In this piece of dialogue from Book 5, Chapter 2, Hardy conveys the heartbreaking dramatic irony of Clym Yeobright's confusion and grief about his mother. He does so using visual imagery, pathos, and a simile of imprisonment:
‘If there was one thing wanting to bewilder me it was this incomprehensible thing!… Diggory, if we, who remain alive, were only allowed to hold conversation with the dead—just once, a bare minute, even through a screen of iron bars, as with persons in prison—what we might learn! How many who now ride smiling would hide their heads!
In this scene, Clym is talking to Diggory Venn about his longing to communicate with his deceased mother. He is hurt and confused about his situation due to conflicting evidence and misinformation. Dramatic irony plays a significant role in this passage, as the reader is aware that Clym would not be pleased with the truth if he were to uncover it. This irony adds depth to Clym's desire to communicate with his mother and to get to the bottom of things. It's also another reference to the theme of Clym's failing "sight," as he can't see the whole of the situation no matter what he tries.
Hardy employs the visual language of imprisonment when Clym describes a "screen of iron bars" separating the living from the dead. This vivid image emphasizes the stark physical separation between the two realms. However, it also signals the imagined possibility of messages passing between the living and the dead “through” the bars. With this image, Hardy also refers to the emotional and spiritual boundaries that prevent Clym from achieving the connections he seeks.
Hardy also uses a simile to strengthen the sense of separation between the living and the dead, comparing the dead to "persons in prison." This comparison heightens the emotional impact of the passage, emphasizing how trapped Clym feels by his circumstances. The author appeals strongly to the readers’ sense of pathos in this scene, as Clym's yearning to communicate with his mother—and Mrs Yeobright's recent, unhappy demise itself—makes them feel pity and regret.
