Abstract
The Return of the Native is one of Thomas Hardy’s “Novels of Character and Environment”. This paper mainly deals with the conflict between the main character in the novel and the “Environment”—Egdon Heath, especially the conflict between Eustacia and the Heath. The Heath as a physical object is described as “inviolate”, untouchable and unalterable by man; as a symbol it is highly flexible: it becomes what the various characters want to make of it. It is ugly for Eustacia, beautiful for Clym, comforting for Thomasin, and home for Venn. And it is described differently by the narrator at different times, depending on the perspective of the character being focused on. Besides, Egdon Heath itself is the oldest character. In The Return, Eustacia hates the Heath and want to escape from it; Clym wants to change it; while Thomasin and Venn are faithful to it; but for Mrs. Yeobright, she neither loves it nor hates it, she is like a denizen. Whoever you are, if you want to rebel against the Heath, more or less, you will get punishment; on the contrary, you will be happy on the Heath. In brief, the paper chiefly reveals the theme: those who rebel against the nature will be lost.
Key words: Egdon Heath; character; environment; symbolism; punishment
摘 要
《還鄉》是托馬斯•哈代的“人物與環境小說”之1。本文主要是評論小說中的主要人物與環境“愛格敦荒原”之間的衝突，尤其是遊臺莎與荒原間的衝突。作爲實物，荒原被人們描寫成“未受侵犯的`”，不可觸摸的和不變的；作爲象徵，它是多變的：對不同的小說人物而言，它有不同的象徵意義。對遊臺莎，荒原是邪惡的；對克林，荒原是美好的；對託瑪沁，荒原是1個安慰的地方；對維恩，荒原是家。根據小說人物對特定場景的需要，作者在不同的時間裏描寫符合人物性格的不同的景色。同時，愛格敦荒原本身就是最古老的人物。在《還鄉》中，遊臺莎憎恨荒原並且想逃離荒原；克林想改變荒原；而託瑪沁和維恩則對它很忠誠；對約布賴特太太來說，她既不愛它也不恨它，她就象外來者，與荒原格格不入。不論是誰，只要他們想反抗荒原，他們，或多或少，會得到懲罰；反之，他們會有幸福的生活。簡而言之，誰背叛自然誰將會迷失。
關鍵詞：愛格敦荒原；人物；環境；象徵；懲罰