The Return of the Native (1994) Movie Script
Deliver my heart from
this fearful, lonely place.
Send me a great love
from somewhere,
or else I shall die.
Truly, I shall die.
The king called down
his nobles all
by one, by two, by three
Earl marshal,
I'll go shrive the queen
and thou shalt wend with me
a boon, a boon...
Come on, grandpa.
Look.
The brightest fire around,
and the witch doesn't
even bother to tend it.
Dare ye not say her name?
Nobody's saying her name.
Or is it bad luck?
Eustacia.
Eustacia vye.
I'm not afraid to say her name.
Charley, you do chores
for her grandfather.
Maybe she's got you
under her spell, too.
Evil things have happened
since she come two year
ago... Garden crops withered,
cows with the bloat.
Look!
She's conjured up a
wee ghost to feed her fire.
That's no wee ghost.
That's my son Johnny.
She'll put a spell
on him for sure,
just like all the other
young men round here.
You ought to get
yourself married.
Single sleepers are the
ones who see ghosts.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
That's the bed that I lie on.
Diggory venn.
You gave us a start, reddleman.
That so?
My Van's on the road below.
I'm looking for the
direction of blooms-end
or the quiet woman inn.
It's been nearly two years
since I've been through here.
The north road will
take you to both,
but the inn won't
be serving tonight.
Damon wildeve got married today.
We'll be taking
the road ourselves
to serenade the newly marrieds.
Well, I thank you
for the directions.
Good night to you all.
Aye. Aye. Good night, aye.
The reddleman's
coming here is a sign.
Last night, I had a
dream of a death's head.
No.
Two years ago,
Diggory venn was as
white-skinned as any of us
till he took up selling
reddle to sheep men.
Popping up like that
out of the fire...
It was a sign, I say.
Hello?
Everything all right in there?
Hello there.
It's captain vye, isn't it?
Aye. Reddleman.
Isn't that thomasin yeobright,
the maiden from blooms-end
who was to be married today?
I take, by your look, the
bridegroom's not aboard.
The simple truth is
there was some mistake
in the marriage license,
which can easily be corrected.
Or maybe you're a kidnapper,
and you've stolen her
for your own.
What makes you so full
of romantic notions?
Your granddaughter eustacia
vye came to live with you.
She's from budmouth, isn't she?
The young ones
today... Night, reddleman.
Good night, captain.
Diggory...
Was it just my good fortune
you happened along
to give me a ride?
I'm a poor one to ask
about good fortune.
You have every right to take
pleasure in my misfortune.
Go ahead.
I could never take pleasure
in a day that was bad for you.
Thomas in.
Walk on.
Eustacia.
I learned something on the
road home that'll shock ye.
Not likely, in this dull place.
Thomas in yeobright
from blooms-end...
Her marriage today
never came off.
Something about a mix-up
with the license.
Aye, that's
Damon wildeve for ye.
I hear he's free and easy
with every female
without gaps in her smile.
None of them mind.
Life is so drab
in this awful Heath.
A man of roguish reputation
is like a fresh breeze.
I expect a letter any day
saying we're not
blood relations.
Enough of that fire now.
I don't want the fire, anyway.
I'm supposed to be home.
Keep the fire up,
and I'll give you
the crooked sixpence.
Steady now.
This isn't the place
for you, reddleman.
Rejected suitors don't belong
outside the bridal chamber
on the wedding night.
Thomas in.
What are you doing here...
With him?
Please, aunt.
Thank you, Diggory,
for bringing me back.
What's happened?
There's been no wedding.
No wedding?
It's been the worst day
of my life.
My dear.
How could he do this?
I can explain.
It's from Mr. Wildeve's lips
I want the answers.
You come with me.
I'm so sorry you ran
from the church
in such anger this morning.
I really was not to blame.
I think you were
very much to blame.
It was a stupid mistake.
I got the license in budmouth.
It wasn't valid in angle bury,
and, um, well...
That's the whole of it.
Indeed it is not.
'Tis a great injury
to my family and to me,
and one I cannot easily forgive.
For someone who so strongly
objected to the marriage
because you thought me unworthy,
you seem uncommonly put out.
Damon, please don't
make things worse.
There's no need to adopt
that tone with me.
While thomasin
lives under my roof,
she's under my protection...
And she will always
have my love.
Tamsie, mine.
I really do have every intention
of completing the marriage.
No.
The king called down
his nobles all
by one, by two, by three...
My dear.
If my son clym were home,
you would not be so careless
with his cousin's feelings.
Come. We're going home.
He can tell them you've retired.
We'll talk more of this later.
Upon the road may be
you'll put on
a great, bright gown
and I'll put on another
and we will away
to the London town
like priors both together
no, no, my liege, my king
such things can never be...
Yay! Hooray! Hurrah! Yay!
We've come to serenade
your wedding,
now that all the bonfires
have died down.
And by the stars so high...
All but one, I see.
Here.
There's your crooked sixpence.
Now hurry home now.
You did well with the fire.
I've come.
You give me no peace.
How clever you are, Damon,
to invent something
about the license
to put off the marriage.
You love me best.
Wrong. If not for
the wrong town,
I'd be a married man tonight.
You'd have only a 10-year-old
boy to tend your fire.
Is this the face
you'd cast aside
for the sake
of thomasin yeobright?
It was to save my sanity.
You might go to sleep
with thomasin,
but which face will you
see in your dreams?
Then I'll ask again.
Will you leave this
dog hole of an england
and come with me?
You know, I find the
idea of Paris very exciting.
You will, then?
But I have this great fear now
that the excitement
might not last.
I once gave you
sleepless nights.
Admit it.
What happened?
Ask me again... When the
hurt of today has healed.
There are times I wish you'd
never come to egdon Heath.
There's never a time
that I wish I had.
'Tis my cross, my misery,
and it shall be my death.
What is it you really
want, eustacia?
To be loved...
To madness.
Riddles.
You may tempt me,
but I won't give myself
to you anymore.
You've said as much before.
I need time to think.
How long?
Maybe you are a witch.
You can keep me in pain
until morning.
Kiss me good night.
Here.
Suffer only until you get home.
So, you remembered
where home was.
Where have you been?
Tending the fire
for miss eustacia.
As if I didn't know.
She has you under a spell.
Not so.
See here.
A crooked sixpence?
A charm to ward off the
devil is what she give ye.
Eustacia.
Best come in.
Anything you wish
before you go to bed?
To die in my sleep
and not face another day
on this graveyard of a Heath.
I... I know.
I'll not ask who you
were talking to.
Only I hope it has nothing
to do with the sadness
of thomasin yeobright tonight.
Do you think I'm a
witch, grandfather?
If you are, there
isn't a prettier one.
You make sure that's
stacked neatly now.
Come on, Charley.
Me old friend clym yeobright's
coming home for the holidays.
Five years.
His old friends will seem
as common as muck now.
I wouldn't wonder.
Manager to a diamond merchant.
'Tis a blazing great business
he belongs to in Paris.
The devil wasn't born there,
but that's where he grew up.
I'll be performing
with the mummers
for Mr. Clym at the yeobrights'.
We've not been invited.
That's a shame.
How do you fall into
the business of diamonds?
You don't fall in. You climb up.
Clym yeobright was
always a perusing man...
Books upon books.
He's wonderfully clever.
I'd like all
that's under his hair.
Too much schooling these days.
Come to think of it, clym
yeobright and eustacia
would make a pretty pigeon pair.
Couldn't be a better couple
if they were made on purpose.
They'd look very natty,
arm-in-crook together,
if he's the well-favored
fellow he used to be.
Fancy Paris clothes.
They say he talks French
as fast as a maiden
could eat blackberries.
Too bad he's coming home
with this bad trouble
about his cousin thomasin.
Aye. Poor thomasin.
Her heart has ached
enough about it.
Promise you won't tell clym
when he comes home tomorrow.
Your face will tell
him. I won't say a word.
I'll be cheerful for his sake.
I wish you'd set your heart
on someone more worthy
than Mr. Wildeve.
You don't see him as I do.
I make allowances
for his weaknesses
for the sake of his virtues.
Virtues? Ha ha!
Such virtues.
He leaves you to sit here
like this week after week
with one lame excuse
after another...
The magistrate is gone,
the vicar is absent.
Please, aunt.
You don't go out.
You don't hear the talk.
They're saying that eustacia vye
is the cause of it all,
that he still sees her,
that she's put a curse on him.
Damon means to marry me.
I know it.
It was hard enough
thinking of you as his bride...
Without having you
behave like his widow.
Me old friend clym yeobright
is coming home for the holidays.
You know, Sam,
come to think of it,
clym yeobright and eustacia
would make a pretty pigeon pair.
Good day, Mr. Venn.
May I pass, please?
It's you I came for a look at.
And what might a reddleman
think he could find in me?
In simple terms, miss vye,
I came to beg that you release
your hold over Damon wildeve
so he may marry thomasin.
How dare you speak
to me like this?
It's not your fault you
have such power over men.
It's a beauty and manner
you were born with.
You once loved
thomasin yourself.
Now you act as if you want
another man to have her.
If she cannot be happy
without Mr. Wildeve,
then I do my duty in
helping her to get him.
Do you agree to give him up?
I agree to nothing.
Make way, please.
Miss vye...
You've heard clym yeobright's
returning home for a visit?
If he learns of the shame
his cousin thomasin
is going through,
he's also sure to learn
who's at least
partly the cause of it.
Reddleman.
No doubt Mrs. Yeobright
is urging Damon wildeve
to go on with this
marriage with thomasin.
If you say so.
Then Mrs. Yeobright
should tell him
there's someone else
who also wants to
marry thomasin... You.
Mrs. Yeobright has never
considered me good enough.
She doesn't have
to use your name.
This devilish red that you
find so offending...
Would gradually
disappear, you know,
if I went back to farming.
Perhaps it's not a good idea.
I'll speak to her.
And I thank you.
I don't find you
offensive, just unusual.
I can't give you an
answer yet. I need time.
I've given you three weeks.
Mrs. Yeobright told me
somebody else has asked
to marry thomasin.
And am I supposed to accept
thomasin yeobright's castoffs?
You know that that's not so.
Come with me to Bristol.
We'll marry and turn
our backs on england.
The yeobrights can be damned.
A week. Give me a week.
Clym yeobright
is due home tomorrow.
Thomas in and her aunt
will be occupied with him.
This will be our chance.
I hear clym yeobright's a young
man whose star is on the rise,
well-favored, well-read,
manager of a diamond
business in Paris.
A grand life in the most
glorious city on earth.
And what has that to do with us?
I've heard it said
clym yeobright and I
"would make
a pretty pigeon pair"...
Idle talk from ignorant
people, eustacia.
I can't live
in torment like this.
Either tell me yes...
Or set me free.
No.
You must not kiss me
until I've made up my mind.
Clym, I can't believe
you're really home.
Well, here I am, at last.
Just in time for Christmas.
We picked the Holly, and
thomasin has brought down
the choicest apples
from storage, just for you.
The ribstones... your favorites.
We must sound very rustic
to this gentleman from Paris.
A fine winter's day...
Crisp apples waiting,
Holly boughs
heavy with berries...
So, that's where
you got those scratches.
Thomas in, you've blossomed
beyond my expectations.
How does my mother keep suitors
from overrunning blooms-end?
It's not been easy.
Stop.
What is it?
I've pictured this for so long.
Mother, I want to walk
the last mile home.
You don't know how I've dreamed
of coming upon the house
from the path
across my beloved Heath.
I have something to
tell you later, mother,
but right now,
I take my leave of you.
Christian.
Walk on.
Good evening.
Yes.
What's wrong, clym?
You've had hardly a word
for us since you walked home.
Thomas in thinks you're
disappointed in us after all.
On my way over the
Heath, just by mistover,
I saw... A vision, a
maiden so rare in looks,
I've been standing here
in silence
trying to recall her face
and fearing I'd lose it.
She had black hair
and... pagan eyes...
The raw material of divinity.
She spoke only one word,
but it was like the sound
of soft music.
Mother... Curse this day.
Do it proper this time.
Put your visors on.
Get your sword. Get your shield.
Put your mask and helmet on.
Rehearse it right.
Get your sword up and go.
Here come I, St. George,
the Valiant man,
with glittering sword
and shield in hand.
What mortal man
would dare to stand
before me with my sword in hand?
I be frightened.
Charley!
Here come I, the Turkish knight,
come from the
Turkish land to fight.
I'll fight this man
with courage bold.
If his blood's hot,
I'll make it cold.
My blood is hot as any
fire, so I must say thee nay.
For with my trusty
sword and shield,
I'll take thy life away.
You wouldn't have passed
as mummers in our time.
Still, it'll have to do.
Your first outing's Monday
night... Mrs. Yeobright's.
She's having a bit of a party
for her son clym's homecoming.
See that your costumes are ready.
Right. Off home, all of you.
Good night then.
Good night.
Charley?
You're the Turkish
knight, aren't you, Charley?
Here come I, ye Turkish knight.
Come from the
Turkish land to fight.
I'll fight this man
with courage bold.
If his blood's hot,
I'll make it cold.
What a mind you have for memory.
In your heart, you'd do
almost anything for me,
wouldn't you, Charley?
I'll do a good deal, miss.
Let me play your part
for one night.
I'll pay you... 1/2 crown.
5 shillings?
No... Not money.
What then?
What you forbade me
at the maypoling, miss,
when you wouldn't join
hands with me in the ring.
If you'll let me hold your
hand... 15 minutes... Five.
Yeah.
No... Not with the glove.
Make room, make room,
my gallants, room!
Give us space to rhyme.
We come to show
St. George's play
upon this christmastime.
And if you don't
believe my word,
I'll straightway
call out, walk in,
o great St. George,
walk in, walk in,
and boldly now begin.
Here come I, St.
George, the Valiant man,
with glittering sword
and spear in hand.
What mortal man
would dare to stand
before me with my sword in hand?
Here come I, the Turkish knight,
come from the
Turkish land to fight.
I'll fight this man
with courage bold.
If his blood's hot,
I'll make it cold.
My blood is hot as any fire.
So I must say thee nay.
For with my trusty
sword and shield,
I'll take thy life away.
There. You're a bit
too real, lad.
Call in the second,
that champion whom I dread.
Where is the saracen?
He does long delay.
That hero of renown.
Wait!
Was I seeing things?
It is you.
You're not a boy.
Thank you... Sire.
I'm... Amazed.
Then I've played my part well.
Clym!
Here you are.
Did you see her?
Who was that lovely creature?
Eustacia vye, the
captain's granddaughter
from mistover knap.
Why wasn't she invited?
Come now. What's the mystery?
Now, don't force me
to speak ill of her.
It will only whet your interest.
I know all about men
and forbidden fruit.
Now, come inside, clym.
Your visit will be so short.
Come and let your old
friends enjoy your company.
You're not an easy man
to find, reddleman.
An odd hour to come looking.
I've thought
about what you said,
about the need to make
Mr. Wildeve come to his senses.
Did young Mr. Yeobright
enjoy your performance tonight?
And since you seem
so personally interested
in the outcome of this matter,
I suggest you deliver
the news to Damon wildeve.
Me?
I shall write
a final letter to him.
You must deliver it on Saturday,
when I promised to meet him
at shadwater falls.
I'm foolish... But I'm not a fool.
If this is some breathless whim
brought on by a brush with
the dashing Mr. Yeobright,
I'll not act the idiot for you.
You're apt to change your mind
when he returns to Paris.
I'm both a fool and foolish.
I'm too foolish
to understand your wish
to see thomasin happy
in the arms of another...
But I was fool enough
to think you meant it.
Write the letter.
I'll give it to him.
Dear Mr. Wildeve, the
more I consider the matter,
the more I am convinced
there must be an end
to our acquaintance.
I have decided once and for all
that we must hold
no further communication.
Eustacia vye.
Will thou, Damon, have this
woman to thy wedded wife,
to live together
after god's ordinance
in the holy state of matrimony,
to love, comfort,
honor, and keep her
in sickness and in health,
and forsaking all other,
keep thee only unto her so
long as you both shall live?
I will.
Will thou, thomasin,
have this man
to thy wedded husband,
to live together
after god's ordinance
in the holy state of
matrimony, obey and serve him,
love, honor, and keep him
in sickness and health,
and forsaking all other,
keep thee only unto him
so long as you both shall live?
I will.
With this ring, I thee wed.
With all my worldly goods
I thee endow.
Those whom god
have joined together,
let no man put asunder.
Aah! Aah!
Eustacia!
Run!
Johnny!
Get her into the carriage quick.
What happened to her?
Is she all right?
Eustacia?
Walk on.
Susan nunsuch
stabbed eustacia vye.
If blood be drawn in church,
it stops the bewitching.
Susan was frightened
for her Johnny.
What nonsense.
Bloodletting in church.
Stupid superstitions.
Keep at it, Charley.
Yes, captain vye.
Miss vye.
I came to solve the mystery
of just who is eustacia vye.
You see her before you.
Yes, but is she
that misty apparition
who appeared in a fog
on the Heath,
or is she the Turkish knight
who was slain at my feet?
Or is she the witch,
who for her crimes
was stabbed this morning
in east egdon church?
All three, I fear.
You have my confession.
I blush for my
native egdon, miss vye,
that such ignorance
still exists here.
Is the injury serious?
It was shameful
of Susan nunsuch.
I wasn't aware I had
such a magic reputation.
I can't imagine anyone
thinking you guilty of such things,
bewitching as you may be.
I've been blamed
for many things,
even the delayed wedding
of thomasin.
Is there truth in what they
say about Mr. Wildeve?
I once found him
amusing company,
but I've sent him a letter
refusing to see him again,
hoping that he would
marry thomasin.
I succeeded.
An honorable thing to do.
There are those who'd say
I confessed to appear
innocent in your eyes.
The only thing you're guilty of
is not appearing here
like this five years ago
and saving me
a journey to Paris.
It's a dream life
you've lead, I'm sure.
That's for another day.
I'll call again soon and
often, if you'll allow me.
I'd be disappointed
if you didn't.
Walk on.
Bye, aunt.
Bye, clym.
Goodbye.
Good luck.
Mother, I feel it was true fate
that brought me back
here to the Heath.
Your niece is wed.
Your son's home.
You can rejoice
twice in one day.
You're going back
to a better life in Paris.
No, mother. I'm not going back.
What?
Now I can tell you
my great secret.
I intend to study
and start a school here
to educate farmers'
sons and daughters.
No, clym, you cannot.
You cannot throw away
all those years of study
and prosperity in Paris.
What for?
To widen their world,
banish ignorance and
superstition... Clym.
The likes of which
moved Susan nunsuch
to stab miss vye
in church today.
Well, perhaps you should know,
they believe it was
eustacia vye's fault
that Mr. Wildeve dallied so long
before marrying your cousin.
Mother, I know.
Miss vye told me so
less than an hour ago.
The truth cleverly told
is the biggest lie of all.
She expected people to say that.
You are blinded, clym.
I want you to meet her,
get to know her.
Meet her?
No.
No, never.
The cruelest thing next to
death a mother can suffer...
To see an unfit creature
taking over the mind
and life of her only son.
Don't make me speak to you
in a way we will both regret.
Are you sure
we should dig these up?
Christian.
A fine specimen.
Look at that.
Just think... An ancient
druid was in here.
What a ceremony
that must've been.
You found the choicest
of the lot, clym.
Some man's bones
been resting in that pot
for a thousand years.
No man rests here.
This urn holds
a beautiful maiden,
who died of heartbreak
because her world
began and ended
on this horrible Heath.
You've done her a great favor.
Now her spirit
can escape this place
and see what wonders
have come to pass.
Her first stop will
be Paris, no doubt.
What do you think, Timothy?
Wouldn't she be the perfect one
to join me in teaching the
young ones round here?
With all due respect, clym,
I can't imagine such an
idea ever entering her head.
Ha ha.
I hear you attended the
opening of a barrow on the Heath.
Well, did they find
any burial urns?
A few.
I would've liked
to have had one.
As part of the
history of this place.
You're trying
to make me feel guilty
for seeing eustacia vye
these past few weeks.
You know full well
I gave her the urn,
my share of the excavation.
It's not the urn I
care about. It's you.
If not for her, you'd
have returned to Paris.
Three months you've wasted.
Absent I was a hero,
in the flesh a disgrace?
In deference to you, I
have decided to establish
a fine private school
in budmouth.
It may not make me rich,
but you can take pride in
my reputation as an educator.
Day after day, reading,
reading, reading.
You'll go blind
before you find anything
to lift the lot
of these Heath people.
They've been content
for centuries.
Let them have their
ghosts and their curses.
There's an eclipse
of the moon tonight.
I'm going out to see it.
Perhaps you should tell her
Christian cantle says dead
folks come to claim their own
from people who
keep those burial urns.
I'd be ashamed to let her think
my mother would even
repeat such things.
My darling, what is it?
Whenever you're
a few minutes late,
I fear our love is over.
Never.
I keep you waiting
so I can feel you cling
to me so desperately.
Shame on you, but you're right.
It does send the blood rushing.
I can feel it.
You're missing the eclipse.
You look at it.
Tell me what you see.
A great and exciting discovery.
It changed man's
whole view of the world.
Come now.
All that in one little eclipse?
Yes!
I can sense the way
that copernicus
or even Columbus must've felt
watching that curved
shadow of the earth
creep across the moon
and realizing that the
world was really round,
not flat, as all
the ancients supposed.
Did you see it?
I see it now in your eyes.
Something else...
Something that frightens me.
What else? What else do you see?
Sadness.
Your mother knows
of our meetings
and speaks against me.
All I know is we
cannot go on like this.
It's not seeing you
that has to end.
It's parting from you that
I can no longer endure.
Be my wife.
Speak to me of Paris.
Is there any other place
like it on earth?
Tell me of the
tuileries and the louvre.
I hate talking of Paris.
I'm finished with Paris.
I thought it
a small thing to ask.
Well, there is one
sunny room in the louvre,
which would make a
fitting place for you to live.
The galerie d'apollon.
In the early morning,
it is a perfect
Blaze of splendor.
I used to visit it on sun days.
Yes.
I dislike
English sun days so much.
How I should chime in with
their manners over there.
We'll go back there, won't we?
I have vowed not
to go back, eustacia.
You know I plan to teach.
I'd rather live and die
in a hermitage here
with proper work to do.
You could teach English
in Paris.
It's Paris your heart is set on.
I was a fool to think it was me.
No, clym, no.
No, it is you.
You'll never stay
with your plan to teach,
I'm quite sure.
We'll soon be in Paris.
So I promise you
I promise that I will be
yours forever and ever.
I'll take that as a yes,
if you're afraid to say it.
Yes.
Yes.
Another round, Mr. Wildeve!
What is it?
You look ill.
I've just been
at the quiet woman.
Captain vye announced
that you and eustacia vye
are engaged to be married.
And then he turned...
And witnessed
my surprise and shame.
I'm sorry.
You don't make it easy
for me to talk to you.
You always make it sound
as though the suffering
you cause me is my fault.
I don't mean to.
I wish I never lived
to see this day,
see you throwing away
everything... For her.
I won't suffer this
any longer in my own home.
I think... You should
bestow your presence...
Where you bestow your love.
If this is the size
of mother love,
then I've outgrown it.
I'm still your son
and will say no more,
but I'll no longer
inflict myself upon you.
I'll go.
I knew she wouldn't see me.
It doesn't matter.
I've found a little cottage.
We can be married at once.
I've saved some money
from my position in Paris.
We'll get by.
How long?
How long must we live
in this little cottage?
Six months, probably.
I'll have finished my reading,
and I'll be ready
to work in budmouth.
Six months. No more.
Do you promise?
Of course.
What's the matter?
Tell me again of that one
sunny room in the louvre.
Which room was that?
The one that would make
a fitting place for me to live.
First, set the date.
A fortnight... But tell me.
Tell me again of that room.
The galerie d'apollon.
In the early morning
when the sun is bright,
the rays bristle and dart
from the gold and silver plate,
to the jewels
and precious stones,
till there is a perfect
network of light,
which quite dazzles the eye.
You should've come.
It was quite beautiful.
That wedding was
born of trickery.
Eustacia looked so happy.
They make a handsome pair.
Clym!
I saw the great steed
Pegasus outside our door.
We talked.
The first time I saw you,
you had small horse
for company, remember?
Of course I remember.
It was the same pony, clym.
I'd like to think
he brought you to me.
Maybe he did.
Just don't ever let him
take you away from me.
What's the matter?
The light in here
is not so good.
I heard you were still
about on the Heath,
but you never visit the inn.
I haven't found the occasion.
Since you haven't visited
me, I decided to visit you.
Friends do that, you know.
Well, it's a pleasure
I wasn't expecting.
You don't... You don't look
as happy as you should be.
Who is, Diggory? Who is?
Husbands will play
the truant, you know?
I thought you might know
some way to keep Damon home.
Well, that's difficult...
Because I can't imagine
anyone wanting to leave your side.
I'll put my mind to it, see
if there might be some way
of keeping the innkeeper
in his inn.
Clym, come here.
Look at the moon.
I want to know.
How does that moon
appear over Paris tonight?
You can tell me.
You can hardly see it
through the smoke of chimneys,
with buildings blocking
almost every window.
'Tis far more beautiful here.
Eustacia.
Clym.
Eustacia!
Help!
Eustacia!
Help!
Eustacia!
Clym!
What's the matter?
I can't see the words.
It's all blurred.
I think I'm going blind.
Blind?
No!
No.
My beautiful eustacia.
Please don't let your
face be lost to me.
What have I done?
No.
No.
"The 31st of may, 1669."
"I must endeavor to keep
a margin in my book open,"
"to add here and there,"
"and note in shorthand,
with my own hand,"
"and thus end all that I
shall ever be able to do"
"with my own eyes, in
the keeping of my journal."
See? Even the great Samuel
pepys when he was but 36,
had his eyes fail on him.
If it weren't for
these cursed books,
you'd be bright-eyed
and back in Paris,
prosperous,
and we would be happy,
not sitting here talking
as if this half-blindness
was some kind of blessing.
You are my blessing, eustacia.
Fate put you at my side
before this happened.
I'll have a smaller
school now, true,
but I can teach from memory.
We can still be happy.
Good day, clym!
Is that you, Humphrey?
Yes.
Didn't see you there.
That's no surprise by now.
Half of what's visible
ain't worth looking at,
wouldn't you say,
Mrs. Yeobright?
I was sorry to hear
about your condition.
If your work was
as low class as mine,
you could go on.
Yes.
Yes!
How much do you get for
cutting those furze bundles?
Half a crown a hundred.
On long days, I can
live well on the wages.
The outdoor exercise
will do me good.
I can keep down
our expenditures.
What would I need?
I can lend you some
leather leggings and gauntlets
till you get your own.
Then you'll need a whetstone,
a hook, some good boots.
Whereabouts do you go then?
The galerie d'apollon...
In the early morning...
When the sun is bright...
The rays bristle and dart...
Until there is
a perfect network of light
that quite dazzles the eye.
Clym?
Eustacia?
I couldn't believe my ears.
Singing?
It's only a little song.
Would you mind if I went to
the village picnic at east egdon?
To dance?
Yes, I suppose so. Yes.
Of course.
It would be good for you.
Are you jealous?
Of course I'm jealous.
It frightens me to realize
other men now take joy
in a beauty I can no longer see.
You're my husband.
Is that not enough?
Only if you are my wife,
without regret.
I won't stay long.
I'll meet you on the road
and bring you home.
Yes.
Eustacia.
Damon.
No one out there
holds a candle to you.
You startled me.
Do you still like to
dance as much as ever?
I think so.
Will you dance with me?
Your husband and
my wife are cousins.
Consider me a harmless relation.
Eustacia!
Well, I just
discovered something.
And what might that be?
With others, it's just exercise.
With you, dance becomes an art.
Why, thank you.
All such exaggerations
are appreciated these days.
I'm sorry to hear about clym.
Truly.
We all thought he was
going to take you off to Paris.
Paris will have
to do without me...
For the present, at least.
Her loss more
than yours, I'd say.
I must be going.
I'll walk you home if you want.
Clym is coming
to meet me part way.
If you think it unwise...
You're in the wrong company
if you're looking for wisdom.
I thank you for
walking with me, Diggory.
We make good company.
You have trouble seeing,
and I'd just as
soon not be seen.
Is someone coming?
It's clym.
He's with Diggory venn.
I should go.
Neither of them would
believe we met by chance.
Good night then.
That's Mrs. Yeobright
and... Someone else?
I... I... Can't tell.
Clym, it is you.
Mr. Venn.
Diggory, I leave you
to return with a lady
far too beautiful to walk alone.
Didn't anyone offer
to walk with you?
One of the Heath people
walked me.
I know so few of them by name.
Well, I hope to find you
better soon, clym.
Goodbye to you both.
Goodbye.
Strange.
You're the only one I can trust
to bring me bad news
with good intentions.
Your son's misfortune
has led wildeve to show,
more than casual
interest in eustacia again.
This can only mean
more unhappiness
for clym and thomasin, I fear.
I protested against
their marriages.
They didn't listen.
Now I'm too weak.
I... I can do no more.
Maybe if you would
mend with your son.
I think your presence would
make wildeve walk straighter
than he is inclined to do.
I will admit to you,
I have thought of it.
I should wish to die in peace.
He is my only son.
As for thomasin, I
forgave her long ago...
And I forgive him now.
Yes, perhaps I should go.
Why have you come?
For the sight of you again.
Why is he sleeping there?
He's very tired.
He goes out at half
past 4:00 cutting furze.
The fates have
treated you poorly.
Clym is a good man.
Most women would go far
for such a husband.
You don't even breathe
the same air as most women.
God, how I envy him that sleep.
Knowing you're here gives
him that peace of mind.
I have not that peace.
Clym?
It's his mother.
Mother?
Clym will let her in.
I should leave.
This way.
Truly, eustacia...
I've had all I came for.
Goodbye.
Mrs. Yeobright.
You look as though
you've seen a ghost.
I've seen what's worse...
A woman's face... Looking
at me through a windowpane
like a stranger.
You want me to help get
you to Mr. Clym's place?
It's just down there.
No. I just came from there.
They wouldn't let me in.
Wouldn't let you in?
I've been cast off by my son.
What is it, Johnny?
It's Mrs. Yeobright.
I've got to get Mr. Clym.
Mr. Clym! Mr. Clym!
Johnny? What is it?
Something terrible, Mr. Clym!
Easy, lad.
Your mother, Mr. Clym...
On the path at devil's
bellows. I found her.
She's dead, sir.
No! She is!
Eustacia... Show me! Show me!
Where is she, Johnny?
This way, Mr. Clym.
Mind the branches, clym.
Careful now.
Clym.
I dreamed she was coming.
She was on her way to my home,
but she couldn't make it.
No, Mr. Clym.
She said
she'd already been there,
but no one would open the door.
She said what?
And she said, "I've
been cast off by my son."
"Cast off by my son"?
Yes, Mr. Clym.
Johnny.
And she also said she'd
seen a woman in the window.
Charley, there
must be more to it.
There's a story on
the Heath, Mr. Clym,
that someone was seen
entering the house.
Who?
I don't know. A man.
I didn't see him myself.
Who saw him?
Susan nunsuch saw him.
Timothy fairway saw him.
Who was it?
I don't know. A man.
That's all I know.
Tell me.
There was a man here.
Some on the Heath saw him enter.
Tell me, or I'll... Kill me?
Please do.
The life you've
forced me to live here
would make dying seem easy.
I'll not kill you.
I'll not make you a martyr.
How bewitched I was.
How could there be any good
in a woman
everybody spoke ill of?
I confess.
I willfully didn't open the
door when she knocked
because I thought you'd
gone to do it yourself.
That is the extent
of my crime toward her.
I've committed
no crime against you...
Except for a little
self-pity, perhaps.
I have lived on promises
you never made.
It's my nature.
I have a hungry imagination,
and it starved here.
Was the man
in the house wildeve?
Clym,
the truth would spoil this
grand rage you've been feeding.
Here we are...
Still within reach
of each other,
but the darkest thoughts
a man could think
are between us now forever.
Goodbye.
Great chances
have been lost to us...
Since that... Misty
night you first said...
"Good evening."
People ask me,
"who's that old man
living at blooms-end now?"
Hello, thomasin.
Two months now, and
every day you age a year.
Send for her, clym.
I've thought of it, but the
hurt of it all comes back.
I have hurt, too.
I'm sure you can guess,
but I never turn hope away.
If I don't hear from her
soon, I'll write to her.
I don't rejoice in empty rooms.
Do it now!
Tomorrow's the 5th of November.
The bonfires will be lit.
Make it an occasion to remember.
You remind me.
These need cleaning.
A loaded pistol attracts
dampness this weather.
I've never meddled in
your affairs, granddaughter,
and I've never asked
what passed between you.
I'll only say
you appeared happier
when you had him under
unfortunate circumstances,
happier than you seem now
that you don't have him at all.
Miss eustacia, tomorrow
night's the 5th of November.
I'll light you a roaring bonfire
that'll put all
the others to shame.
You'd like that,
wouldn't you now?
Aye. There go my best
Thorn roots again.
Eustacia.
I saw your signal fire.
I hurried.
Charley lit it.
I didn't mean to signal you.
I'm glad I came anyway.
I've done you a
great harm, eustacia.
Please forgive me.
Not you.
It's this place.
You do not deserve what
you have got, eustacia.
I...
If there is anything
I can do, name it.
Anything you want bought,
any place you want to go.
Why don't you leave
this place altogether?
Yes.
Yes.
I'm not wanted here.
My husband does not call to me.
If you could help me
as far as budmouth,
I can get to Paris myself.
That's where I want to be.
Shall I... Come
with you to Paris?
Meet me at shadwater
at midnight.
Drive me to budmouth
for the morning boat,
and I'll tell you then.
Please go now.
The notion will melt
if we talk about it.
I'll not say a word against it.
Till midnight.
I'm home, Johnny.
Feeling better?
You're still burning.
I'll make you better, Johnny.
You'll be better now.
A letter for miss
eustacia from Mr. Clym.
She's asleep,
but she'll be pleased
to have it in the
morning. Thank you.
My dear eustacia,
I am obeying my heart
in writing to you.
I beg you to forgive me
and say you will return.
Come to me.
Your husband as ever, clym.
Walk on.
Hyah! Hyah!
Clym!
Captain vye's
just been to see me.
At this hour?
Eustacia's disappeared
from his house,
and Damon has just driven off.
They may be leaving together.
Whoa!
Damon.
Damon!
Where is she?
There she is, on the bridge!
Eustacia!
No!
Eustacia!
What's happened?
I can't see her!
Where is she?
She's gone!
There she is!
Where?
I've lost her!
Eustacia!
She's there!
Is she all right?
I can't see her!
She's in the flow!
No, Damon, she's gone!
It's too late!
Please, please, don't!
Thomas in, what is it?
Please, please! Help them!
Please!
Damon!
Damon, I'm coming!
Damon!
Damon.
Damon.
No!
My love.
My love.
I lied to you, eustacia.
I lied.
The moon above Paris
is beautiful.
It is.
Eustacia.
Eustacia!
She cried, "I am undone!"
Hush your tongue,
you foolish girl
for the foggy,
foggy dew is gone
I never told her
of my thoughts
and I never intend to do
but the way she gives me
a wink or a smile...
Hello, Mr. Clym.
Are you all right?
It sounds like they're
getting a proper start.
Do they look happy?
Aye, happy and then some.
You ought to go in
and join them.
It's your house.
Take another look. Would
you say they missed me?
Not a bit in the world.
To Diggory and thomasin...
A long and happy life.
Charley, I almost forgot.
From that first day I came
calling at mistover knap...
Do you remember?
Yes, sir, I do.
I could tell you were
fond of miss eustacia.
Here's a tress of her hair.
I think she'd like
you to have it.
She often mentioned
you were kind to her.
And so I teach,
not from any creed
or system of philosophy,
but from the opinions
and the actions
common to all good men.
I teach because...
To teach is to learn...
To learn that love can
only be given, never taken,
to learn that
one should forgive quickly
because time is short,
to learn that true beauty,
like the beauty of truth,
never dies.
Eustacia?
My eustacia.
As you know, my dear friends,
this beloved countryside,
which called me home,
I can now only dimly see.
this fearful, lonely place.
Send me a great love
from somewhere,
or else I shall die.
Truly, I shall die.
The king called down
his nobles all
by one, by two, by three
Earl marshal,
I'll go shrive the queen
and thou shalt wend with me
a boon, a boon...
Come on, grandpa.
Look.
The brightest fire around,
and the witch doesn't
even bother to tend it.
Dare ye not say her name?
Nobody's saying her name.
Or is it bad luck?
Eustacia.
Eustacia vye.
I'm not afraid to say her name.
Charley, you do chores
for her grandfather.
Maybe she's got you
under her spell, too.
Evil things have happened
since she come two year
ago... Garden crops withered,
cows with the bloat.
Look!
She's conjured up a
wee ghost to feed her fire.
That's no wee ghost.
That's my son Johnny.
She'll put a spell
on him for sure,
just like all the other
young men round here.
You ought to get
yourself married.
Single sleepers are the
ones who see ghosts.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
That's the bed that I lie on.
Diggory venn.
You gave us a start, reddleman.
That so?
My Van's on the road below.
I'm looking for the
direction of blooms-end
or the quiet woman inn.
It's been nearly two years
since I've been through here.
The north road will
take you to both,
but the inn won't
be serving tonight.
Damon wildeve got married today.
We'll be taking
the road ourselves
to serenade the newly marrieds.
Well, I thank you
for the directions.
Good night to you all.
Aye. Aye. Good night, aye.
The reddleman's
coming here is a sign.
Last night, I had a
dream of a death's head.
No.
Two years ago,
Diggory venn was as
white-skinned as any of us
till he took up selling
reddle to sheep men.
Popping up like that
out of the fire...
It was a sign, I say.
Hello?
Everything all right in there?
Hello there.
It's captain vye, isn't it?
Aye. Reddleman.
Isn't that thomasin yeobright,
the maiden from blooms-end
who was to be married today?
I take, by your look, the
bridegroom's not aboard.
The simple truth is
there was some mistake
in the marriage license,
which can easily be corrected.
Or maybe you're a kidnapper,
and you've stolen her
for your own.
What makes you so full
of romantic notions?
Your granddaughter eustacia
vye came to live with you.
She's from budmouth, isn't she?
The young ones
today... Night, reddleman.
Good night, captain.
Diggory...
Was it just my good fortune
you happened along
to give me a ride?
I'm a poor one to ask
about good fortune.
You have every right to take
pleasure in my misfortune.
Go ahead.
I could never take pleasure
in a day that was bad for you.
Thomas in.
Walk on.
Eustacia.
I learned something on the
road home that'll shock ye.
Not likely, in this dull place.
Thomas in yeobright
from blooms-end...
Her marriage today
never came off.
Something about a mix-up
with the license.
Aye, that's
Damon wildeve for ye.
I hear he's free and easy
with every female
without gaps in her smile.
None of them mind.
Life is so drab
in this awful Heath.
A man of roguish reputation
is like a fresh breeze.
I expect a letter any day
saying we're not
blood relations.
Enough of that fire now.
I don't want the fire, anyway.
I'm supposed to be home.
Keep the fire up,
and I'll give you
the crooked sixpence.
Steady now.
This isn't the place
for you, reddleman.
Rejected suitors don't belong
outside the bridal chamber
on the wedding night.
Thomas in.
What are you doing here...
With him?
Please, aunt.
Thank you, Diggory,
for bringing me back.
What's happened?
There's been no wedding.
No wedding?
It's been the worst day
of my life.
My dear.
How could he do this?
I can explain.
It's from Mr. Wildeve's lips
I want the answers.
You come with me.
I'm so sorry you ran
from the church
in such anger this morning.
I really was not to blame.
I think you were
very much to blame.
It was a stupid mistake.
I got the license in budmouth.
It wasn't valid in angle bury,
and, um, well...
That's the whole of it.
Indeed it is not.
'Tis a great injury
to my family and to me,
and one I cannot easily forgive.
For someone who so strongly
objected to the marriage
because you thought me unworthy,
you seem uncommonly put out.
Damon, please don't
make things worse.
There's no need to adopt
that tone with me.
While thomasin
lives under my roof,
she's under my protection...
And she will always
have my love.
Tamsie, mine.
I really do have every intention
of completing the marriage.
No.
The king called down
his nobles all
by one, by two, by three...
My dear.
If my son clym were home,
you would not be so careless
with his cousin's feelings.
Come. We're going home.
He can tell them you've retired.
We'll talk more of this later.
Upon the road may be
you'll put on
a great, bright gown
and I'll put on another
and we will away
to the London town
like priors both together
no, no, my liege, my king
such things can never be...
Yay! Hooray! Hurrah! Yay!
We've come to serenade
your wedding,
now that all the bonfires
have died down.
And by the stars so high...
All but one, I see.
Here.
There's your crooked sixpence.
Now hurry home now.
You did well with the fire.
I've come.
You give me no peace.
How clever you are, Damon,
to invent something
about the license
to put off the marriage.
You love me best.
Wrong. If not for
the wrong town,
I'd be a married man tonight.
You'd have only a 10-year-old
boy to tend your fire.
Is this the face
you'd cast aside
for the sake
of thomasin yeobright?
It was to save my sanity.
You might go to sleep
with thomasin,
but which face will you
see in your dreams?
Then I'll ask again.
Will you leave this
dog hole of an england
and come with me?
You know, I find the
idea of Paris very exciting.
You will, then?
But I have this great fear now
that the excitement
might not last.
I once gave you
sleepless nights.
Admit it.
What happened?
Ask me again... When the
hurt of today has healed.
There are times I wish you'd
never come to egdon Heath.
There's never a time
that I wish I had.
'Tis my cross, my misery,
and it shall be my death.
What is it you really
want, eustacia?
To be loved...
To madness.
Riddles.
You may tempt me,
but I won't give myself
to you anymore.
You've said as much before.
I need time to think.
How long?
Maybe you are a witch.
You can keep me in pain
until morning.
Kiss me good night.
Here.
Suffer only until you get home.
So, you remembered
where home was.
Where have you been?
Tending the fire
for miss eustacia.
As if I didn't know.
She has you under a spell.
Not so.
See here.
A crooked sixpence?
A charm to ward off the
devil is what she give ye.
Eustacia.
Best come in.
Anything you wish
before you go to bed?
To die in my sleep
and not face another day
on this graveyard of a Heath.
I... I know.
I'll not ask who you
were talking to.
Only I hope it has nothing
to do with the sadness
of thomasin yeobright tonight.
Do you think I'm a
witch, grandfather?
If you are, there
isn't a prettier one.
You make sure that's
stacked neatly now.
Come on, Charley.
Me old friend clym yeobright's
coming home for the holidays.
Five years.
His old friends will seem
as common as muck now.
I wouldn't wonder.
Manager to a diamond merchant.
'Tis a blazing great business
he belongs to in Paris.
The devil wasn't born there,
but that's where he grew up.
I'll be performing
with the mummers
for Mr. Clym at the yeobrights'.
We've not been invited.
That's a shame.
How do you fall into
the business of diamonds?
You don't fall in. You climb up.
Clym yeobright was
always a perusing man...
Books upon books.
He's wonderfully clever.
I'd like all
that's under his hair.
Too much schooling these days.
Come to think of it, clym
yeobright and eustacia
would make a pretty pigeon pair.
Couldn't be a better couple
if they were made on purpose.
They'd look very natty,
arm-in-crook together,
if he's the well-favored
fellow he used to be.
Fancy Paris clothes.
They say he talks French
as fast as a maiden
could eat blackberries.
Too bad he's coming home
with this bad trouble
about his cousin thomasin.
Aye. Poor thomasin.
Her heart has ached
enough about it.
Promise you won't tell clym
when he comes home tomorrow.
Your face will tell
him. I won't say a word.
I'll be cheerful for his sake.
I wish you'd set your heart
on someone more worthy
than Mr. Wildeve.
You don't see him as I do.
I make allowances
for his weaknesses
for the sake of his virtues.
Virtues? Ha ha!
Such virtues.
He leaves you to sit here
like this week after week
with one lame excuse
after another...
The magistrate is gone,
the vicar is absent.
Please, aunt.
You don't go out.
You don't hear the talk.
They're saying that eustacia vye
is the cause of it all,
that he still sees her,
that she's put a curse on him.
Damon means to marry me.
I know it.
It was hard enough
thinking of you as his bride...
Without having you
behave like his widow.
Me old friend clym yeobright
is coming home for the holidays.
You know, Sam,
come to think of it,
clym yeobright and eustacia
would make a pretty pigeon pair.
Good day, Mr. Venn.
May I pass, please?
It's you I came for a look at.
And what might a reddleman
think he could find in me?
In simple terms, miss vye,
I came to beg that you release
your hold over Damon wildeve
so he may marry thomasin.
How dare you speak
to me like this?
It's not your fault you
have such power over men.
It's a beauty and manner
you were born with.
You once loved
thomasin yourself.
Now you act as if you want
another man to have her.
If she cannot be happy
without Mr. Wildeve,
then I do my duty in
helping her to get him.
Do you agree to give him up?
I agree to nothing.
Make way, please.
Miss vye...
You've heard clym yeobright's
returning home for a visit?
If he learns of the shame
his cousin thomasin
is going through,
he's also sure to learn
who's at least
partly the cause of it.
Reddleman.
No doubt Mrs. Yeobright
is urging Damon wildeve
to go on with this
marriage with thomasin.
If you say so.
Then Mrs. Yeobright
should tell him
there's someone else
who also wants to
marry thomasin... You.
Mrs. Yeobright has never
considered me good enough.
She doesn't have
to use your name.
This devilish red that you
find so offending...
Would gradually
disappear, you know,
if I went back to farming.
Perhaps it's not a good idea.
I'll speak to her.
And I thank you.
I don't find you
offensive, just unusual.
I can't give you an
answer yet. I need time.
I've given you three weeks.
Mrs. Yeobright told me
somebody else has asked
to marry thomasin.
And am I supposed to accept
thomasin yeobright's castoffs?
You know that that's not so.
Come with me to Bristol.
We'll marry and turn
our backs on england.
The yeobrights can be damned.
A week. Give me a week.
Clym yeobright
is due home tomorrow.
Thomas in and her aunt
will be occupied with him.
This will be our chance.
I hear clym yeobright's a young
man whose star is on the rise,
well-favored, well-read,
manager of a diamond
business in Paris.
A grand life in the most
glorious city on earth.
And what has that to do with us?
I've heard it said
clym yeobright and I
"would make
a pretty pigeon pair"...
Idle talk from ignorant
people, eustacia.
I can't live
in torment like this.
Either tell me yes...
Or set me free.
No.
You must not kiss me
until I've made up my mind.
Clym, I can't believe
you're really home.
Well, here I am, at last.
Just in time for Christmas.
We picked the Holly, and
thomasin has brought down
the choicest apples
from storage, just for you.
The ribstones... your favorites.
We must sound very rustic
to this gentleman from Paris.
A fine winter's day...
Crisp apples waiting,
Holly boughs
heavy with berries...
So, that's where
you got those scratches.
Thomas in, you've blossomed
beyond my expectations.
How does my mother keep suitors
from overrunning blooms-end?
It's not been easy.
Stop.
What is it?
I've pictured this for so long.
Mother, I want to walk
the last mile home.
You don't know how I've dreamed
of coming upon the house
from the path
across my beloved Heath.
I have something to
tell you later, mother,
but right now,
I take my leave of you.
Christian.
Walk on.
Good evening.
Yes.
What's wrong, clym?
You've had hardly a word
for us since you walked home.
Thomas in thinks you're
disappointed in us after all.
On my way over the
Heath, just by mistover,
I saw... A vision, a
maiden so rare in looks,
I've been standing here
in silence
trying to recall her face
and fearing I'd lose it.
She had black hair
and... pagan eyes...
The raw material of divinity.
She spoke only one word,
but it was like the sound
of soft music.
Mother... Curse this day.
Do it proper this time.
Put your visors on.
Get your sword. Get your shield.
Put your mask and helmet on.
Rehearse it right.
Get your sword up and go.
Here come I, St. George,
the Valiant man,
with glittering sword
and shield in hand.
What mortal man
would dare to stand
before me with my sword in hand?
I be frightened.
Charley!
Here come I, the Turkish knight,
come from the
Turkish land to fight.
I'll fight this man
with courage bold.
If his blood's hot,
I'll make it cold.
My blood is hot as any
fire, so I must say thee nay.
For with my trusty
sword and shield,
I'll take thy life away.
You wouldn't have passed
as mummers in our time.
Still, it'll have to do.
Your first outing's Monday
night... Mrs. Yeobright's.
She's having a bit of a party
for her son clym's homecoming.
See that your costumes are ready.
Right. Off home, all of you.
Good night then.
Good night.
Charley?
You're the Turkish
knight, aren't you, Charley?
Here come I, ye Turkish knight.
Come from the
Turkish land to fight.
I'll fight this man
with courage bold.
If his blood's hot,
I'll make it cold.
What a mind you have for memory.
In your heart, you'd do
almost anything for me,
wouldn't you, Charley?
I'll do a good deal, miss.
Let me play your part
for one night.
I'll pay you... 1/2 crown.
5 shillings?
No... Not money.
What then?
What you forbade me
at the maypoling, miss,
when you wouldn't join
hands with me in the ring.
If you'll let me hold your
hand... 15 minutes... Five.
Yeah.
No... Not with the glove.
Make room, make room,
my gallants, room!
Give us space to rhyme.
We come to show
St. George's play
upon this christmastime.
And if you don't
believe my word,
I'll straightway
call out, walk in,
o great St. George,
walk in, walk in,
and boldly now begin.
Here come I, St.
George, the Valiant man,
with glittering sword
and spear in hand.
What mortal man
would dare to stand
before me with my sword in hand?
Here come I, the Turkish knight,
come from the
Turkish land to fight.
I'll fight this man
with courage bold.
If his blood's hot,
I'll make it cold.
My blood is hot as any fire.
So I must say thee nay.
For with my trusty
sword and shield,
I'll take thy life away.
There. You're a bit
too real, lad.
Call in the second,
that champion whom I dread.
Where is the saracen?
He does long delay.
That hero of renown.
Wait!
Was I seeing things?
It is you.
You're not a boy.
Thank you... Sire.
I'm... Amazed.
Then I've played my part well.
Clym!
Here you are.
Did you see her?
Who was that lovely creature?
Eustacia vye, the
captain's granddaughter
from mistover knap.
Why wasn't she invited?
Come now. What's the mystery?
Now, don't force me
to speak ill of her.
It will only whet your interest.
I know all about men
and forbidden fruit.
Now, come inside, clym.
Your visit will be so short.
Come and let your old
friends enjoy your company.
You're not an easy man
to find, reddleman.
An odd hour to come looking.
I've thought
about what you said,
about the need to make
Mr. Wildeve come to his senses.
Did young Mr. Yeobright
enjoy your performance tonight?
And since you seem
so personally interested
in the outcome of this matter,
I suggest you deliver
the news to Damon wildeve.
Me?
I shall write
a final letter to him.
You must deliver it on Saturday,
when I promised to meet him
at shadwater falls.
I'm foolish... But I'm not a fool.
If this is some breathless whim
brought on by a brush with
the dashing Mr. Yeobright,
I'll not act the idiot for you.
You're apt to change your mind
when he returns to Paris.
I'm both a fool and foolish.
I'm too foolish
to understand your wish
to see thomasin happy
in the arms of another...
But I was fool enough
to think you meant it.
Write the letter.
I'll give it to him.
Dear Mr. Wildeve, the
more I consider the matter,
the more I am convinced
there must be an end
to our acquaintance.
I have decided once and for all
that we must hold
no further communication.
Eustacia vye.
Will thou, Damon, have this
woman to thy wedded wife,
to live together
after god's ordinance
in the holy state of matrimony,
to love, comfort,
honor, and keep her
in sickness and in health,
and forsaking all other,
keep thee only unto her so
long as you both shall live?
I will.
Will thou, thomasin,
have this man
to thy wedded husband,
to live together
after god's ordinance
in the holy state of
matrimony, obey and serve him,
love, honor, and keep him
in sickness and health,
and forsaking all other,
keep thee only unto him
so long as you both shall live?
I will.
With this ring, I thee wed.
With all my worldly goods
I thee endow.
Those whom god
have joined together,
let no man put asunder.
Aah! Aah!
Eustacia!
Run!
Johnny!
Get her into the carriage quick.
What happened to her?
Is she all right?
Eustacia?
Walk on.
Susan nunsuch
stabbed eustacia vye.
If blood be drawn in church,
it stops the bewitching.
Susan was frightened
for her Johnny.
What nonsense.
Bloodletting in church.
Stupid superstitions.
Keep at it, Charley.
Yes, captain vye.
Miss vye.
I came to solve the mystery
of just who is eustacia vye.
You see her before you.
Yes, but is she
that misty apparition
who appeared in a fog
on the Heath,
or is she the Turkish knight
who was slain at my feet?
Or is she the witch,
who for her crimes
was stabbed this morning
in east egdon church?
All three, I fear.
You have my confession.
I blush for my
native egdon, miss vye,
that such ignorance
still exists here.
Is the injury serious?
It was shameful
of Susan nunsuch.
I wasn't aware I had
such a magic reputation.
I can't imagine anyone
thinking you guilty of such things,
bewitching as you may be.
I've been blamed
for many things,
even the delayed wedding
of thomasin.
Is there truth in what they
say about Mr. Wildeve?
I once found him
amusing company,
but I've sent him a letter
refusing to see him again,
hoping that he would
marry thomasin.
I succeeded.
An honorable thing to do.
There are those who'd say
I confessed to appear
innocent in your eyes.
The only thing you're guilty of
is not appearing here
like this five years ago
and saving me
a journey to Paris.
It's a dream life
you've lead, I'm sure.
That's for another day.
I'll call again soon and
often, if you'll allow me.
I'd be disappointed
if you didn't.
Walk on.
Bye, aunt.
Bye, clym.
Goodbye.
Good luck.
Mother, I feel it was true fate
that brought me back
here to the Heath.
Your niece is wed.
Your son's home.
You can rejoice
twice in one day.
You're going back
to a better life in Paris.
No, mother. I'm not going back.
What?
Now I can tell you
my great secret.
I intend to study
and start a school here
to educate farmers'
sons and daughters.
No, clym, you cannot.
You cannot throw away
all those years of study
and prosperity in Paris.
What for?
To widen their world,
banish ignorance and
superstition... Clym.
The likes of which
moved Susan nunsuch
to stab miss vye
in church today.
Well, perhaps you should know,
they believe it was
eustacia vye's fault
that Mr. Wildeve dallied so long
before marrying your cousin.
Mother, I know.
Miss vye told me so
less than an hour ago.
The truth cleverly told
is the biggest lie of all.
She expected people to say that.
You are blinded, clym.
I want you to meet her,
get to know her.
Meet her?
No.
No, never.
The cruelest thing next to
death a mother can suffer...
To see an unfit creature
taking over the mind
and life of her only son.
Don't make me speak to you
in a way we will both regret.
Are you sure
we should dig these up?
Christian.
A fine specimen.
Look at that.
Just think... An ancient
druid was in here.
What a ceremony
that must've been.
You found the choicest
of the lot, clym.
Some man's bones
been resting in that pot
for a thousand years.
No man rests here.
This urn holds
a beautiful maiden,
who died of heartbreak
because her world
began and ended
on this horrible Heath.
You've done her a great favor.
Now her spirit
can escape this place
and see what wonders
have come to pass.
Her first stop will
be Paris, no doubt.
What do you think, Timothy?
Wouldn't she be the perfect one
to join me in teaching the
young ones round here?
With all due respect, clym,
I can't imagine such an
idea ever entering her head.
Ha ha.
I hear you attended the
opening of a barrow on the Heath.
Well, did they find
any burial urns?
A few.
I would've liked
to have had one.
As part of the
history of this place.
You're trying
to make me feel guilty
for seeing eustacia vye
these past few weeks.
You know full well
I gave her the urn,
my share of the excavation.
It's not the urn I
care about. It's you.
If not for her, you'd
have returned to Paris.
Three months you've wasted.
Absent I was a hero,
in the flesh a disgrace?
In deference to you, I
have decided to establish
a fine private school
in budmouth.
It may not make me rich,
but you can take pride in
my reputation as an educator.
Day after day, reading,
reading, reading.
You'll go blind
before you find anything
to lift the lot
of these Heath people.
They've been content
for centuries.
Let them have their
ghosts and their curses.
There's an eclipse
of the moon tonight.
I'm going out to see it.
Perhaps you should tell her
Christian cantle says dead
folks come to claim their own
from people who
keep those burial urns.
I'd be ashamed to let her think
my mother would even
repeat such things.
My darling, what is it?
Whenever you're
a few minutes late,
I fear our love is over.
Never.
I keep you waiting
so I can feel you cling
to me so desperately.
Shame on you, but you're right.
It does send the blood rushing.
I can feel it.
You're missing the eclipse.
You look at it.
Tell me what you see.
A great and exciting discovery.
It changed man's
whole view of the world.
Come now.
All that in one little eclipse?
Yes!
I can sense the way
that copernicus
or even Columbus must've felt
watching that curved
shadow of the earth
creep across the moon
and realizing that the
world was really round,
not flat, as all
the ancients supposed.
Did you see it?
I see it now in your eyes.
Something else...
Something that frightens me.
What else? What else do you see?
Sadness.
Your mother knows
of our meetings
and speaks against me.
All I know is we
cannot go on like this.
It's not seeing you
that has to end.
It's parting from you that
I can no longer endure.
Be my wife.
Speak to me of Paris.
Is there any other place
like it on earth?
Tell me of the
tuileries and the louvre.
I hate talking of Paris.
I'm finished with Paris.
I thought it
a small thing to ask.
Well, there is one
sunny room in the louvre,
which would make a
fitting place for you to live.
The galerie d'apollon.
In the early morning,
it is a perfect
Blaze of splendor.
I used to visit it on sun days.
Yes.
I dislike
English sun days so much.
How I should chime in with
their manners over there.
We'll go back there, won't we?
I have vowed not
to go back, eustacia.
You know I plan to teach.
I'd rather live and die
in a hermitage here
with proper work to do.
You could teach English
in Paris.
It's Paris your heart is set on.
I was a fool to think it was me.
No, clym, no.
No, it is you.
You'll never stay
with your plan to teach,
I'm quite sure.
We'll soon be in Paris.
So I promise you
I promise that I will be
yours forever and ever.
I'll take that as a yes,
if you're afraid to say it.
Yes.
Yes.
Another round, Mr. Wildeve!
What is it?
You look ill.
I've just been
at the quiet woman.
Captain vye announced
that you and eustacia vye
are engaged to be married.
And then he turned...
And witnessed
my surprise and shame.
I'm sorry.
You don't make it easy
for me to talk to you.
You always make it sound
as though the suffering
you cause me is my fault.
I don't mean to.
I wish I never lived
to see this day,
see you throwing away
everything... For her.
I won't suffer this
any longer in my own home.
I think... You should
bestow your presence...
Where you bestow your love.
If this is the size
of mother love,
then I've outgrown it.
I'm still your son
and will say no more,
but I'll no longer
inflict myself upon you.
I'll go.
I knew she wouldn't see me.
It doesn't matter.
I've found a little cottage.
We can be married at once.
I've saved some money
from my position in Paris.
We'll get by.
How long?
How long must we live
in this little cottage?
Six months, probably.
I'll have finished my reading,
and I'll be ready
to work in budmouth.
Six months. No more.
Do you promise?
Of course.
What's the matter?
Tell me again of that one
sunny room in the louvre.
Which room was that?
The one that would make
a fitting place for me to live.
First, set the date.
A fortnight... But tell me.
Tell me again of that room.
The galerie d'apollon.
In the early morning
when the sun is bright,
the rays bristle and dart
from the gold and silver plate,
to the jewels
and precious stones,
till there is a perfect
network of light,
which quite dazzles the eye.
You should've come.
It was quite beautiful.
That wedding was
born of trickery.
Eustacia looked so happy.
They make a handsome pair.
Clym!
I saw the great steed
Pegasus outside our door.
We talked.
The first time I saw you,
you had small horse
for company, remember?
Of course I remember.
It was the same pony, clym.
I'd like to think
he brought you to me.
Maybe he did.
Just don't ever let him
take you away from me.
What's the matter?
The light in here
is not so good.
I heard you were still
about on the Heath,
but you never visit the inn.
I haven't found the occasion.
Since you haven't visited
me, I decided to visit you.
Friends do that, you know.
Well, it's a pleasure
I wasn't expecting.
You don't... You don't look
as happy as you should be.
Who is, Diggory? Who is?
Husbands will play
the truant, you know?
I thought you might know
some way to keep Damon home.
Well, that's difficult...
Because I can't imagine
anyone wanting to leave your side.
I'll put my mind to it, see
if there might be some way
of keeping the innkeeper
in his inn.
Clym, come here.
Look at the moon.
I want to know.
How does that moon
appear over Paris tonight?
You can tell me.
You can hardly see it
through the smoke of chimneys,
with buildings blocking
almost every window.
'Tis far more beautiful here.
Eustacia.
Clym.
Eustacia!
Help!
Eustacia!
Help!
Eustacia!
Clym!
What's the matter?
I can't see the words.
It's all blurred.
I think I'm going blind.
Blind?
No!
No.
My beautiful eustacia.
Please don't let your
face be lost to me.
What have I done?
No.
No.
"The 31st of may, 1669."
"I must endeavor to keep
a margin in my book open,"
"to add here and there,"
"and note in shorthand,
with my own hand,"
"and thus end all that I
shall ever be able to do"
"with my own eyes, in
the keeping of my journal."
See? Even the great Samuel
pepys when he was but 36,
had his eyes fail on him.
If it weren't for
these cursed books,
you'd be bright-eyed
and back in Paris,
prosperous,
and we would be happy,
not sitting here talking
as if this half-blindness
was some kind of blessing.
You are my blessing, eustacia.
Fate put you at my side
before this happened.
I'll have a smaller
school now, true,
but I can teach from memory.
We can still be happy.
Good day, clym!
Is that you, Humphrey?
Yes.
Didn't see you there.
That's no surprise by now.
Half of what's visible
ain't worth looking at,
wouldn't you say,
Mrs. Yeobright?
I was sorry to hear
about your condition.
If your work was
as low class as mine,
you could go on.
Yes.
Yes!
How much do you get for
cutting those furze bundles?
Half a crown a hundred.
On long days, I can
live well on the wages.
The outdoor exercise
will do me good.
I can keep down
our expenditures.
What would I need?
I can lend you some
leather leggings and gauntlets
till you get your own.
Then you'll need a whetstone,
a hook, some good boots.
Whereabouts do you go then?
The galerie d'apollon...
In the early morning...
When the sun is bright...
The rays bristle and dart...
Until there is
a perfect network of light
that quite dazzles the eye.
Clym?
Eustacia?
I couldn't believe my ears.
Singing?
It's only a little song.
Would you mind if I went to
the village picnic at east egdon?
To dance?
Yes, I suppose so. Yes.
Of course.
It would be good for you.
Are you jealous?
Of course I'm jealous.
It frightens me to realize
other men now take joy
in a beauty I can no longer see.
You're my husband.
Is that not enough?
Only if you are my wife,
without regret.
I won't stay long.
I'll meet you on the road
and bring you home.
Yes.
Eustacia.
Damon.
No one out there
holds a candle to you.
You startled me.
Do you still like to
dance as much as ever?
I think so.
Will you dance with me?
Your husband and
my wife are cousins.
Consider me a harmless relation.
Eustacia!
Well, I just
discovered something.
And what might that be?
With others, it's just exercise.
With you, dance becomes an art.
Why, thank you.
All such exaggerations
are appreciated these days.
I'm sorry to hear about clym.
Truly.
We all thought he was
going to take you off to Paris.
Paris will have
to do without me...
For the present, at least.
Her loss more
than yours, I'd say.
I must be going.
I'll walk you home if you want.
Clym is coming
to meet me part way.
If you think it unwise...
You're in the wrong company
if you're looking for wisdom.
I thank you for
walking with me, Diggory.
We make good company.
You have trouble seeing,
and I'd just as
soon not be seen.
Is someone coming?
It's clym.
He's with Diggory venn.
I should go.
Neither of them would
believe we met by chance.
Good night then.
That's Mrs. Yeobright
and... Someone else?
I... I... Can't tell.
Clym, it is you.
Mr. Venn.
Diggory, I leave you
to return with a lady
far too beautiful to walk alone.
Didn't anyone offer
to walk with you?
One of the Heath people
walked me.
I know so few of them by name.
Well, I hope to find you
better soon, clym.
Goodbye to you both.
Goodbye.
Strange.
You're the only one I can trust
to bring me bad news
with good intentions.
Your son's misfortune
has led wildeve to show,
more than casual
interest in eustacia again.
This can only mean
more unhappiness
for clym and thomasin, I fear.
I protested against
their marriages.
They didn't listen.
Now I'm too weak.
I... I can do no more.
Maybe if you would
mend with your son.
I think your presence would
make wildeve walk straighter
than he is inclined to do.
I will admit to you,
I have thought of it.
I should wish to die in peace.
He is my only son.
As for thomasin, I
forgave her long ago...
And I forgive him now.
Yes, perhaps I should go.
Why have you come?
For the sight of you again.
Why is he sleeping there?
He's very tired.
He goes out at half
past 4:00 cutting furze.
The fates have
treated you poorly.
Clym is a good man.
Most women would go far
for such a husband.
You don't even breathe
the same air as most women.
God, how I envy him that sleep.
Knowing you're here gives
him that peace of mind.
I have not that peace.
Clym?
It's his mother.
Mother?
Clym will let her in.
I should leave.
This way.
Truly, eustacia...
I've had all I came for.
Goodbye.
Mrs. Yeobright.
You look as though
you've seen a ghost.
I've seen what's worse...
A woman's face... Looking
at me through a windowpane
like a stranger.
You want me to help get
you to Mr. Clym's place?
It's just down there.
No. I just came from there.
They wouldn't let me in.
Wouldn't let you in?
I've been cast off by my son.
What is it, Johnny?
It's Mrs. Yeobright.
I've got to get Mr. Clym.
Mr. Clym! Mr. Clym!
Johnny? What is it?
Something terrible, Mr. Clym!
Easy, lad.
Your mother, Mr. Clym...
On the path at devil's
bellows. I found her.
She's dead, sir.
No! She is!
Eustacia... Show me! Show me!
Where is she, Johnny?
This way, Mr. Clym.
Mind the branches, clym.
Careful now.
Clym.
I dreamed she was coming.
She was on her way to my home,
but she couldn't make it.
No, Mr. Clym.
She said
she'd already been there,
but no one would open the door.
She said what?
And she said, "I've
been cast off by my son."
"Cast off by my son"?
Yes, Mr. Clym.
Johnny.
And she also said she'd
seen a woman in the window.
Charley, there
must be more to it.
There's a story on
the Heath, Mr. Clym,
that someone was seen
entering the house.
Who?
I don't know. A man.
I didn't see him myself.
Who saw him?
Susan nunsuch saw him.
Timothy fairway saw him.
Who was it?
I don't know. A man.
That's all I know.
Tell me.
There was a man here.
Some on the Heath saw him enter.
Tell me, or I'll... Kill me?
Please do.
The life you've
forced me to live here
would make dying seem easy.
I'll not kill you.
I'll not make you a martyr.
How bewitched I was.
How could there be any good
in a woman
everybody spoke ill of?
I confess.
I willfully didn't open the
door when she knocked
because I thought you'd
gone to do it yourself.
That is the extent
of my crime toward her.
I've committed
no crime against you...
Except for a little
self-pity, perhaps.
I have lived on promises
you never made.
It's my nature.
I have a hungry imagination,
and it starved here.
Was the man
in the house wildeve?
Clym,
the truth would spoil this
grand rage you've been feeding.
Here we are...
Still within reach
of each other,
but the darkest thoughts
a man could think
are between us now forever.
Goodbye.
Great chances
have been lost to us...
Since that... Misty
night you first said...
"Good evening."
People ask me,
"who's that old man
living at blooms-end now?"
Hello, thomasin.
Two months now, and
every day you age a year.
Send for her, clym.
I've thought of it, but the
hurt of it all comes back.
I have hurt, too.
I'm sure you can guess,
but I never turn hope away.
If I don't hear from her
soon, I'll write to her.
I don't rejoice in empty rooms.
Do it now!
Tomorrow's the 5th of November.
The bonfires will be lit.
Make it an occasion to remember.
You remind me.
These need cleaning.
A loaded pistol attracts
dampness this weather.
I've never meddled in
your affairs, granddaughter,
and I've never asked
what passed between you.
I'll only say
you appeared happier
when you had him under
unfortunate circumstances,
happier than you seem now
that you don't have him at all.
Miss eustacia, tomorrow
night's the 5th of November.
I'll light you a roaring bonfire
that'll put all
the others to shame.
You'd like that,
wouldn't you now?
Aye. There go my best
Thorn roots again.
Eustacia.
I saw your signal fire.
I hurried.
Charley lit it.
I didn't mean to signal you.
I'm glad I came anyway.
I've done you a
great harm, eustacia.
Please forgive me.
Not you.
It's this place.
You do not deserve what
you have got, eustacia.
I...
If there is anything
I can do, name it.
Anything you want bought,
any place you want to go.
Why don't you leave
this place altogether?
Yes.
Yes.
I'm not wanted here.
My husband does not call to me.
If you could help me
as far as budmouth,
I can get to Paris myself.
That's where I want to be.
Shall I... Come
with you to Paris?
Meet me at shadwater
at midnight.
Drive me to budmouth
for the morning boat,
and I'll tell you then.
Please go now.
The notion will melt
if we talk about it.
I'll not say a word against it.
Till midnight.
I'm home, Johnny.
Feeling better?
You're still burning.
I'll make you better, Johnny.
You'll be better now.
A letter for miss
eustacia from Mr. Clym.
She's asleep,
but she'll be pleased
to have it in the
morning. Thank you.
My dear eustacia,
I am obeying my heart
in writing to you.
I beg you to forgive me
and say you will return.
Come to me.
Your husband as ever, clym.
Walk on.
Hyah! Hyah!
Clym!
Captain vye's
just been to see me.
At this hour?
Eustacia's disappeared
from his house,
and Damon has just driven off.
They may be leaving together.
Whoa!
Damon.
Damon!
Where is she?
There she is, on the bridge!
Eustacia!
No!
Eustacia!
What's happened?
I can't see her!
Where is she?
She's gone!
There she is!
Where?
I've lost her!
Eustacia!
She's there!
Is she all right?
I can't see her!
She's in the flow!
No, Damon, she's gone!
It's too late!
Please, please, don't!
Thomas in, what is it?
Please, please! Help them!
Please!
Damon!
Damon, I'm coming!
Damon!
Damon.
Damon.
No!
My love.
My love.
I lied to you, eustacia.
I lied.
The moon above Paris
is beautiful.
It is.
Eustacia.
Eustacia!
She cried, "I am undone!"
Hush your tongue,
you foolish girl
for the foggy,
foggy dew is gone
I never told her
of my thoughts
and I never intend to do
but the way she gives me
a wink or a smile...
Hello, Mr. Clym.
Are you all right?
It sounds like they're
getting a proper start.
Do they look happy?
Aye, happy and then some.
You ought to go in
and join them.
It's your house.
Take another look. Would
you say they missed me?
Not a bit in the world.
To Diggory and thomasin...
A long and happy life.
Charley, I almost forgot.
From that first day I came
calling at mistover knap...
Do you remember?
Yes, sir, I do.
I could tell you were
fond of miss eustacia.
Here's a tress of her hair.
I think she'd like
you to have it.
She often mentioned
you were kind to her.
And so I teach,
not from any creed
or system of philosophy,
but from the opinions
and the actions
common to all good men.
I teach because...
To teach is to learn...
To learn that love can
only be given, never taken,
to learn that
one should forgive quickly
because time is short,
to learn that true beauty,
like the beauty of truth,
never dies.
Eustacia?
My eustacia.
As you know, my dear friends,
this beloved countryside,
which called me home,
I can now only dimly see.