Few things attract more attention than controversy, and no other author knew this well than Thomas Hardy. During the late 19th, and early 20th centuries, Hardy's work shocked the public and threw the critics into an uproar. And yet, he managed to change the face of literature for the better. Hardy's work was filled with controversial topics, and his influence is evident in many different aspects of literature. An author of great talent, Hardy wrote in many styles, though not as successfully as he may have wanted. When he was writing melodrama, social comedy, or novels of consciousness, he could be both trivial and banal (DLB 124). Though he was not always widely accepted as a conventional author. Hardy's novels flourished from 1872-1895, releasing 5 separate novels, as well as plays and poetry. During those twenty years, Hardy's better known novels were released, including The Return of the Native (1878), (BW 1-22). Although a wonderful novelist, Thomas Hardy was ul!
             timately forced out of writing novels due to the heavy criticism they brought upon him. Especially in the novel The Return of the Native. In his novel Return of the Native Hardy created two strong opposing forces: Egdon Heath somber and symbolic of personal fate, and Eustaciavye, beautiful and representing the opposing human element.
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