George Eliot

George Eliot: biography

George Eliot was born Mary Ann Evans on 22 November 1819 in the UK. She was the third child of Robert and Christiana Evans. Robert Evans was the manager of a large estate. Eliot had quite a comfortable childhood.

The name George Eliot was in fact a penname adopted by Eliot when she began publishing fiction. She did this presumedly for multiple reasons.

Adopting a male pseudonym would ensure that Eliot's work would be taken seriously and not brushed off as women's fiction. George Eliot was also living with a man who was married to another woman. This unusual social situation would have been harshly judged by Victorian society. Eliot may have been trying to avoid her work being linked to this.

Early life

George Eliot grew up in a rural community in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. She also lived in close vicinity to the new industrial towns that were forming in England at the time. Her upbringing would go on to significantly influence her work. Unusually for a young girl at this time, Eliot received quite a good education, showing intelligence and promise from a young age. She attended boarding school until her mother's death in 1836.

After this, Eliot had to return home and perform the domestic duties that her mother had previously taken care of. She often clashed with her father at this time over her education. Eliot wanted to read and study subjects that were thought to be only for men, like Latin and Greek. Eliot did have access to a substantial library on the estate her father managed.

She read widely, particularly the Greek classics, and this is evident in her later work. Eliot also often fought with her father on matters of religion. Eliot's family was Anglican, but she had begun to have doubts about religion. Her father was particularly displeased with her reluctance to attend church.

Eliot and Coventry

George Eliot and her father moved to Coventry in 1841. Coventry afforded Eliot many new opportunities to interact with intellectuals that shared her ways of thinking, particularly Charles and Cara Bray. They were a couple that often used their home to host intellectuals discussing new and radical ideas, often about matters such as religion. Eliot attended many of these discussions.

These discussions inspired Eliot to translate D.F. Strauss's highly controversial work Life of Jesus (1846) which posed many questions about traditional religion. Eliot's translation proved just as controversial. She continued translating for the years that followed. After her father's death, Eliot also began to write and edit the Westminister Review. She published many articles about Victorian society and organised religion.

Eliot and Lewes

Eliot met the critic and philosopher George Henry Lewes in 1851. The two began a relationship and started living together in 1854. This was highly scandalous at the time as Lewes was already married and had children with another woman. He and his wife were estranged and had an open relationship, but this was not recognised by Victorian society.

Eliot and Lewes had a loving and intellectual relationship. He encouraged her to explore fiction-writing as well as her journalistic and translation work. It was then that she adopted the pseudonym George Eliot. Eliot began writing some short stories and in 1859, she published her first novel, Adam Bede.

This novel was quickly followed by two more: The Mill on the Floss in 1860 and Silas Marner in 1861. Her next work, Romola, which was inspired by time spent in Florence, was serialised between 1862 and 1863. Eliot's novels were proving to be very successful. She was earning a substantial amount of money from them and at that time was becoming quite wealthy.

Eliot's later years and death

Eliot gradually began to write more overtly political novels. This led to the publication of Felix Holt, Radical in 1866. From 1871 and 1872, she published her best-known and most-recognised work, Middlemarch, a detailed exploration of life in a provincial town and all its complications. Three years later, in 1876, Eliot published Daniel Deronda. This was to be George Eliot's last novel.

Lewes passed away in 1878. Eliot and Lewes had never married but had lived as husband and wife since 1854. Eliot found solace for her grief in her banker, J.W. Cross. The two married in May 1880 but had very little time together. Eliot passed away from complications from kidney disease in December 1880. She was 61.¹

George Eliot: books

Let's take a look at some of George Eliot's best-known novels.

George Eliot: The Mill on the Floss (1860)

The Mill on the Floss centres on the complex relationship between siblings Maggie Tulliver and her brother Tom.

The novel is thought to be partly inspired by Eliot's own strained relationship with her brother. Maggie and Tom have conflicting values: Tom prioritises social status and success, while Maggie values love, intellectualism, and connection with others. Tom leaves school to help his father with his debts, causing him to become a more pragmatic and detached person.

Maggie's relationship with Philip Wakem, an intellectual young man, is disapproved of by Tom and their father due to Philip's father's involvement in the loss of their family mill. When Tom discovers that Maggie has declared her love for Philip, he breaks up the relationship, causing further damage to their already strained relationship. Later, Maggie becomes attracted to Lucy Deane's suitor, Stephen Guest, and they gradually fall in love. However, Stephen's proposal is rejected by Maggie, and she is eventually cast out by society.

Maggie and Tom are eventually reconciled after their father dies and they both attempt to save the mill from flooding. Sadly, they both drown while sailing towards Lucy's house.

Many themes are covered in The Mill on the Floss. Some of the most important of these are estranged families, societal expectations, and forgiveness. Gender is also a key theme because Maggie is often judged for her choices as a woman. Tom clearly has much more power and agency, often telling Maggie what to do.

George Eliot: Middlemarch (1871-2)

Middlemarch is undoubtedly George Eliot's best-known work. It originally appeared in eight volumes between 1871 and 1872. Middlemarch is now seen as one of the Victorian period's great realist texts. It is a very long novel that spans over three years and follows many complex characters whose lives are intertwined.

Middlemarch by George Eliot is centred around the character of Dorothea Brooke, an ambitious and intelligent young woman living in the fictional town of Middlemarch. Dorothea desires to be involved in charitable projects and intellectual research, and she believes marrying the wealthy and studied Reverend Edward Casaubon will help her achieve her goals. However, their significant age difference and Casaubon's lack of interest in her intellectual pursuits lead to a loveless marriage.

Meanwhile, the Vincy family also resides in Middlemarch, and the eldest children, Fred and Rosamund, face their own challenges. Fred's inability to complete his university studies results in him being seen as a failure, and Rosamund cares deeply for appearances. Tertius Lydgate, a young doctor with new scientific ideas, moves to Middlemarch and treats Fred when he falls ill. Rosamund sees him as a good marriage prospect due to his wealthy family background, but their marriage also fails due to Lydgate's focus on his work and Rosamund's superficiality.

As the story progresses, Dorothea grows closer to Will Ladislaw, Casaubon's cousin, and after Casaubon's death, they eventually marry. Fred also finds happiness in marriage. Scandal surrounds Lydgate, leading to his and Rosamund's departure from Middlemarch. They remain quite unhappily married until Lydgate dies at the age of fifty. Rosamund goes on to marry a wealthy man.

Gender and marriage are key in Middlemarch. Eliot shows how confining marriage can be for women in the Victorian period. Science and religion are also important. Through the character of Lydgate and his experiences, Eliot shows how reluctant many were to scientific advances. She also seems to promote a personal sense of religion instead of organised religion in Middlemarch.

Fig. 2 - Dorothea and Will Ladislaw are two of the main characters in Middlemarch

George Eliot: short stories

George Eliot was a versatile writer. Some of her lesser-known works include the various short stories she wrote. Eliot's first published fiction text was a collection of short stories, Scenes of Clerical Life (1858). It was also the first of her works to be published under the pseudonym of George Eliot. This came a year before her first novel, Adam Bede (1859). Scenes of Clerical Life contains the following short stories:

'The Sad Fortunes of the Reverend Amos Barton'

The short story follows the tragic life of a reverend that has been newly assigned to a small parish in an English village. Barton has new ideas and struggles to get the congregation on his side. He suffers scandals and death, losing both his wife and newborn daughter. Barton eventually forms a relationship with his congregation only to be abruptly moved to another parish. Eliot humanises the often-lauded figure of a religious leader in this story.

'Mr. Gilfil's Love Story'

This short story follows the life of another clergyman, Maynard Gilfil. The story centres around his time as chaplain of the large Cheverel Manor estate when he was a young man. Maynard falls in love with a young Italian woman, Caterina Sarti. It is a story of unreciprocated love. Maynard loves Caterina but she does not return his feelings. She is in love with another man who is due to be married to someone else. After a long series of complications, Maynard and Caterina do marry but Caterina tragically dies in childbirth.

'Janet's Repentance'

This short story centres around a dispute in the English town of Milby. Reverend Edgar Tryan has been newly appointed clergyman of the town. Many of the congregation disagree with this and would prefer the old reverend be returned. Eliot deals with theological and religious differences in this short story. Much of the story focuses on Janet, the wife of one of the main citizens opposed to Tryan's appointment. Her husband is abusive and this pushes Janet to rely on alcohol. She eventually seeks Tryan's help with her alcoholism and comes around to approving of him as reverend.

Tryan and Janet become closer after her husband's death. Tryan works hard and lives in poor conditions to better understand his poorer parishioners. This impacts his health and he passes away. Unusually for the time, George Eliot gives quite an honest depiction of domestic abuse in her short story.

George Eliot: poems

Another often neglected part of George Eliot's career is her poetry. Eliot's poetry followed some of the same themes as her fiction did. She particularly focused on issues of religion. Eliot struggled with her religious beliefs and became disenchanted with organised religion as she became older and involved with intellectual groups.

Some of Eliot's poetry includes:

• 'God Needs Antonio'.
• 'Day is Dying'.
• 'The World Is Great'.
• 'Brother and Sister'.

'The Choir Invisible' (1884) by George Eliot

Perhaps the best-known George Eliot poem, this is a forty-four-line poem focused on the topic of religious struggles. In 'The Choir Invisible', Eliot muses on the idea of heaven and how to access it. She departs from traditional Victorian religious beliefs, which leaned towards the idea that if a person strictly followed religious doctrine, they would easily enter heaven.

Eliot's view in this poem is much more unconventional. She suggests that the way to truly get into heaven is to be a part of groups that are trying to make the world a better place. This theme is clearly linked to the intellectual circles she was a part of during her lifetime. These were much more humanist than religious, as is the message of 'The Choir Invisible'.

George Eliot: quotes

George Eliot: facts

Here are some top facts about George Eliot!

1. George Eliot was the pen name of Mary Ann Evans, a renowned English novelist and poet who lived from 1819 to 1880.

2. She was born in Warwickshire, England, and grew up on a farm. She was educated privately and became a voracious reader.

3. In her early career, she worked as a translator and an assistant editor at a literary magazine.

4. Her first novel, Adam Bede, was published in 1859 and was an immediate success. She went on to write several other novels, including The Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner, and Middlemarch.

5. Eliot was known for her realistic portrayals of rural life and the struggles of ordinary people. She was also interested in psychology and explored the inner lives of her characters.

6. She was in a long-term relationship with fellow writer George Henry Lewes, although they were never married. Lewes supported Eliot in her writing career and served as her literary advisor.

7. Eliot was deeply interested in social justice and wrote several essays on political and social issues of her time, including women's rights and the plight of the working class.

8. In addition to her novels, Eliot also wrote poetry and translated works from German and French into English.

9. Eliot was not publicly known to be a woman until after the publication of Adam Bede. This led to some controversy and criticism from those who felt that a woman should not be writing about such serious subjects.

10. Today, George Eliot is considered one of the greatest novelists in English literature and her works continue to be studied and celebrated around the world.

References Used

¹ Nathan Uglow. 'George Eliot'. The Literary Encyclopedia. 2002