토마스 하디의『귀향』에 나타난 주체적 자아 실현의 의미 찾기

The study on the meaning of subjective self-actualization in The Return of the Native

Hardy was interested in Women’s social positions unlike other writers in the Victorian Age. He expressed his firm opinions rebelling against the contemporary social contest and ideology through his works. He examined the social condition of females in Victorian society, focusing on their status as “social undergo” who were not able to lead their own independent life in a patriarchal society. Clym has limitation option to change a conventional reality, despite his consistent effort to educate the people in Heath and finally surrenders to his surrounding. The extreme situations that Eustacia, the female character in the Return of the Native experiences in the 19th century patriarchal society are illustrated through her husband and people in Heath. She is marginalized by the majority and suffers from problems that might lead to psychological disorders. Eustacia is wild, passionate and unable to accommodate the tradition. She does not submit to the patriarchal ideology, but reveals aggressive rebellion against male dominance and power. Even though she failed to overcome the oppression in the patriarchal society and was destroyed by forces, she would not surrender. Rather she tries to destroy all surrounding and attempts to come to self-actualization on her own. Consequently, she underwent a transformation from a woman to a subjective heroine.