# Charley — The Return of the Native character guide

> Charley in The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0011-viii-those-who-are-found-where-there-is-said-to-be-nobody

## Snapshot

A shy young heathman who worships Eustacia from a reverent distance, allowed once to hold her hand and never quite believing she is mortal like himself.

## Who they are

Charley serves Eustacia as a kind of devoted shadow, his adoration so pure it barely dares to look at her. When he finds her collapsed and soaked on the heath, he carries her inside, lights her fires, and kneels to hold her tea—tenderness that reveals how far her pride has fallen. His worship measures the distance between the romantic figure Eustacia imagines herself to be and the vulnerable woman she has become.

## Relationships

### [Eustacia Vye](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_of_the_native_se/characters/eustacia_vye)

_psychological_

Charley is a young, infatuated admirer of Eustacia, who becomes her willing tool and is obsessed with winning her favor.

### [Eustacia Vye](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_of_the_native_se/characters/eustacia_vye)

_psychological_

Charley is a young, infatuated admirer of Eustacia, who becomes her willing tool and is obsessed with winning her favor.

### [Eustacia Vye](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_of_the_native_se/characters/eustacia_vye)

_psychological_

Charley is a young, infatuated admirer of Eustacia, who becomes her willing tool and is obsessed with winning her favor.

## In the story

### [IV: Eustacia Is Led on to an Adventure](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_of_the_native_se/chapters/iv-eustacia-is-led-on-to-an-adventure)

A young lad who asks to use the fuelhouse for mummers' rehearsals and agrees to let Eustacia take his place in exchange for holding her hand.

### [Through the Moonlight](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_of_the_native_se/chapters/v-through-the-moonlight)

The mummer whose place Eustacia takes; he is absent looking for heath-croppers.

### [IV: The Ministrations of a Half-Forgotten One](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_of_the_native_se/chapters/iv-the-ministrations-of-a-half-forgotten-one)

Finds Eustacia at the stable, cares for her, and removes the pistols to prevent her suicide.

### [V: An Old Move Inadvertently Repeated](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_of_the_native_se/chapters/v-an-old-move-inadvertently-repeated)

Builds a bonfire to cheer Eustacia, inadvertently signals Wildeve, devoted to her well-being.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_of_the_native_se/characters/charley
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_of_the_native_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_return_of_the_native_se/characters