# The Journey Across the Heath explained — The Return of the Native

> Chapter companion for The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy.

## What happens

On a scorching August day, Mrs. Yeobright walks across the heath to reconcile with Clym and Eustacia. The oppressive heat and her physical exhaustion slow her journey. She follows a furze-cutter, only to realize it is her son Clym, now living as a mere laborer. Arriving at his house, she rests under a clump of battered trees called the Devil's Bellows, struggling to gather the courage to enter. She sees a second man approach the house, which both vexes and relieves her, as his presence may ease the awkwardness of her visit.

## Themes in this chapter

### Nature and Landscape

The heath is portrayed as a powerful, oppressive force, with its scorching heat, parched vegetation, and the symbolic Devil's Bellows trees reflecting the characters' inner turmoil.

### Suffering and Sacrifice

Mrs. Yeobright endures physical exhaustion and emotional strain on her journey, while Clym's life as a furze-cutter represents a sacrifice of his former ambitions.

### Social Class and Ambition

Clym's descent from a promising man to a mere furze-cutter highlights the loss of social status and the tension between ambition and humble labor.

## Character check-ins

### Mrs. Yeobright

Travels across the heath under extreme heat to reconcile with Clym and Eustacia; feels physically exhausted and emotionally agitated.

### Clym Yeobright

Seen by his mother as a furze-cutter, dressed in the craft's regulation attire, deeply absorbed in his labor.

### Eustacia Vye

Mentioned as the wife of Clym; Mrs. Yeobright worries about how to approach her without causing irritation.

### Timothy Fairway

Briefly mentioned as someone Mrs. Yeobright wishes she had hired to drive her part of the way.

## Key lines

> The sun had branded the whole heath with its mark, even the purple heath-flowers having put on a brownness under the dry blazes of the few preceding days.

The intense heat had scorched the heath, turning even the normally purple heather brown.

_Illustrates the extreme drought and heat, emphasizing the harshness of the environment._

> He appeared as a mere parasite of the heath, fretting its surface in his daily labour as a moth frets a garment, entirely engrossed with its products, having no knowledge of anything in the world but fern, furze, heath, lichens, and moss.

Clym seemed like a creature of the heath, consumed by his work and knowing nothing beyond its vegetation.

_Highlights Clym's complete absorption in his menial labor and his diminished world._

> The place was called the Devil's Bellows, and it was only necessary to come there on a March or November night to discover the forcible reasons for that name.

The clump of trees was known as the Devil's Bellows, a name justified by the fierce winds that blasted them in stormy seasons.

_Foreshadows the turbulent emotions and events to come, using the landscape as a symbol._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_return_of_the_native_se/chapters/v-the-journey-across-the-heath
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_return_of_the_native_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_return_of_the_native_se/chapters