Do Fate and Chance Exist in Practical Life?

Hardy believes in that theory that man is a puppet in the hands of nature appearing in shape of fate, chance and circumstances in anyone’s man life, and man is not independent in own planning. Men’s pernicious aims and objects are rejected by natural forces that called fate and chance.

The same philosophy Hardy exposes in all his major novels, especially in The Return of the Native. He shows how fate and chance change the entire situation and how the characters cone under its influence. Martial Herington says, “Sometime fate plays the role of chief justice and sometimes fate brings happiness and sometimes miser in the heroes’ mad heroine’s life

J/h Smith says, “Fate is jealous to man from the very beginning; fate rejected Adam’s and Eve’s plan of living together in the Garden of Edom. Adam chases the destiny but rejects it put revenge on them.” According to Hardy’s personal statement, “An evil power is ruling the word that always opposes man’s aims and objects skillfully.” The same thing Plato has rightly said. “Man is a slave of fat in the real sense and emotions control man’s fate and make wisdom blind, man calls it reasonable decisions but the case becomes entirely reverse.”

The same philosophy the can see in The Return of the Native, Johnny overhears the secret conversation of Eustacia and Wildeve and by chance he meets Reddleman on the way and tell his Eustacia and Wildeve future plan. Listening to it Reddleman informs Thomasin about the love affair of Eustacia and Wildeve. After this Reddleman goes to see Mrs. Yeobright to offer his marriage with Thomasin

Now Wildeve changes his plan of marring Eustacia and promised to see her in future. It becomes so by chance. Here Mark Antony says, Hardy’s characters’ fortune change with the passage of time but they do not change.” Hardy shows his characters fix minded from the beginning till end.

When Mrs. Yeobright hands money over to Christian Cantle to give Thomasin and Eustacia but by chance he lost the money in gambling. But in the meantime Reddleman appears from the bushes and wins the lost money and gives the whole money to Thomasin. But when Mrs. Yeobright goes to reconcile Eustacia she does not open the door and Mrs. Yeobright comes back with a heavy head and beaten by an adder on the way and dies at the spot.

Clym comes back to open a school at Heath to educate the natives but he was opposed by Mrs. Yeobright and Eustacia. As a result he loses his eyesight and becomes a furze cutter and gets nothing at the end.

Fate conspired against his when Eustacia goes to attend a village festival Wildeve offered Eustacia to dance with him and she accepted it and planned to escape from the scene. At the same time Clym and Reddleman appeared at the scene of elopement. This situation is the product of the circumstances not self created situation in the novel.

Thinking of reconciliation he went to see his mother, but reaching there he was informed biting an adder his mother died at the spot while going back on not being opened the door by Eustacia. Listening to it Clym thought the door was not opened knowingly by Eustacia told Clym by Johnny. Clym concluded that Eustacia is the responsible for his mother’s death but it was not so.

We see when Eustacia and Wildeve make a plan of elopement from Heath getting legacy; at the same time the Heath starts a heavy storm of rain and thunder and does not permit them to flee from the Heath. It is also the product of circumstances, not by chance but the law nature that nature takes revenge.

To sum up, it is the most famous novel of Hardy representing nature the rival of man who works against nature. In the novel it is exposed that nature feels, thinks and decides the fate of the native according to merit. Nature means that the forces that control the Universe System including man’s destiny on earth by the decree of God. In the Return of the Native it is exposed in the best way by Hardy.

The plot of the novel is organic not decorative by force. The main characters Clym and Eustacia around the novel revolves are deserving of reward Eustacia for punishment for not being loyal to Clym and Heath, and Clym is deserving of reward due to faithful to Eustacia and the Heath. Hardy has exposed successfully his philosophy of life in the novel: Fate controls man’s destiny and chances improve human life and in between the two men live on earth.