The Return of the Native | Social Concerns
With his sixth published novel, Thomas Hardy transformed himself from a gifted apprentice writer to one whose individual genius as well as his thematic and social concerns were clearly established. Earlier novels like Far from the Madding Crowd (1874) hinted at the original perspective Hardy was developing on the declining years of Victorian England and the evolution of modernist sensibilities in art as well as in social and philosophical theory. But, with The Return of the Native Hardy established his voice as one that would criticize the inevitable process of England's...
[The entire page is 3268 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
Tell a friend about The Return of the Native at eNotes.
