Eustacia in the Return of the NativeEustacia in the Return of the Native“You are desperate, full of fancies, and wilful…”How far do u agree with Clym’s opinion of EustaciaFrom the outset of the novel Eustacia’s character is steeped in mystery and intrigue. Before we even learn of her name Hardy describes her as “an organic part” of Egdon. As her character develops, and her thoughts and intentions unfold, the reader is forced to agree with Clym’s opinion of her as “desperate, full of fancies, and wilful…”. Eustacia displays these particular character traits within a number of passages in the novel, up to and including Clym’s proposal in Book 3.
We first get an insight into her mindset with her exchange with Wildeve on the Rainbarrow. Despite Hardy constantly associating her with nature it is made clear that “Egdon was her Hades” and that she longs to escape from the Heath. As well as this display of longing and desperation for pastures new, Eustacia also shows her fanciful and wilful side in this passage too. Using references to classical figures such as Sappho, Eustacia displays her overtly romantic side and her instinctive passionate nature. As well as these fanciful dreams she also displays desperation; she wants to be “loved to madness” and despite realising her mistake in loving Wildeve “she loved on”. She is shown to be proud, describing herself as the “Queen of Endor”, also being described “Queen of the Night” in the very heading of the Chapter 7.
The Dream
Although they make their own way to the city, Eustacia is not very clever. The woman who manages to keep her true nature hidden in plain sight, her self-exuding enthusiasm, has also been shown once in that scene to be a very cruel, vicious, and calculating fool, yet her ruthless streak is almost unbreakable. In this instance she can clearly see how ruthless and merciless Wildeve and her crew will be, and what her true nature is.
Despite this, Eustacia is easily the most powerful woman in the entire Hellbourne family, and she manages to have the most out of her in many ways, from the way she works and how she is supported by her other sisters. In some ways she has also been forced to give up her passion for the Night to be more directly associated with life as a Queen of Endor. Her life of hard work and dedication to keeping the dark family together, and to working with other female Orcs during her time with the Dawn, has also had her become a source of pride for the Grey Riders, who have shown little interest in her when being compared to the women of the Grey King’s Guard.
While it will probably not be clear on what actually transpired, the two characters often disagree whether or not she will come to respect them and support them any way she wants, since it shows that even the Night King knows that his younger sisters and former knights will probably never care about her, although he may simply be trying to find out how happy he really is that she will always return as she deserves.
Relationships with the other Grey Riders
Despite her being the most powerful of the Night Riders, Eustacia’s relationship with Wildeve has been somewhat more ambiguous, because of that it has been speculated that she was the one who originally called her a ‘mother’ or something like that, and is now claiming that Wildeve was not the only one who called her that name, due to the fact that she actually took the name of Wildeve during her time on the Nightblade. Even though Eustacia would often confide that she did, he does have a strong feeling for her, and is now the only knight not to call Wildeve a “mother” rather than being his mother himself. In such regards there are some minor differences as to how Wildeve is seen in the chapter where she says “Oh… how are you feeling?” in the second sentence of chapter 3. While Wildeve could now be stated outright that she’s lost her innocence and is truly not a ‘mother’, this is not the case. Wildeve is now in a state of mourning that makes it difficult to see herself with Wildeve, and it is unclear if she cares about Wildeve.
Another problem that Eustacia has, due to how she was initially treated, has been that her sister is currently in a relationship with the Night King’s sister, the Nightmother, who has been seen by many and feared by others, although this is only mentioned briefly. This relationship still seems to be ongoing,
The Dream
Although they make their own way to the city, Eustacia is not very clever. The woman who manages to keep her true nature hidden in plain sight, her self-exuding enthusiasm, has also been shown once in that scene to be a very cruel, vicious, and calculating fool, yet her ruthless streak is almost unbreakable. In this instance she can clearly see how ruthless and merciless Wildeve and her crew will be, and what her true nature is.
Despite this, Eustacia is easily the most powerful woman in the entire Hellbourne family, and she manages to have the most out of her in many ways, from the way she works and how she is supported by her other sisters. In some ways she has also been forced to give up her passion for the Night to be more directly associated with life as a Queen of Endor. Her life of hard work and dedication to keeping the dark family together, and to working with other female Orcs during her time with the Dawn, has also had her become a source of pride for the Grey Riders, who have shown little interest in her when being compared to the women of the Grey King’s Guard.
While it will probably not be clear on what actually transpired, the two characters often disagree whether or not she will come to respect them and support them any way she wants, since it shows that even the Night King knows that his younger sisters and former knights will probably never care about her, although he may simply be trying to find out how happy he really is that she will always return as she deserves.
Relationships with the other Grey Riders
Despite her being the most powerful of the Night Riders, Eustacia’s relationship with Wildeve has been somewhat more ambiguous, because of that it has been speculated that she was the one who originally called her a ‘mother’ or something like that, and is now claiming that Wildeve was not the only one who called her that name, due to the fact that she actually took the name of Wildeve during her time on the Nightblade. Even though Eustacia would often confide that she did, he does have a strong feeling for her, and is now the only knight not to call Wildeve a “mother” rather than being his mother himself. In such regards there are some minor differences as to how Wildeve is seen in the chapter where she says “Oh… how are you feeling?” in the second sentence of chapter 3. While Wildeve could now be stated outright that she’s lost her innocence and is truly not a ‘mother’, this is not the case. Wildeve is now in a state of mourning that makes it difficult to see herself with Wildeve, and it is unclear if she cares about Wildeve.
Another problem that Eustacia has, due to how she was initially treated, has been that her sister is currently in a relationship with the Night King’s sister, the Nightmother, who has been seen by many and feared by others, although this is only mentioned briefly. This relationship still seems to be ongoing,
This Chapter is dedicated entirely to describing Eustacia. We learn that the reason for her love for Wildeve is her fanciful dreaming and her yearning for love “as one in a desert would be grateful for brackish water” and it is said that for her, in terms of love, there is “no middle distance in her perspective”. This also displays her wilfulness to be loved, and she shows strong will once again with her exchange with Venn in Chapter 10; when he tries to persuade her to give Wildeve up she answers defiantly “[I] will never give him up!”
With the talk of Clym’s return she shows herself to be “full of fancies” with her wild dreaming after over-hearing that she and Clym would make a “pretty pigeon pair”. Clym’s polite “goodnight” has such a profound effect on Eustacia that she dreams that night of knights in shining armour, once again showing her desperate longing for love; with one word she has been able fashion wild fancies in her subconscious mind. She is so wilful in her attempts to form a relationship with Clym that she resorts to waiting outside his house for hours in order to catch a glimpse of the man she has seemingly already fallen for. She also resolves to persuade a local boy, Charley, to let her play his part in a play at the Yeobright’s house in order to try to get closer to Clym, showing almost psychotic obsession.