The surprising death of two characters in The Return of the Native

Another thing about Thomas Hardy: He's not afraid of death. In fact, he's not afraid to kill off not only his characters but his best characters - even before the great dramatic conclusion. I have to say I was quite surprised (been 100 years since I last read it) that in The Return of the Native not only the evil, philandering Damon Wildeve but the character who's truly driving this novel, the enigmatic and alluring if ill-starred Eustacia Vye both die after falling into the rushing waters of some kind of mill pond while crossing the heath on a stormy night. Of course he set up the death, at least Eustacia's, pretty well - with the weird person who tried to extract a drop of her blood now putting a curse on her through some form of Druidic voodoo magic, and apparently it worked - but what does this do for the novel? As we move into the 6th and final section, the scene already feels a little barren, devoid of character and possibilities. Without Eustacia and without ClymYeobright's great rival - what's left to happen? It's obvious that Damon Wildeve's widow, Thomasin, is destined to become a couple with the reddleman, Diggory Venn, and to bring out in him the true noble spirit that he's suppressed as he lives a life of self-imposed social isolation (in his profession, he's essentially dyed red by the materials he sells for sheep-marking, so he looks strange, even frightening, and is generally shunned). But what about Eustacia's widower, Clym? He's had nothing but horrible luck since returning to his native soil. Does he go back to the hated Paris; or can he move forward with his plan to establish a boys' school? It seems to me unfortunate that the conclusion of the novel will not determine the fate of the character that I'm sure every reader most cares about. To make a comparison, while it's true that Madame Bovary the novel continues for a chapter or two after the death of the eponymous MB, the course of the novel is about her life and death, and her death was the result of her action, not of chance or mischance. Return is different - and it feels as if Eustacia has been disposed of carelessly, deprived of her fate and of her due.