The Return of the Native

Do Mrs. Yeobright’s aspirations for her son bring about her death? Support your analysis with specific passages from the text.

Is the narrator’s fascination with Eustacia Vye warranted? Does she have the inner qualities and virtues of a true heroine?

How does the persona of “reddleman” sustain Diggory Venn’s machinations in support of Thomasin?

A tragic hero in Aristotle’s definition must be basically good. If Clym Yeobright had drowned in the weir with Eustacia and Wildeve, would he have fit that definition?

How does Susan Nunsuch’s suspicion that Eustacia Vye is a witch influence the climate of opinion of the inhabitants of Egdon Heath and the action of the novel?

Does the narrator believe Eustacia and Wildeve cannot escape each other? Consider the narrator’s observations about them in support of your thesis.

How does social status predetermine the roles of the “three women” in The Return of the Native? How do they operate within these boundaries?

How does imagination influence the choices of Clym Yeobright, Damon Wildeve, and Eustacia Vye?