Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Return of the Native, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Humans vs. Nature
Modernity vs. Tradition
Class and Morality
Deception
Summary
Analysis
Johnny starts walking home but is scared of doing so in the dark. Instead, he turns around to ask if Eustacia will accompany him. He arrives back at the fire and finds Eustacia talking to Wildeve. But Johnny doesn’t alert them to his presence—though he doesn’t fully understand their conversation, he understands that he likely shouldn’t be privy to it. As such, he decides to walk home on his own after all.
Johnny is the first person to overhear one of Eustacia and Wildeve’s conversations, but he will not be the last. Eustacia and Wildeve are not as secret and cunning as they think they are. Additionally, the novel once again stresses the danger of walking alone on the heath in the dark.
Themes
Literary Devices
On his way home, Johnny comes across the Venn’s wagon. The wagon scares Johnny because the children on the heath think of Venn as some sort of boogeyman. He tries to sneak by Venn’s wagon but ends up tripping and rolling right to Venn’s feet. Venn asks Johnny questions about Eustacia and the bonfire, and Johnny responds to them all. In return, Venn answers Johnny’s questions about his occupation and assures him that he isn’t any sort of boogeyman. Although Johnny is still nervous, this largely puts him at ease. Eventually, their conversation ends, and Johnny goes home, though not before Venn learns that Wildeve went to see Eustacia on the night he was supposed to marry Thomasin.
Venn’s appearance is frightening to Johnny because of his red glow. However, Venn once again proves himself to be a kind man, albeit a nosy one. Though Johnny is a child and does not put much thought into why Wildeve and Eustacia would be meeting secretly, Venn instantly knows what is going on.
Themes
