Hey everyone! I changed the page design cause I thought it this was quite Egdon Heathy (if that makes sense). It kind of has a quiet, gloomy/earthy feel to it, so it reminded me of the setting in ROTN. It might better inspire us to think more deeply about the novel. Do you like it? Feel free to let me know.
—Karla
Here, I’ll begin. I think Hardy views love as a sort of game humans play and as something unattainable. Genuine love for a person, genarally produces selflessness, but none of the characters in a relationship have this quality. In the beginning of the book, when we see Wildeve and Eustacia interact for the first time, we can see why their love is like a game. On page 89 Eustacia asks Wildeve if he loves her and he flippantly states, “I do, and I do not…I have my times and seasons…But you are a pleasant lady to know and nice to meet.” Right after this though, Wildeve states that he would jump to marry Eustacia in spite of the fact that he is engaged to Thomasin. This shows that love is not really a factor in marriage and leaves the term with a very relative definition for the rest of the novel.
—Karla