George Eliot: A Journey into 19th-Century British Literature

George Eliot: A Journey into 19th-Century British Literature

In this blog, I will continue studying 19th-century British novelists. In the previous entry, I introduced Charles Dickens, one of the most distinctive novelists of Victorian England. That entry does not include much detail because I plan to examine deeper into his novels, such as David Copperfield and Hard Times (which I am currently reading). After discussing Dickens' short biography and literary style, I will introduce George Eliot, another renowned novelist of the Victorian era.

Eliot, along with other British novelists, started writing novels at an early age. Her first novel, Adam Bede (1859), was a tremendously popular work, published when she was forty years old. I have mentioned that Dickens's depiction of characters in his novels reflects his personal experiences and relationships. Similarly, Eliot's characters' lives are viewed from the perspective of maturity and extensive experience. This perspective is further emphasized by her practice of setting her stories in the past, during her own childhood, or even earlier periods. For instance, in most of her novels, Eliot evokes a pre-industrial rural scene or the small-town life of the English Midlands. She views this setting with a combination of nostalgia and candid awareness of its limitations.

In her true identity as Marian Evans, she spent her early years at Arbury Farm, where her father Robert Evans served as the overseer and land agent. During her youth, Marian Evans (George Eliot) read extensively both in and out of school and was strongly influenced by Evangelism. Her mother's death led her to leave school at sixteen, and in the next few years, she experienced bouts of depression and self-doubt. Marian Evans' intellectual horizons were greatly expanded when she moved with her father to Coventry at the age of twenty-one. Because of her connections with a community of forward-thinking intellectuals and her own examination of theology, she reluctantly reached the conclusion that she could no longer adhere to the Christian faith. Her decision caused a painful rift with her father, which was eventually reconciled when she consented to accompany him to church as a formality. In return, he accepted that during these church visits, she was free to choose her own thoughts.

Marian Evans' deep inclination to theological matters aroused her to release her debut book in 1846, a translation of The Life of Jesus by D.F. Strauss, a prominent figure in the Higher Criticism movement in Germany. Modern research methods were used in this approach to test the historical authenticity of biblical narratives. Evans never stopped reading extensively in English and Continental philosophy throughout her life. Upon relocating to London in 1851 following her father's passing, Marian Evans' remarkable intellectual qualifications earned her the position of assistant editor at the Westminster Review, a prestigious scholarly journal formerly managed by John Stuart Mill. Marian Evans' time at the Westminster Review provided her with opportunities to engage with many notable writers and thinkers. One such individual was George Henry Lewes, a renowned critic of literature and philosophy, with whom she fell deeply in love. However, Lewes was already married and unable to obtain a divorce. Despite this obstacle, Evans made the decision to live with him as his common-law wife, and their relationship brought them both happiness until Lewes's passing in 1878. In her final year, Evans entered into marriage with J.W. Cross, a friend and admirer who eventually became her biographer.

Her decision to live with Lewes was not taken lightly, as she expressed:

"Light and easily broken ties are what I neither desire theoretically nor could live for practically. Women who are satisfied with such ties do not act as I have done—they obtain what they desire and are still invited to dinner."

Evans expresses her disdain for "light and easily broken ties," indicating her rejection of superficial or fleeting connections. She values deeper, more meaningful relationships that endure over time. Moreover, she expresses her disdain for "light and easily broken ties," indicating her rejection of superficial or fleeting connections. She values deeper, more meaningful relationships that endure over time. These choices, as depicted in works such as The Mill on the Floss (1860), are often fraught with painful dilemmas. Although she was familiar with fiction before, it was only after establishing her relationship with Lewes that she fully embraced this literary form. "Scenes from Clerical Life" was serialized in magazines in 1857 under a pen name that, except for Dickens, led most readers to assume the author was male—a misconception that both amused and satisfied Eliot. When Eliot began writing fiction, she and Lewes were reading to each other the novels of Jane Austen. Eliot's fiction is heavily influenced by Austen's, with its concern with provincial society, satire of human motives, and emphasis on courtship. There are no rules, which is why Eliot chose to write fiction rather than moral treatises. Eliot's characters are different from the novel of manners', but he brings a philosophical and psychological depth to these subjects. Eliot's fiction usually combines extensive philosophical meditation with a thorough examination of her characters' motives and feelings. 

She often compared herself not just to a historian, but also to a scientist who, like using a microscope, meticulously observes and analyses the intricate interplay of character and circumstance that shapes human history. These comparisons suggest Eliot's aim to present her fiction as a mirror reflecting our life experiences without distortion. However, her insistence on art's transparency is frequently challenged by her awareness of its fictitious nature and by her understanding of how our shared egoism distorts our perceptions. Eliot's claim to be a historian suggests that her novels will provide significant insight into contemporary issues. Eliot seems sympathetic to a feminist point of view. George Eliot wrote, "My function is that of the aesthetic, not the doctrinal, teacher." The impressive vision that allows Eliot to look into the consciousness of all her characters renders the perspective of her novels on many issues complex. Ultimately, it is the way these issues are refracted through the lens of human character that captivates her interest.

Once the good and the truth disappear, everything is permitted. Beauty is hardly an afterthought. This critique depends oddly on assumptions that are both cynical and reactionary. Namely, that people only believe in behaving morally out of hope for heaven and fear of hell or fire.

For Eliot, few things could be more inimical to morality. In her sarcastic early essay on the religious poet Young, she wrote:

“It is quite possible that you would be a knave and love yourself alone, were it not for your belief in immortality, but you are not to force on me what would result from your own utter want of moral emotion. If you feel no motive to common morality but your fear of a criminal bar in heaven, you're decidedly a man for the police on earth to keep their eye on.' Since it's a matter of worldly experience, the fear of distant consequences is a very insufficient barrier against the rush of immediate desire.”

She is quietly young, known. As well as it's an incredibly scathing thing to write. From Eliot's perspective, anyone who is motivated to be decent solely by traditional religion is driven not by morality but by desire and fear. The implication, spelled out in her later work, is clear: few of us possess the kind of criminal mentality that can only be restrained by a vision of the torments of the damned. However common it may be to claim today that nothing truly moves us besides desire and fear. Few of us actually behave that way in practice, our motives for everything, as Elliott shows, are usually mixed. Eliot deeply believes that the majority of human beings possess natural moral sentiments. However, it is just as natural for us to disregard these sentiments with clever rationalizations when other interests intervene. In truth, we feel sorrow and pity for others' suffering and, occasionally, even gladness for others' joy. There are plenty of studies from primatology to social psychology that demonstrate this. Eliot's work is too rich to be reduced to any single theme or thought. Her works have mythological reverberations, yet they are expanded by her commitment to realism, which obscures myths entirely. More importantly, she maintains a constant awareness of one central truth: the world is not mindful of us. She observes that examining the world to find a constellation is very much like looking carefully over the pages of a great book to find our own name.

To sum up, her remarkable talent and insight are the reason why George Eliot's legacy in literature is enduring. She sets herself apart as an exceptional writer by her ability to explore the complexities of human nature, while simultaneously incorporating mythological elements and staying committed to realism. Her works encourage us to contemplate our place in the world by reminding us of the profound truths of existence. Through our continued engagement with her novels, essays, and observations, we gain a deeper understanding of the human condition and the timeless relevance of her storytelling. One of the most influential voices in literary history, George Eliot continues to enrich our lives and inspire readers around the world through her contributions to literature.