One of the starring roles in this late Hardy novel is played by the Isle of Portland. While not technically an island (connected to the mainland via Chesil Beach), it has an island mentality. Strange customs prevail and are a function of the island's remoteness and the insular nature of its inhabitants. The Pursuit of the Well-Beloved (rewritten in the generally more accepted version five years later as The Well-Beloved) deals with the obsessions of Jocelyn Pierston. Although a famous sculptor in London he is constantly drawn back to the island and meet his death there (in both versions). Part of its allure is Pierston's ongoing fixation - across three generations - with a local girl, Avice Caro. Pierston is searching constantly - in both life and art - for his 'ideal' woman, or his 'beloved.' Needless to day, this proves to be a futile quest, but the narrative structure created by Hardy allows him to mix tragedy with farce. Given the temporal nature of the novel (Pierston is depicted at 20, 40 and 60 years of age), the passing of time and the protagonist's growing disillusionment with maturity occupies a central part of the novel. This Hardy work also stands out for its modernist approach. The decision to re-write it (the second version ends more optimistically) suggests that narratives do not have to follow set paths and that fate - another classic Hardy theme - can influence outcomes significantly.
By Thomas Hardy