Mary Anne Evans or Marian Evans was a Victorian novelist, translator, poet, and journalist. She used the male pen name George Eliot because, at that time, women were thought to be writing on lighthearted romances. Also, she wanted to be judged differently for novels than her reputation as a critic and editor with her real name. Moreover, she supposedly did not reveal her reality in the novels because of Eliot’s questioned relationship and elopement with George Henry Lewes.
To break the stereotypical conventions of the time, George Eliot peeped in the psychological aspects of characters and wrote about real-life matters. Her works are appreciated for intense descriptions and minute details of ordinary lives. She also depicted the particularities of the rural setting in her works.
Moreover, her status as a translator gave Eliot a chance to unveil the religious, social, and philosophical beliefs of the German tradition to the English readers. This German influence can be vividly seen in the art of Eliot. Although she was not an overwhelmingly religious figure, she maintained a belief that religion provides a system of morality and ethics for society.
Harold Bloom, a literary critic, calls Eliot one of the most notable English writers in Western history. Her works influenced many other writers and were also adapted into television shows and films.
George Eliot’s “Middlemarch” gained the status of one of the greatest fiction works in English history. For example, Julian Barnes and Martin Amis, two influential English novelists, called it the greatest English novel. Other significant literary pieces of Eliot are “Adam Bede”, “The Mill on the Floss” and “Daniel Deronda”.
A Short Biography of George Eliot
Mary Anne Evans was born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England on 22nd November 1819. Her father, Robert Evans, was the estate manager of Aubury Hall for the Newdegate family. Her mother, Christina Evans was the second wife of Robert Evans. As Mary Evans was not quite a charming lady, her father admitted her in even those subjects that were not meant for women of the time. Also, she changed several boarding schools with her sister.
In Wallington’s school, Eliot studied under the influence of Maria Lewis who instilled in her the values of staunch Evangelicalism. Later in Misses Franklin’s School, she was taught a disciplined ethical perspective of life, contrary to Evangelicalism. For this point in life until 20 years of age, Eliot fabricated strict religiosity. She also developed knowledge of Italian and French in school life.
When Eliot’s mother died in 1836, she returned home and left formal education to look after her father. However, her father encouraged her to continue reading by giving her access to the great Aubury Hall library. As Christopher Stray later observed; this classical reading left a deep mark on her writing career as she was influenced by Greek literature.
She also remained in touch with her teacher, Maria Lewis. At 21, Eliot’s brother got married and began to live in the family lodging. Therefore, she along with her father moved to the Coventry side. In the Coventry society, Eliot met Charles and Cara Bray. Charles was a ribbon manufacturer and philanthropic man. She received radical and free-thinking influences from their views when she was struggling with her confusing religious thoughts.
When she began to question religious ideas, her father refused to stay with her. Therefore, Eliot moved to live with her brother. However, within some time, she reconciled with her father. Until his death in 1849, she lived respectfully and silently with him. She also attended church regularly.
However, five days after his last rites, she moved to Switzerland with the Bray family and stayed in Geneva for some time (1849-1850) to have a freer independent life. In Geneva, she stayed with the family of François D’Albert Daurade. He also painted a portrait of Eliot.
Early Writing Career
The Westminster Review
George Eliot returned to London in 1850. There she joined Bedford College, London, to study mathematics. She took residence at John Chapman’s house. Intending to become a professional writer, Ann Evans began to call herself Marian Evans. Sometime earlier, Chapman purchased a left-wing publishing forum, The Westminster Review. Evans began working there as an editor in 1851. Although Chapman was the chief of the forum, Evans was the leading figure in editing and publishing papers and giving reviews.
Eliot wrote sympathetically for the lower section of society. However, she was critical about contemporary religious ideas and biased organizations. She also supported Revolutions in 1848. Eliot provided a commentary on the political and social conditions of the time until the end of her career with the publishing house in 1854.
Notorious Emotional Attachments
She was also infamous for various emotional attachments during her literary career. For example, she lived with Chapman for some time, though he was married. She had also developed intimacy with Herbert Spencer who was the sub-editor of The Economist. Later on, Evans met Lewes in 1851.
Although Lewes was married to Agnes Jervis, Jervis had an adulterous affair with Leigh Hunt. Therefore, Lewes and Evans decided to live together as husband and wife in 1854. They visited Germany for a research purpose and lived there for some time. Before going, Evans continued the translation of Feuerbach’s The Essence of Christianity. She also translated Baruch Spinoza‘s Ethics in Germany that was completed in 1856. The couple lived happily as formal spouses until Lewes’ demise in 1878.
Successful Writing
While writing for The Westminster Review, Evans determined to write novels. However, she condemned the trivial writing subjects of women writers of the time. For example, in one of her last essays Silly Novels by Lady Novelists, she discussed the insignificant plots of the women writers. However, she supported and admired the realism of Victorian novelists in Europe.
Use of Pen Name
In 1857, Evans published the first of her three short stories “The Sad Fortunes of the Reverend Amos Barton”. She published it in Blackwood’s Magazine with the pen name George Eliot for the first time. With this story, Evans began her fiction career. In 1859, Evans published her first-ever novel “Adam Bede”.
The novel “Adam Bede” is a piece of realism with an aesthetic sense taken from Dutch visual representations. It blends human sympathy with moral integrity. The novel also contains Evan’s biographical experiences, as she acquired the dialect of Adam from the conversation of her uncles with Evans’ father.
Beginning of Success with Adam Bede
The novel brought Evans instant success and fame. However, the audience was curious about the authorship behind the remarkable literary piece. Even fake authorship was also claimed by Joseph Liggins. Due to the public questioning, Marian Evans was forced to reveal her identity behind the pen name.
This revelation shocked the public due to her immoral relationship with Lewes. However, it did not affect her career. Finally, the couple was accepted in 1877 when they both met Queen Victoria’s daughter, Princess Louise. She was a great admirer of Eliot’s writing and even created visual images of the scenes from “Adam Bede” by Edward Henry Corbould.
Evans’ Biographical Instances
After a successful beginning, Evans continued to write great novels for fifteen years. Her second novel “The Mill on the Floss” was written within a year of completion of “Adam Bede”. She dedicated the novel to her husband, Lewes. In the three-volume novel, she mainly discussed her broken relationship with her brother Isaac due to Evan’s illegal marital status. The novel touches new heights of psychological subtlety in its scenes.
Works in Florence
Later, during her trip to Florence in 1860, Evans began to write “Romola”. However, she turned towards the composition of “Silas Marner” and completed it in 1861. It is famous for the artistic brevity and perfection of style. Then Evans published “Romola” in 16 installments in Cornhill Magazine from 1862 to 1863.
Political Work
Back in England, Evans wrote, “Felix Holt, the Radical” in 1866. It was written about the time of disagreement on the Reform Bill. Initially, the work was not political but it got a political taste due to the influence of the political irregularities that she had seen. In the novel, Evans discussed an event based on the election riot that she witnessed in 1832 in Nuneaton.
In 1871, Evans published “Middlemarch” in eight parts. It is considered to be the most acclaimed work of George Eliot. It recounts the lives of every class of society from gentry and clergy to middle-class shopkeepers and businessmen to lower-class farmers and laborers. Because of this novel, Evans was termed as “The Victorian Sage”.
End of Career
Her last novel “Daniel Deronda” was written in 8 parts in 1876, two years before Lewes’ death. It represented the contrast between an upper-class girl and a lower one. This minute description and representation was highly appreciated by critics. In 1878, Lewes’ death occurred and for the next two years, Evans edited his work “Life and Mind”.
She got married to John Walter Cross in 1880. He was 20 years younger than her. However, the same year, Evans died of a throat and kidney infection.
George Eliot’s Writing Style
One of the distinctive features of George Eliot’s writing is that she wrote from a general human perspective rather than a particularly male or female point of view. She peeped inside universal human nature and highlighted the minute properties of their inner-selves.
Sympathy
Also, Eliot’s writing style depicts sympathy and compassion towards a common lot of society. However, she is harsh on the contemporary extravagant values of the elites. She also struggles to break the stereotypical narrow morality of her time with Eliot’s vast concept of moral goodness. She sometimes creates a melodramatic effect in her novels. It is due to the periodic publication of her certain novels.
Local Dialect
One of the significant features of George Eliot’s writing is her use of local dialect in the dialogues of the characters. It is to give a realistic touch to the social and educational status of characters. For example, in the novel “The Mill on the Floss”, the character Mr. Tulliver expresses his wish to Mrs. Tulliver that “What I want is to give Tom a good education”. It shows his educational status as an illiterate lower-class man.
Allusions
Also, Evans’ work reflects her intelligence and open views. For instance, she gives several references to the historical, literary, mythical, scientific, and cultural instances. This shows her intelligence as a great writer. She also compares her characters and actions to certain original metaphors to present them clearly to the audience.
Unique Psychological Narrative
Also, the narrative voice of Evans is unique to other writers. It is because she interrupts the actions of the plot to explain the inner motives of the characters for the convenience of the readers. Therefore, she opens a new debate on psychological insight into literary history.
Themes
To compare the beginning and end of Evans’ fiction career, there is a steady shift from certain values to other themes. This may foreshadow the effect of surroundings or a change of concentration on those themes.
Historical Continuity
However, certain things reflect her writing style throughout the literary career of Evans. For example, there is a historical continuity or at least a certain resistance of the characters to the historical changes in life. There is consistency in social values of the time e.g. “Felix Holt” and “Daniel Deronda”.
Search for Meaning
Another crucial theme of Eliot’s works is finding meaning in life. Even in her personal life, Evans struggled to find stability and mental peace in the changing world. Therefore, in this confusion, she shifted from her Evangelical faith to disbelief. As in “Adam Bede”, Dinah Morris stops preaching when she gets a stable life after marriage.
She also made efforts to find stability for the condition of women of her time. In a way, she was struggling to create meaning in the lives of those women. For example, the character Dorothea’s quest to look for a meaningful life emphasizes Evans’ theme.
Marriage
George Eliot also depicted the Victorian concept of marriage for class struggle, infatuation, and money in her novels. For instance, in “Middlemarch” the female characters marry for financial support and class. Moreover, money is an important part of the lives of the characters. For example, in “Silas Marner” the protagonist loses all his money and status but later returns his financial wealth and prosperous life.
Materialism
Eliot proves the point that while money may not provide love, it does help in ensuring a prosperous life. Also in “Middlemarch” Rosamund Vincy marries Lydgate for the gain of financial wealth. However, he fails to maintain her luxurious lifestyle, therefore, their marital relationship also faces a crisis. When their debts are relieved, things begin to patch up between the two.
Another point that Eliot stresses in her work is the moral conflict that the characters face in a materialistic environment. For example, in “Adam Bede” Arthur Donnithrone is not a bad character, however, he is unable to resist materialistic temptations.
Status of Morality
Moreover, George Eliot focused on the inner morality and virtue of characters rather than their moods and behavior. This makes her work unique from other literary writers. Also, another main issue connected with the morality her characters face is that they want to do good things but they do not find the chance for it. For example, in “The Mill on the Floss”, Maggie Tulliver strives for moral spiritualism. However, her efforts to become righteous in a materialistic world make her more irritating for people.
Religion
Although Evans did not believe in orthodox religion, the feeling of love and goodwill was her ultimate religion. She set high regard for Christian ethical notions in her novels. For example, the character, Adam Bede expressed that it is not the notion of the right that keeps people on the moral track, it is the feeling.