A Rich Tapestry of Ideas

Respond to these quotes from Richard Carpenter's criticism:

"On the whole, Return of the Native, is drawn in broad strokes that indicate its closeness to folk origins. This breadth is at once its charm and its weakness, for it is rich in superstition, myth, and folk characters acting out an elemental tale of love and hate; but it is also overladen with allusion and philosophy, with complex plot, and with attempts at psychologizing."

"As in Far From the Madding Crowd the peasants (Cantle, Fairway, Nunsuch) are a chorus, with all that implies of continuity and comment...Hardy goes beyond his practice in Far by involving these characters and other folk in the action...The folk are thus always there in the novel, reminding us of their permanence (to the Heath) in contrast to the lives of the principal characters (who may desire permanence, but find nothing by tragedy.)"