The Quest for Anonymity: The Novels of George EliotIn a new treatment of Eliot's booklength fiction, Alley argues that from the very moment she adopted a male pseudonym through to the major epic and tragic novels of her later life, the transcendence of fame was her major consideration. Focusing on one novel in each chapter, the study shows how the plights of Eliot's heroines and heroes do not end in frustration but in an affirmation of anonymous achievement, "the growing good of the world." For Eliot, heroism emerges through disclosure, rather than grandly executed action, and since the revelation requires discerning effort on the part of those watching, both observer and observed are celebrated. |
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Page 29
... ideal or exceptional character ' of Carlylean proportions " ( 36 ) . Eliot's fiction is , however , many times more consistent than these views would suggest . The distance that we must travel from " Amos Barton " to Daniel Deronda is ...
... ideal or exceptional character ' of Carlylean proportions " ( 36 ) . Eliot's fiction is , however , many times more consistent than these views would suggest . The distance that we must travel from " Amos Barton " to Daniel Deronda is ...
Page 97
... ideal artist : calm , stable , unimpeded by consciousness of sex . Woolf meant it to be a luminous and fulfilling idea ; but , like other utopian projec- tions , her vision is inhuman . Whatever else one may say of androgyny , it ...
... ideal artist : calm , stable , unimpeded by consciousness of sex . Woolf meant it to be a luminous and fulfilling idea ; but , like other utopian projec- tions , her vision is inhuman . Whatever else one may say of androgyny , it ...
Page 98
... ideal esthetic experi- ence as " the extension of our sympathies " and the ideal esthetic impression as " a picture of human life such as a great artist can give " ( Pinney , 270 ) . Both Eliot and Woolf sought an artistic diver- sity ...
... ideal esthetic experi- ence as " the extension of our sympathies " and the ideal esthetic impression as " a picture of human life such as a great artist can give " ( Pinney , 270 ) . Both Eliot and Woolf sought an artistic diver- sity ...
Contents
Acknowledgments | 9 |
Scenes of Clerical Life and the Art of Indirect | 27 |
Heroic Perception in Adam Bede | 40 |
Copyright | |
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achieve acknowledge action Adam Adam Bede Aeschylus allusion anonymous heroism apparent artist balance becomes begins better called Casaubon chapter character clear close comes complete context continuity create critics Daniel Deronda death develop Dorothea earlier early effect Esther example experience fact father feeling Felix female fiction final Floss frequently George Eliot given gives Greek tragedy growing Gwendolen hand hero heroic human ideal imagination important Irwine later learned light living look Lydgate Maggie male means memory Middlemarch Mill mind moral narrative narrator nature never novel offers once past perceive perhaps present Press reader reading represents role Romola scene seems seen sense serves shows Silas Silas Marner soul speaks spirit story suffering suggest sympathy things thought tion tragedy true turn University vision voice whole woman writes