Criticizing With Some Criticisms

Reading The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy was not always an easy experience - especially at the beginning. I'm one of those readers who, if the first chapter is less than ten pages and has actually created a desire in me that makes me want more of the book, I'll keep going. Hardy did not accomplish this. Since reading the book was a requirement for the class, I painfully read on. The book slowly progressed from then on, creating that desire that I had mentioned earlier. I started to understand the characters, who they were, what their part in the novel was, and what the consequences to their actions were. Toward the end of the book, I obviously found out who dies and who lives on. Usually, when someone dies in a book, I hate the book for a few pages until I start to forget about it. Unsurprisingly, the same the happened in The Return of the Native. I do believe, though, that Hardy ended the book on a fairly good note. Thomasin and Venn end up getting married, and that was something that I had been rooting for throughout the entire book.
Apparently, Mr. D. H. Lawrence in "Study of Thomas Hardy" had a different idea about the book than I did, but if all you do for a living is criticize poor Thomas Hardy's novels, then I guess you have some sort of right to do so. Anyway, the man did have some good points about each character in the novel. He talks about the obvious qualities of Eustacia, how she is indecisive and unsatisfied with the way things are. Lawrence then moves onto Clym and makes a few good points that I hadn't realized before. Clym is almost as indecisive as Eustacia. It shows when he goes to the ever sought after Paris, but then comes back because he wants to give back by teaching. It's an interesting thing to think about because Lawrence mentions that Clym's teaching equals Eustacia's Paris; both are fantasies that are within reach, but are never grasped in the context of the novel. Lawrence moves onto Thomasin and Venn (my favorite people in the novel) and mentions that, because the two are genuine, and almost perfect people according to the time, both receive each other, the greatest prize given in the book. Wildeve is talked about next. He is just as unsatisfied as Eustacia, and that is the end to him along with his current "love." Wildeve is opposite of Clym because he doesn't follow the rules per say which links to his never existing satisfaction. If only Wildeve could have loved Thomasin like a normal, true husband should, then he would still be living and loving the daughter he made. The last big character of the book is Mrs. Yeobright. She follows all of the rules of the system, but, because of that, she dies. The pressure of everything that goes on in her life becomes too great and she simply cannot take it anymore. Lawrence concludes his talk about the individual characters by stating that only the steady and genuine survive. The people who contain strong feelings or unusual characteristics are eventually destroyed in the book. If a person steps out of the established system, they will then be destroyed.
This criticism was interesting in that it made the obvious visible (if that makes sense). I knew that the characters who were a little different were eventually punished, but I hadn't really thought too much of it. It makes sense, though. Each character that wasn't "common" is slowly cut down, in some cases until there was nothing left.
I proceeded to look at the book through the viewpoint of Richard Swigg in "Thomas Hardy and the Problem of the 'Middle Distance.'" One of the most interesting things Swigg mentioned is that when he killed Eustacia and Mrs. Yeobright, it was because he lost his creative energy. Both characters have such far-gazing dreams that they simply cannot be topped, so they both must die. This creates an interesting thought, at least about Hardy. Does he really just lack imagination about these two, or did he really feel that they must die? Looking at their deaths, I think that they both were well written and seemed to be thought out pretty well, but from what I understand, Swigg doesn't agree.
In the end, everyone is going to have their own criticisms about this book. There's a lot going on, and a lot to think about. I think reading a few criticisms created a different point of view on the book and the author, and it makes for an interesting read. One of the biggest lessons I will take away from reading this book and its criticisms, though, is that some people have way too much time on their hands.