In Thomas Hardy's The Return of the Native, the main character Clym Yeobright seems to disappoint everyone he loves upon his arrival at Egdon Heath from Paris. His refusal to continue leading the life he previously led in Paris was very upsetting to both his mother and his wife, Eustacia, as both of them longed for him to be something more than just a man of the city. heather. Clym, however, sees no shame in conforming to the heath and becoming one with nature. Hardy's details about the earth and its creatures reinforce this idea; for example, he draws a parallel between Clym and the heather snakes when he writes “immediately after the shedding of their old skin…their colors are most vivid” (Hardy 274). Although Clym's physical appearance becomes dull like that of a gorse cutter, his "brightest colors" also surface as he sheds his old life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay This symbolic imagery alludes to the fact that Clym was always meant to exist in nature, not alongside it. He embraces his embodiment of nature, even if it ultimately costs him his relationships with the two people he loves most. Prior to Clym's endeavors as a gorse cutter, he is completely smitten with Mrs. Eustacia Vye, who tactically distracts Clym for her own personal gains. Even though her efforts are persistent, Clym is still inexplicably drawn to the heather. The familiar grooves of the earth and the animals that inhabit it soothe him where no human can, subtly assuring him that he is exactly where he belongs. For example, when Clym's eyesight begins to fail, Eustacia feels frustration and despair towards him, while Mrs. Yeobright is sympathetic. Heather, on the other hand, is non-judgmental. Through his work cutting gorse, he escapes his worldly troubles, and even the “huge flies… buzzed around him without knowing that he was a man” (Hardy 274). The flies' inability to tell the difference between Clym and one of their own is indicative of the fact that Clym not only fits into the nature around him, but is also accepted by it. Man may be expected to shoo away flies or regard them with a certain degree of disgust, but there is a kind of mutual respect between the two; they see themselves as components of the same system, instead of one being more valuable than the other. This equality encapsulates Clym's relationship with the heather, further revealing the idea that Clym's true identity is continually interconnected with the heather. This aforementioned acceptance is coupled with the details of the snakes on the ground to again emphasize the idea that Clym is his best version of himself when immersed in nature. Hardy notes that the serpents "glided in their brightest blue and yellow appearance" (274), highlighting their natural beauty and magnificence, but Clym is mentioned earlier as resembling "a brown spot in the middle of a vast expanse of olive trees.” green gorse, and nothing more” (273). These seemingly contradictory descriptors do not constitute a direct attack on Clym, however. Instead, this imagery draws a parallel between Clym and the heather serpents; while the snakes physically shift to their brightest colors, Clym mentally shifts to his brightest, most skillful self. He "sheds" his old Parisian lifestyle, even though everyone in Egdon considered his life in Paris glamorous, intellectually stimulating and ideal; in the short time he has been back in the :.