The Return of the Native

The Return of the Native is one of Hardy's most popular novels pioneering such themes as sexual politics, thwarted desire, and the conflicting demands of nature and society, a truly a truly modern novel written ahead of its time. Underlying these modern themes, however, is a classical sense of tragedy: Hardy scrupulously observes the three unities of time, place, and action and suggests that the struggles of those trying to escape their destinies will only hasten their destruction.