Abstract: The Return of the Native is one representative of English famous novelist Thomas Hardy’s novels of character and environment. This paper aims to make a deep analysis of Eustacia’s tragic fate on the basis of the previous studies. It first explores Eustacia’s tragedy from the aspects of social ecology, natural ecology and spiritual ecology and then it explores the causes of her tragedy which include the patriarchal ideology and the impact of industrialization. This paper appeals for the harmony of the relations between man and society, man and nature, man and self. 

  Key words: The Return of the native; Eustacia; tragedy; causes 

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction  .1

  1.1 Introduction to Thomas hardy and The Return of the Native 1

  1.2 Previous Studies on The Return of the Native  1

  1.3 Ecocriticism  4

2. Exploration of Eustacia’s Tragedy in the Novel .5

  2.1 Eustacia’s Disharmony with the Society  5

  2.2 Eustacia’s Disharmony with Nature  7

 2.3 Eustacia’s Disharmony With Herself  9

3. The Causes of Eustacia’s Tragedy  .11

 3.1 The Patriarchal Ideology  .11

 3.2 The Impact of Industrialization  .13

4. conclusion  .15

References17