Beginning of Essay
The entire opening chapter of The Return of the Native is devoted to a lengthy description of Egdon Heath, the setting of the novel. The heath must be significant in terms of the themes and the continue progress of the novel. The author of the novel, Thomas Hardy ....

Middle of Essay
.... be seems throughout the novel. The biggest effect of this theme is on Eustacia. The fact that Clym delayed sending his letter to Eustacia, coupled with the fact that Captain Vye unwittingly kept the letter from Eustacia until it was too late, suggests that perhaps destiny is against her. It is under the downpour of the rain, on the rugged heath where Eustacia laments her fate. Eustacia’s own remark, “how destiny is against me!” (354) and “I have been injured and blighted and crushed by things beyond my control!” (354) affirm the existence of such a force, the power of fate. On Egdon Heath, night and darkness comes before its “astronomic ....