What is the Significance of the Heath in Return of the Native? :: English Literature

What is the Significance of the Heath in overhaul of the Native?It is evident right from the beginning that the heathland plays anintegral part in the novel Return of the Native, this is because theopening chapter is exclusively about the heath.The heath assists in creating the feelings of both central charactersand the background heath folk, the beginning chapter is titled A Face onwhich Time makes but little Impression, meaning that Egdon Heath is mless and everybody on it has little significance.The reader gains an insight of the novel and its genre through thefirst chapter, It had a lonely face, suggesting tragicalpossibilities. This aids the reader in identifying that there isgoing to be something tragical in the novel. Hardy is also usingpersonification, which brings the heath to life.In spite of this, the first chapter also does what every other firstchapter in a novel does, it sets the scene. Egdon Heath, as far as thenovel is implicated and the characters inside it, is the world. Theonly time that the novel ever abandons the heath is only brieflybetween pages 253-257 which is the part when Wildeve and Eustacia areat the dance together in Budmouth. It is comprehensible that the heathfolk consider Egdon Heath to be everything when they talk about Parisas if it were a million miles away, like a female monarchs Palace as far asdiments go is the description they use when describing Clyms shop.Hardy also uses the heath as a metaphor for how the central charactersare feeling. On page 206, when Clym moves out of his mothers house,the fir and beech trees are described to be suffering more damagethan during the highest winds of winter the cachexia sap would bleedfor many days to come. We also get an insight to the way Eustacia isfeeling through the storm on the heath on page 345-346, Never washarmony more perfect than that between the chaos of her mind and thechaos of the world without. The brief flowering in the summer time onEgdon heath represents the love between Eustacia and Clym, when itflowered it was beautiful and colourful and sweet, but it soondrooped, dried out and finally died.When Wildeve and Diggory Venn are playing dice on the heath, thecontrast is prominent between human behaviour and nature, Theincongruity between the mens deeds and their environment wasstriking. Hardy is reservation a comment on human nature and its battleagainst nature. The behaviour of the two men is described as almost