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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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This dissertation examines the theme of irredeemable egoism in all seven of George Eliot's novels. Irredeemable egoists are those characters who do not complete the process of shedding what Eliot identifies in Middlemarch as the "moral stupidity" into which all people are born, and they contrast with those major characters in her novels that achieve a moral victory over egoism.The characters share in common a predilection for self over others. They are self-deluded, have a narrow imagination, and lack compassion for others. Depicted as pitiful and miserable, these characters are doomed by their natures to imprisonment within themselves. They are also incapable of redeeming themselves for actions that harm others, actions they all commit, for all of them break, betray, or deny the bonds a commitment entails. Their blocked or distorted vision of the world prevents a clear understanding of their duty to their fellow men, a duty which Eliot sees at the heart of the fulfillment of mankind's quest for not only improvement and enrichment but finally salvation.Chapter two looks at Hetty Sorrel and Arthur Donnithorne in Adam Bede. Hetty is a creature whose primitive egoistic cravings lead to a cold alienation from all human contact, while Arthur's morally irresponsible behavior is inexcusable despite his efforts to seek redemption.In chapter three, Torn Tulliver and Stephen Guest are scrutinized. Tom's rigidity and narrowness make him unresponsive to Maggie's natural warmth and affection. This unresponsiveness results in anguish and emotional turmoil for Maggie. Stephen produces the same results with opposite motives, seeking self-gratification despite Maggie’s explicit belief in self-denial.Silas Marner is examined in the next chapter, with Godfrey Cass at the center of the study. While the nemesis is mild, as Eliot herself says, the basic theme remains the same; Godfrey crows to regret his abandonment of Eppie, but his misgivings come too late to change the effects of his actions. Rompla, the subject of chapter five, contains Eliot's archetypal villain, Tito Nelema, who represents the extreme of moral degeneration. Tito's wanton disregard of other people's good will and well being is evident from the beginning, as Eliot carefully depicts his complete deterioration while he betrays family, friends, and country for personal gain.In chapter six, three characters in Felix Holt the Radical are discussed. Mss. Transome is perhaps the most sympathetic portrayal of despair and bitterness in all of Eliot's fiction. Her sin years earlier has produced only emotional deprivation, disillusionment, and tortured regret as she finds her son to be no source of joy and her former lover a grim reminder of her post transgression. Harold Transome is oblivious to the needs of his mothers and Jermyn is self-seeking and untouched by the needs of others. Middlemarch contains three major characters that clearly do not shed moral stupidity. Bulstrode, the religious hypocrite, Casaubon, the desiccated pedant, and Rosamond Vincy Lydgate, the self-centered beauty, are closely analyzed in chapter seven.Chapter eight focuses on Eliot's final novel, Daniel Deronda, which contains a character as evil as Tito Melema, Henleigh Mallinger Grandcourt. His psychological cruelty to his mistress, his wife, and everyone else he cares to trifle with marks him a sinister, repugnant example of unregenerate egoism. On the other hand Gwendolen Harleth, though clearly as potentially destructive as Grandcourt, is rescued from moral impoverishment by Deronda. Eliot uses all these characters, shown at various stages of moral dissolution, to illustrate her belief that egoism is harmful, often deadly, and produces consequences that are extensive and unalterable. The characters are punished by remorse, degradation, humiliation, defeat, or even death for their inability or refusal to emerge from moral stupidity.

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This thesis has studied the woven of George Eliot's Middlemarch in order to demonstrate the author's concern with and understanding of the dangers inherent in lives lived in provincial surroundings with severely limited options for exercise of capabilities and fulfillment of goals. Eliot's questioning of the nineteenth century's attitudes towards women's roles has been examined by studying the imagery used to characterize the women in the novel, by analyzing the folk "wisdom" which the inhabitants of Middlemarch use to define women, by interpreting Eliot's presentation of Dorothea Brooke's attempts to escape her provincial setting, by discussing the novel's criticism of the traditional role of wife and mother.In addition, this paper has surveyed important critical studies of Middlemarch., noting various scholarly interpretations of the novel, especially of the parts played by the women characters.