Abstract

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) is a famous realistic novelist and poet of Britain. He has created a great number of novels, poems, and short stories and almost all of them were translated into a large number of languages and won great popularity among readers all over the world. His works were mostly created in the late Victorian era, and with a lot of realistic works, he has made a great contribution to the development of English novels at the end of the 19th century. As a novelist who stood on the crossing point of traditional and modern times, Hardy inherited and carried forward the literary tradition of the Victorian era, and under the influence of the atmosphere of the times, he had his own novels of "Character and Environment ", and created a wind of "Wessex".

The first part gives a brief introduction about Hardy’s life experience and his creation, and the second part is a summary of the current state of criticism on Hardy. The third part is mainly focused on the establishment of eco-feminism. And the fourth one mainly focuses on the eco-feminism features of the Return of the Native. This chapter is divided into four parts: the first part is Eustacia and Egdon Heath — Depart from Nature, the second is Thomasin and Egdon Heath — Close to Nature, the third part is Clym and Egdon Heath — Return to Nature and the last part is Wayne's love of Thomasin — Integrate with Nature.

In the conclusion part, the thesis restates the obvious eco-feminism features in the Return of the Native.

Key words: Hardy, Eco-feminism, the Return of the Native