The purpose of this study is to demonstrate George Eliot's literary indebtedness to the Bible by isolating, identifying, and analyzing her various uses of Scripture in her novels. This study is an attempt to demonstrate in some detail George Eliot's literary indebtedness to the Bible, to show that in the course of her fictional career she made virtually every possible use of the Bible. She at times presents Bibles themselves as significant objects, she refers to the Bible-reading habits of various characters, and she quotes, paraphrases, and alludes to the Bible. She employs biblical words, passages, narratives, characters and objects for purposes of scene-setting, symbolism, authorial commentary, characterization, and presentation and underscoring of basic themes. Sometimes she uses the Bible to achieve a serious tone; at other times, she uses it with humorous intent. Sometimes she sounds traditionally Judaeo-Christian and employs the Bible to exhort the reader in homiletic fashion, but just as often she uses biblical material to preach her own Victorian gospel. The purpose of this study is to isolate, identify, and critically analyze these various uses of the Bible which together produce the recurrent Biblical overtones so notable in the novels of George Eliot.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center; full text release delayed at author's request until 2007 Jun 15

Dissertation--Marburg--Universität, 2003. / Bibliogr. p. 255-273.

Thesis (M.A.)--Boise State University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-100).

Texte remanié de : Thèse de doctorat : ? : University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign : 1989-96. / Bibliogr. p. 207-219. Index.

Thesis (M.A.)--Florida State University, 2003. / Advisor: Dr. John Fenstermaker, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of English. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Apr. 7, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2003. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 196-203). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2002. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 261-270). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Lehigh University, 2003. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 201-207).

So many critics have pointed to George Eliot as a symbol of the nineteenth century's religious flux that the idea is becoming a commonplace one. House, for example, in "Qualities of George Eliot's Unbelief", concedes that Eliot is not a typical Victorian, "Yet her history her intellectual and spiritual and moral history -- exemplifies so many trends and qualities of Victorian thought that she deserves to be considered alone." [...]