Realism and the Return of the Native (just me, myself and i)

Realism was dedicated to the accurate portrayal of life - it represented the effort to reproduce the details of life in a written form. It was a blend of fiction writing and the journalistic writing of the time, trying to produce the story as if it was a report of something that happened to real people. Therefore, realism typically focused more on the characters than on any sort of plot, and the developments related to the characters, instead of being extremely heavy on the plot. Realism also might not have the typical plot style, instead of having the clear rising action and then a climax having the plot plod along as if it were real life. It also happened to coincide with an increased interest in how the lower classes lived as well as with a growing interest in the inner workings of the mind.

Return of the Native focuses heavily on the characters rather than any sort of overarching plot - which might also have to do with the fact that it was released in increments rather than all at once. All of the development is focused on the characters and how they change or how their relationships shift over time, and this tends to push the plot, more so than the plot pushing how the characters develop. While the plot does have a clear rising action-climax-resolution order, it takes a backseat to the development of the characters. And that isn't even talking about the nature of the characters, who all have realistic natures. They are flawed, almost tragically so in some cases, and are surprisingly realistic. Eustacia is a character who is beautiful, but flawed in that while she wants romance, she doesn't know why she wants it and is simply in love with the idea of love. Thomasin is extremely realistic, because she is, well, kinda boring and follows the traits that women of the time would have typically have (polite, patient, yielding, etc).

Realist authors:

de Balzac, Honoré (1799-1850)

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor (1821-1881)

Eliot, George (1819-1880)

Flaubert, Gustave (1821-1880)

Howells, William Dean (1837-1920)

James, Henry (1843-1916)

Twain, Mark (1835-1910)

Wharton, Edith (1862-1937)