Human , All Too Human Being Human Within an Evolving Universe : A Study of Thomas Hardy ’ s The Return of the Native Être humain dans un univers en évolution (original) (raw)

Human , All Too Human Being Human Within an Evolving Universe : A Study of Thomas Hardy ’ s The Return of the Native Être humain dans un univers en évolution

This paper argues that the surface narrative of Thomas Hardy’s The Return of the Native appears to endorse late 19th-century degeneration theories and discourse, illustrating a gender crisis. However, by decoding and laying bare the textual ambiguities, a subtext is disclosed that inscribes an alternative reading in which tradition and convention are subverted. Therefore the novel opens up a more complex interpretation of what it means to be human in an evolving universe. The narrative of The Return of the Native clearly shows that Hardy is fully cognizant of the controversial fin de siècle degeneration discourse. Yet, viewed in the context of 19th-century ideas about creative evolution and Hardy’s response to these, we realize that he exposes such discourses as deeply suspect ideologies. Analysis of the structure of the novel brings to light the intersection of two opposite narrative trajectories, a degeneration and a regeneration plot. In each plot there appears to be a careful pa...