Egdon Heath plays a central role in Thomas Hardy's novel The Return of the Native. The heath influences the characters and their actions. It helps some characters like Venn while frustrating the plans of others, like Eustacia who sees it as her prison. The heath is also symbolic, representing the indifferent forces of nature. Events unfold on the heath, and it even directly causes the death of one character. By the end, the heath collaborates with the storm to drown two characters, demonstrating its power over human destiny in the novel.