousness in Hardy's creation. The scene where the story takes place, the Eden wasteland and the residents who cling to traditional customs and habits on the wasteland are the epitome of the whole human living environment. The relationship between the hero and heroine in the story, whether Clint Yao Bo returned to the wasteland, his transformation of the wasteland, Eustacia's boredom with the wasteland and her getting rid of it, all reflect the fierce conflict between the "modern" youth and the environment in the Hardy era. Clint Yao Bo, a promising young man, returned to his hometown from Paris, full of good wishes generated by French utopian socialist thought, voluntarily abandoned the tumultuous and obsessed life in the bustling world, and wanted to start a small career in the hinterland of his hometown to help the world and enlighten the people, but he was first opposed by his closest widowed mother and newly married wife. Because of the trick of fate, he suddenly suffered from eye diseases, which further contributed to his failure. The conflict between Eustacia, the heroine, and the environment is opposite to that of Yao Bo. Yao Bo was born in the wasteland-going to the prosperous world-returning to the wasteland; Eustacia was born in a prosperous world-living in a wasteland-and wanted to escape from the wasteland. Although both of them are dissatisfied with the present situation and have a "modern" consciousness that transcends the traditional customs and thoughts of the wilderness people, they are still out of place. Such a pair of young men and women, mostly because of the mutual attraction in appearance, coupled with the misunderstanding at the first meeting stage, got married on impulse, and the contradiction after marriage became more intense. It is also the fiddle of fate. This kind of conflict is not only difficult to solve and reduce according to the situation, but also intensified, which will inevitably lead to tragedy.