It's an oversimplification to assume that every work written by Hardy embodies a deterministic perspective, a view he shares with a diverse range of writers like Emile Zola and Frank Norris. Although the poem "Hap" laments the lack of a purposeful adversary, the later poem "Channel Firing" depicts God humorously commenting on history unfolding according to His malevolent design. The clash with a hostile or indifferent "other"—be it god, fate, or necessity—is central to the tragic theme. Hardy's goal in The Return of the Native was to create a modern tragedy, as mentioned in his 1895 preface referencing Leir/Lear. Throughout the text, he emphasizes this aim through frequent references to historical suffering, making Victorian anxieties seem minor in comparison.

The novel is divided into six sections, with the last one titled "Aftercourses." This final section is brief and somewhat anticlimactic, resolving loose ends after the main disaster toward which all events have inevitably progressed. Critics and biographers generally believe Hardy intended to mimic the five-act structure of Shakespearean tragedy with his five main sections and a concluding postscript. In significant ways, such as contrasting Clym's modern sorrow with the deep suffering of Shakespeare's Lear, and in smaller details, like mentioning the protagonist without introducing him initially, Hardy consistently reminds readers that he is attempting to craft a late-Victorian tragedy set on the Wessex heath.

This deliberate imitation of the Shakespearean tragic model directly impacts Hardy's exploration of deterministic themes in The Return of the Native. In his later novels, Hardy leaned toward the idea of a malevolent or indifferent Fate controlling our lives, potentially challenging our free will. However, in this clear attempt to write a tragedy, Hardy was keenly aware that typical Shakespearean drama doesn't focus exclusively on the power of fate. Instead, it examines how personal choices—whether driven by ignorance, pride, or malice—can ignite a series of events that might overwhelm those who make those choices. For example, while Lear's two daughters are wicked and deceitful, it is Lear's arrogance that grants them power over his heart. His own obstinance drives him into the heath, where he confronts an indifferent nature during a violent storm that makes no distinction between king and commoner. It can be argued that Lear's character, with its vulnerability to flattery and anger, is not of his own choosing—he is propelled by his nature. Yet, the play clearly demonstrates that its hero had the power to respond differently, and his suffering is intensified by his awareness of the grave error that set him on Fortune's wheel. Similarly, while fate often intervenes in The Return of the Native, it is primarily the characters' own decisions that cause events to spiral out of control. Three examples highlight the complex interplay of individual will and tragic destiny in this novel.