At a high school reunion, chances are good that there will be one or two members of the class that are still well liked because they had generously helped their classmates solve problems with both intuition and common sense during high school. On the other hand, the members of the class may be feeling sorrow over the suicide of a classmate who had to have everything her way and could not tolerate a loss of control. In The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy, Thomasin corresponded to the well-liked class member and Eustacia Vye corresponded to the suicidal class member. Thomasin may be seen as a symbol of renewal in contrast with Eustacia Vye and other characters.

In general, Thomasin was generally very pleasant to be around. Her gentle nature attracted many suitors. Although one of Diggory Venn's marriage proposals had just been rejected by Thomasin, it "was the one ewe-lamb of pleasure left to him to be in Thomasin's heath" (Hardy 503; bk. 1, ch. 9). Despite Thomasin's marriage to Damon Wildeve, Diggory Venn's love for Thomasin never died in the entire novel.

Early in the novel, Thomasin was to be married to Damon Wildeve but legal circumstances arose just befo

During a meeting with her aunt, Thomasin was "acting very blithe" and "blushing" (598; bk. 3, ch 6). Her aunt was somewhat displeased with the wedding incident and Thomasin tried to renew her spirits. Sunlight illuminated her "as her presence illuminated the heath" (598).

In conclusion, Thomasin may be seen as a symbol of renewal with her gentle nature and common sense. Her amicability attracted suitors and her common sense allowed her to survive, in contrast to Eustacia, whose exotic nature attracted suitors but lead to her death. Thomasin's gentle nature allowed her to help others out with their problems and to deal with those she interacted with. If Thomasin were real, I would definitely like to be her friend.

When her marriage to Wildeve was experiencing problems, Thomasin tried to renew her marriage through a discussion. She spoke of her loneliness and Wildeve's unwillingness to walk through the heath with her. Unfortunately, the tone became totally negative when Thomasin's inquisitiveness was brought up and she accused Wildeve of continuing an old relationship with Eustacia (696-697; bk. 5, ch. 6).

Finally, Thomasin and Clym discuss the possibility of a marriage to Diggory Venn. Clym does not particularly like the idea because Venn may not have been "gentleman enough" for her (730; bk. 6, ch. 3). Thomasin replied that she

Some common words found in the essay are:
Clym Yeobright, Quiet Woman, Egdon Heath, Venn Thomasin's, Diggory Venn's, Symbol Renewal, Soon Wildeve, Eustacia Vye, Venn Clym, Thomasin Venn, diggory venn, bk 6, bk 6 ch, 6 ch, bk 1 ch, common sense, attracted suitors, bk 1, 5 ch, gentle nature, ch 1, bk 5 ch, bk 5, thomasin tried renew, seen symbol renewal,
Approximate Word count = 913
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)