Chapter 22 of The Return of the Native is here in full — 211 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXII
Chapter 22 of The Return of the Native is here in full — 211 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“It is more noble in you that you did not.” “The more noble, the less wise.” “Forget it, and be soothed, dear Aunt. And I shall not leave you alone for long. I shall come and see you every day.”
Chapter 22 of The Return of the Native is here in full — 211 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/42 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
Having no one else present.
From this reading “And I shall not leave you alone for long.”
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading ““Forget it, and be soothed, dear Aunt.”
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading ““Forget it, and be soothed, dear Aunt.”
go away from a place
From this reading “And I shall not leave you alone for long.”
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading ““The more noble, the less wise.””
impressive in appearance
From this reading ““It is more noble in you that you did not.””
past form of “soothe” — give moral or emotional strength to
From this reading ““Forget it, and be soothed, dear Aunt.”
having or prompted by wisdom or discernment
From this reading ““The more noble, the less wise.””
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
Having no one else present.
From this reading And I shall not leave you alone for long.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Forget it, and be soothed, dear Aunt.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading “Forget it, and be soothed, dear Aunt.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “Forget it, and be soothed, dear Aunt.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading I shall come and see you every day.”
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading I shall come and see you every day.”
dearly loved
From this reading “Forget it, and be soothed, dear Aunt.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading “It is more noble in you that you did not.”
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading I shall come and see you every day.”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading And I shall not leave you alone for long.
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading “Forget it, and be soothed, dear Aunt.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading And I shall not leave you alone for long.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “It is more noble in you that you did not.”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “It is more noble in you that you did not.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “It is more noble in you that you did not.”
go away from a place
From this reading And I shall not leave you alone for long.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading “The more noble, the less wise.”
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading And I shall not leave you alone for long.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading “It is more noble in you that you did not.”
impressive in appearance
From this reading “It is more noble in you that you did not.”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “It is more noble in you that you did not.”
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I shall come and see you every day.”
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading And I shall not leave you alone for long.
past form of “soothe” — give moral or emotional strength to
From this reading “Forget it, and be soothed, dear Aunt.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “It is more noble in you that you did not.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “The more noble, the less wise.”
having or prompted by wisdom or discernment
From this reading “The more noble, the less wise.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “It is more noble in you that you did not.”
Chapter 22 of The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy holds 211 sentences, grouped into 43 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 22 holds 211 sentences of The Return of the Native, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 22 of The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 211 sentences, grouped into 43 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 22 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8619 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #122 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #122, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1724 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Return of the Native section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Return of the Native to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Return of the Native, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
