The Return of the Native

The story is set in Victorian England on Egdon Heath, a fictional place in the fictional region of Wessex in southwestern England. It focuses on six individuals--two cousins (Clym Yeobright and Thomasin Yeobright), Mrs. Yeobright (the mother of Clym and the aunt of Thomasin) and those whom Clym and Thomasin might marry (Eustacia Vye, Damon Wildeve and Digory Venn). The question asked is who will marry whom. Will marriage bring happiness? Can one, should one struggle against one’s inner desires, one’s destiny, one’s fate? What happens if one tries to live contrary to societal norms?