In Thomas Hardy's The Return of the Native, the main character Clym Yeobright seems to disappoint everyone he loves upon arriving home to Egdon Heath from Paris. His refusal to continue leading the life he had previously lived in Paris is very upsetting to both his mother and his wife, Eustacia, because they both aspired for him to be more than just a man from the moors. Clym, however, sees no shame in conforming to the moor and becoming one with nature. Hardy's details of the land and its creatures solidify this idea; for example, he draws a parallel between Clym and moorland snakes when he writes "immediately after shedding their old skins... their colors are brightest" (Hardy 274). Although Clym's physical appearance becomes as dull as a gorse-cutter, his "brighter colors" also emerge as he sheds his old life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay These symbolic images allude to the fact that Clym was always destined to exist in nature, not alongside it. He embraces his embodiment of nature, even if it ultimately costs him his relationship with the two people he loves most. Prior to Clym's efforts as a gorse cutter, he is completely infatuated with Mrs. Eustacia Vye, who tactically distracts Clym for her personal gains. Although her efforts are persistent, Clym is still inexplicably drawn to the moor. The familiar furrows of the earth and the animals that inhabit it soothe him where no human can, subtly assuring him that he is right where he belongs. For example, when Clym's eyesight begins to fail, Eustacia feels frustration and desperation towards him, while Mrs. Yeobright is sympathetic. The moor, on the other hand, makes no judgement. Through his work cutting gorse, he escapes his worldly problems, and even the "enormous flies... buzzed around him without knowing that he was a man" (Hardy 274). The flies' inability to distinguish between Clym and one of their own means that Clym not only adapts to the nature around him, but is accepted by it. Perhaps man is expected to swat flies away or to regard them with some degree of attention. disgust, yet there is a sort of mutual respect between the two; they see each other as components of the same system, rather than one more valuable than the other. This sameness encapsulates Clym's relationship with the moor, further revealing the idea that Clym's true identity is continually interconnected with the moor. This above acceptance is combined with the details of the snakes in the field to once 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 robe” (274), bringing light to their natural beauty and magnificence, yet Clym was previously mentioned as a “brown spot in the midst of an olive grove.” green broom, and nothing more” (273). These seemingly contradictory descriptors, however, are not a direct jab at Clym. Instead, these images draw a parallel between Clym and the moorland snakes; while the snakes are physically transitioning to their brighter colors, Clym is mentally transitioning to his brighter and more skilled self. She "sheds" her old Parisian lifestyle, even though everyone in all of Egdon thought her life in Paris was glamorous, intellectually stimulating, and ideal; in the short space of time he has been back on the moor, Clym seems to have already found more tranquility and enlightenment than he ever found in Paris. This transformation means:.