Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1981. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 212-218).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains iii, 323 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 304-323).

Akademisk avhandling--Stockholm, 1993. / Résumé en anglais. Bibliogr. p. 181-189. Index.

This thesis is a study of George Eliot's moral philosophy as revealed in her novels. Since the novelist's ethical creed did not undergo any radical change after 1350, I have devoted the initial chapter to a discussion of her early training and reading. In Chapter two, an analysis is made of George Eliot's early works of fiction. As a result, both of her religious training and her avid reading of moralistic literature, she is too prone to pass judgement on her characters. Sometimes sympathetic to her creations, she is often intolerant of moral laxity in these novels. In Middlemarch, this ambivalence of moral vision is no longer noticeable; the voice of the austere moralist, judging by inflexible standards, is muted. This development is partially attributable to a more skilful and less frequent use of didactic devices than hitherto. Chapter three is therefore devoted to an analysis of the novelist's didactic technique in Middlemarch. The final chapter shows that George Eliot the moral philosopher has also developed in Middlemarch. Her views have not altered radically, but her outlook is more catholic, and the elements in her ethical creed are blended more effectively than in her early novels. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

Shakespeare clearly found a congenial medium of expression in kings and kingship; Pope tells us that from early childhood he ". . . lisped in numbers, for the numbers came." Similarly, George Eliot evinces an insistent tendency to image her view of human life in a battle of temptation. The plain facts of the novels—from Janet’s Repentance to Daniel Deronda—confirm the truth of this assertion. At least I would think so. But the extant criticism of George Eliot does not validate the supposition. My thesis originated in bewilderment at this discrepancy between expectation and fact. It seeks to deduce George Eliot's concept of temptation from her creative work, to elucidate its characteristic manifestations in the defeats or victories of individual temptees, to test its value in a detailed study of Maggie Tulliver and of Middlemarch, Book 7, to distinguish two concentric spheres of its cogency, showing how the more intense and more technical inner sphere lies embedded in a wider one reflecting George Eliot's moral philosophy, beliefs, and aims as a literary artist, and finally to intimate that the characteristic flavour of the novels stems in large measure from the felicitous interaction between these two mutually complementary spheres. A little reflection, grounded on some acquaintance with life and with literature, soon discloses temptation as a relational concept, composed of certain interacting elements: a strong desire, an opportunity to fulfill the desire, and a standard of conduct that prohibits fulfillment. The well-known temptation in the Garden of Eden, for example, clearly unveils all three. George Eliot accepts this traditional pattern, associated primarily with Biblical and medieval ways of thought, but substitutes humanistic for theological consequences, and thus helps to resuscitate its timeless truth. Desire, opportunity, and ethical ideal burgeon into counterbalancing forces of hitherto unsuspected mightiness, chiefly because the author sees good and evil as qualities within us rather than without. Her uncanny psychological penetration into the moral nature of man overwhelms readers with the shock of recognition. After listing the principal temptees in each of the novels, and pointing to their pivotal role in a Manichean battle, I examine the conduct of five in detail. Mr. Farebrother of Middlemarch eminently exemplifies the pattern of success, whereas Arthur Donnithorne, Bulstrode, and Gwendolen, despite vast individual differences, unite in illustrating the opposite pattern, which of course varies too. Nevertheless, the dividing line between the two contrasted camps remains clear; in fact, the recognizable bonds between the protagonists on the two sides help to throw it into sharper focus. Human weakness and propensity to evil may make the attainment of victory a hard struggle, or they may precipitate defeat; human strength and goodness account not only for victory, but also for the gnawing torture of remorse after defeat. Throughout, George Eliot unmistakably proffers one pearl of precious advice: A vow to oneself alone never suffices for victory; one must immediately and deliberately relinquish the means of breaking it, usually by taking others into one's confidence. Following these relatively straight-forward object lessons, I use the concept of temptation in an analysis of The Mill on the Floss, with emphasis on its principal temptee, Maggie Tulliver; and of Middlemarch, Book 7, whose title requires the reader to account for two temptations. In both instances I conclude that lack of my critical tool had hitherto prevented a satisfying reconciliation of all pertinent facts. Watching the reverberations of victory or of defeat spreading in ever-widening circles from the inner to the outer sphere of temptation, we realize, as do many temptees after losing their battles, that "No man is an island, sufficient unto himself"; that "Our echoes roll from soul to soul,/And grow for ever and for ever." / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

A constant theme in George Eliot's novels is the individual's struggle to find a place in the community, by learning his own limitations and overcoming them. She herself felt the isolation, caused by her 'conversion' from Christianity, from the past. Linked with this feeling of isolation from past traditions and beliefs is her concern for the individual's attaining a clear vision of reality here and now. Meaningful social relations are impossible while the individual is deluded about the nature of the real world. Contact between the self and the world is only possible when the individual sees the necessity to cast off selfish desires and lose himself in concern for others. This is frequently by means of a true marriage or a sound vocation. Chapter II (The Dreamer) shows how George Eliot's choice of subject matter, and insistence on the ordinary nature of common humanity, caused her to show up the prevailing vice, of romantic dreaming, of her heroines. Self-delusion based on wish-fulfillment is a vice she is particularly averse to. The dreamer is often associated with the child-like innocent, cut off from the adult world, and also with animals or birds, and thus cut off from the human world. In Chapter III (The Transgressor) we will see the way in which a guilty past is unsuccessfully concealed. The transgressor frequently attempts to live a lie, to deceive others and himself. This inhibits the free flow of human relationships and excludes him from acceptance in society. The transgressor is locked in with his own guilty secret and unable to make contact with those who are most willing to help him. In Chapter IV (The Tyrant) a further manifestation of isolation is seen in the desire for power over others. This is often seen subtly in the attitude of men towards women. In denying the individuality of women, the tyrant, in varying degrees, inhibits free relationship. Chapter V (The Idealist) deals with those who have vision and principles, but who have in some way been unable to relate these to the human context. The idealist is always shown to be in some way cut off from a realistic vision of himself or society. The final chapter deals with the moral norm representing clear vision, social and domestic harmony. The Church of England clergy and the mentor characters have the functions of humanizing the idealists, and broadening the vision of the egoists. In the novels the attainment of clear vision is always linked with a realistic adjustment to society, an awareness of the needs of others, and an attempt to understand their problems. This process frequently attains a semi-religious significance for George Eliot, and Christian parallels are often drawn. I shall trace this process whereby the individual learns to see himself and others in their true nature, and thus breaks through the wall of restricting vision, and either becomes integrated into society or rejected by it. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 199-212). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 199-212). Also available on the Internet.