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 136
... voice . That is , Eliot ap- proaches us with a presumed disparity between past and present , with apparently mock ... voice itself is mocked when Mr. Casaubon 136 Celebrity, Anonymity, and the Heroic Voices of Daniel Deronda.
... voice . That is , Eliot ap- proaches us with a presumed disparity between past and present , with apparently mock ... voice itself is mocked when Mr. Casaubon 136 Celebrity, Anonymity, and the Heroic Voices of Daniel Deronda.
Page 137
... voice , Mr. Casaubon becomes a man of flesh and blood and physical fear . Both methods are alive in another , apparently characteristic sec- tion of Middlemarch , where Eliot develops a familiar comedy of comparing contemporary ...
... voice , Mr. Casaubon becomes a man of flesh and blood and physical fear . Both methods are alive in another , apparently characteristic sec- tion of Middlemarch , where Eliot develops a familiar comedy of comparing contemporary ...
Page 153
... voice , that the book has had little to do with killing whole multitudes by pulling down Philistine pillars , but everything to do with a young woman who was afraid of criticism at first but ended up most nobly accepting her anonymity ...
... voice , that the book has had little to do with killing whole multitudes by pulling down Philistine pillars , but everything to do with a young woman who was afraid of criticism at first but ended up most nobly accepting her anonymity ...
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