Diggory Venn
... is a curious character, used by Hardy as both a physical and metaphorical method of motioning the plot towards its tragic end.
Physically, Diggory Venn is a person who is basically covered from tip to toe in the red stuff that makes his trade. He is not rated highly among the upper class members of the Heath due to his messy work, though he is actually the son of a rich cattle farmer, and beneath all the gunk, Venn proves to be a rather handsome chap.