The concepts of fate and nature in Hardy's the return of the native

Thomas Hardy is one of the writers who have a pessimistic outlook of human life; and accordingly, the concepts of "Fate" and "Nature" are to be considered within the frame of his pessimistic outlook. Hardy's thought was a revolt against the optimism of the 18th century and a refusal of the consolation of the Christian faith. Hardy's novels brought to England the pessimism of Schopenhauer. The nature of his personal experiences in life, together with his intellectual evaluation, assisted him well in his writing. Moreover, Fate plays a great role in the lives of Hardy's heroes and heroines as they struggle against their tragic destinies awaiting them. Hardy's characters do not have any control over their aims, as Fate emerges as a sole controlling force in their actions, which is given through "Coincidences" (chance events) moving from one incident to another reaching the final disaster in his novels. Nature is also an inimical force that has controlling power over Hardy's characters. This point links Nature with Fate, for Nature has a considerable role in leading the character's destiny. Hardy's 1878 novel The Return of the Native can be read as a tragedy since by presenting characters crushed by the powers of Fate and a malicious Nature, the novel can be considered as a remodelling of ancient Greek tragedies. The aim of this thesis is to study Thomas Hardy's novel The Return of the Native in terms of the concepts of Nature, Fate and Coincidence in order to understand how they play a significant role in the tragic view given in the novel. Keywords: The Return of the Native, Fate, Coincidence, Nature, Tragedy.