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Book 1, Chapter 2
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Return of the Native, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Humans vs. Nature
Modernity vs. Tradition
Class and Morality
Deception
Summary
Analysis
The people the reddleman saw are locals of a town called Blackbarrow who are making a bonfire to celebrate Guy Fawkes Day. As they light their bonfire, other fires spring up in the distance. Around the fire, an old man named Grandfer Cantle dances and sings. Nearby are Timothy Fairway, Humphrey, Olly Dowden, and Susan Nunsuch. After Grander Cantle finishes his song and dance, the group gossips about a wedding. Earlier in the day, Damon Wildeve married Thomasin Yeobright despite the disapproval of Mrs. Yeobright, Thomasin’s aunt. The town gossips always thought that Thomasin would marry Clym, Mrs. Yeobright’s son, but he left to live in Paris.
Guy Fawkes Day is a tradition that begin in England in 1605 after the failure of the Gunpowder Plot, an attempt on the life of King James I; people around London lit bonfires to celebrate that the king lived. It is this tradition that the residents of Egdon Heath are taking part in, though its historical roots seem unimportant to them. Instead, the locals use the holiday to drink, catch up with one another, and gossip about news around the heath. It is through characters like Timothy Fairway and Grandfer Cantle that we are first introduced to the novel’s main characters. Throughout the novel, the locals will continue to act as a valuable source of information, often by filling in important background details about the main characters. Here, for instance, they seem to implicitly reveal the identity of the woman that Venn was transporting in his wagon as Thomasin Yeobright.
Themes
Literary Devices
The group’s topic of conversation switches to people who cannot marry because they are undesirable. During this conversation, Christian Cantle, Grandfer’s son, arrives and says that he is one such person. Timothy changes the conversation when he mentions possibly seeing a ghost, which looked “as if it had been dipped in blood.” However, the conversation ends when Grandfer Cantle starts singing again. As his song ends, the bonfire begins to die down, which causes the group to notice a large bonfire burning on Captain Vye’s property. Timothy guesses that Vye’s granddaughter, who lives there alone, likely lit the fire.
The theme of undesirable marriages runs throughout The Return of the Native. In fact, the entire novel is structured around three marriages, two of which are considered undesirable by some of the story’s key players. Throughout the novel, social status plays a key role in determining what makes a marriage desirable or undesirable. Additionally, this passage demonstrates the locals’ fear of the supernatural. Though Timothy mentions a red ghost, it seems more likely that he’s just run into the reddleman.
Themes
After more dancing and singing, the group decides they will go to see the newlywed couple and congratulate them. However, before they can do so, the reddleman arrives, asking for the way to Mrs. Yeobright’s place. They tell him the way to go. Though he seems familiar, no one can place where they know him from. Almost immediately afterward, Mrs. Yeobright comes across the revelers on her way to the Wildeve place to see the newlyweds. She reveals that her son, Clym, has recently arrived home for the holidays. Then, she asks Olly to accompany her to the Wildeve place because it’s dark. Olly happily agrees to do so, and the two head off together.
At this point in the story, the reddleman is an outsider. He is largely unknown to the locals who are confused and a little frightened by his presence. Nonetheless, he seems familiar with Mrs. Yeobright, whom the locals know well. Additionally, this passage introduces Clym and explains the name of the novel—Clym is the native who is returning home.
Themes
