- Table View
- List View
George Eliot (Routledge Guides to Literature)
by Jan JedrzejewskiAs a woman in an illegal marriage, publishing under a male pseudonym, George Eliot was one of the most successful yet controversial writers of the Victorian period. Today she is considered a key figure for women’s writing and her novels, including The Mill on the Floss and Middlemarch, are commonly ranked as literary classics. This guide to Eliot’s enduringly popular work offers: an accessible introduction to the contexts and many interpretations of Eliot’s texts, from publication to the present an introduction to key critical texts and perspectives on Eliot’s life and work, situated in a broader critical history cross-references between sections of the guide, in order to suggest links between texts, contexts and criticism suggestions for further reading. Part of the Routledge Guides to Literature series, this volume is essential reading for all those beginning detailed study of George Eliot and seeking not only a guide to her works but also a way through the wealth of contextual and critical material that surrounds them.
George Eliot: A Literary Life (Literary Lives)
by K. McSweeneyGeorge Eliot (Marian Evans) as a writer of fiction is the central theme of this literary life. The events of Eliot's formative years, together with the growth of her renowned intellect, are outlined, giving us an insight into the creative talent responsible for some of the best-known novels in the English-language. Her views on other novels and novelists are detailed and we follow the development of her craft as writer as it evolved from the faithful representation of everyday life, as in Scenes of Clerical Life, through to the more complex considerations of Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda.
George Eliot (Critical Issues)
by Pauline NestorGeorge Eliot was one of the great thinkers of her time, a figure central to the main currents of thought and belief in the nineteenth century. Yet when this distinguished public intellectual turned to fiction writing at the age of thirty-six, she regarded it not as a lesser pursuit, but as the distillation of all of her knowledge and ideas. For Eliot, fiction enabled the consideration of life 'in its highest complexity', and had the capacity not merely to elicit, but actually to create, moral sentiment by surprising readers into the recognition of realities other than their own.In this new study, Pauline Nestor offers a challenging reassessment of Eliot's contribution to the critical debates, both of her age and of her own era. In particular, she examines the author's literary expolration of ethics, especially in relation to the negotiation of difference. Nestor argues compellingly that, through a reading of their sophisticated drama of otherness, Eliot's novels can be seen as freshly relevant to contemporary theoretical debates in feminism, moral philosophy, post-colonial studies and psychoanalysis.Covering the writer's complete body of major fiction, this is an indispensable voume for anyone studying the work of one of the most important and influential novelists of the nineteenth century.
George Eliot (Critical Issues)
by Pauline NestorGeorge Eliot was one of the great thinkers of her time, a figure central to the main currents of thought and belief in the nineteenth century. Yet when this distinguished public intellectual turned to fiction writing at the age of thirty-six, she regarded it not as a lesser pursuit, but as the distillation of all of her knowledge and ideas. For Eliot, fiction enabled the consideration of life 'in its highest complexity', and had the capacity not merely to elicit, but actually to create, moral sentiment by surprising readers into the recognition of realities other than their own.In this new study, Pauline Nestor offers a challenging reassessment of Eliot's contribution to the critical debates, both of her age and of her own era. In particular, she examines the author's literary expolration of ethics, especially in relation to the negotiation of difference. Nestor argues compellingly that, through a reading of their sophisticated drama of otherness, Eliot's novels can be seen as freshly relevant to contemporary theoretical debates in feminism, moral philosophy, post-colonial studies and psychoanalysis.Covering the writer's complete body of major fiction, this is an indispensable voume for anyone studying the work of one of the most important and influential novelists of the nineteenth century.
George Eliot: Godless Woman (Writers in their Time)
by Brian SpittlesThis book considers George Eliot's individual stand on early feminist issues, why she 'lived in sin' but defended marriage, and was claimed by opposing political parties as their particular champion. It analyses the novels in relation to Eliot's own essays, letters and poetry, and with regard to extracts from contemporary feminist journals, parliamentary speeches, newspapers and magazines. The book produces an exciting picture of Victorian concerns and conflicts, largely from the perspective of the time. There are also chapters on Eliot's personal life, and the critical reception her work has received since its publication.
George Eliot and Herbert Spencer: Feminism, Evolutionism, and the Reconstruction of Gender
by Nancy L. PaxtonThis analysis of the writings of two major Victorian intellectuals examines the crucial place of gender in the larger Victorian debate about nature, religion, and evolutionary theory. Demonstrating the primacy of Herbert Spencer's influence on George Eliot's thought, Nancy Paxton discloses the continuous dialogue between this profoundly learned novelist and one of the most formidable and influential scientific authorities of her time. Using rarely cited first editions of Spencer's published works, Paxton reveals that Eliot and Spencer initially agreed in supporting several of the goals of early Victorian feminism when they met in 1851. Paxton surveys all of Spencer's writing to show when and why he repudiated his early feminism and demonstrates Eliot's determined resistance to the most conservative tendencies of evolutionary theory in her representation of female sexuality, motherhood, feminist ambition, and desire. In comparing Eliot's and Spencer's evolutionary "reconstruction of gender," the book draws on a wide variety of biographical, literary, and critical texts and on interdisciplinary scholarship about the relation between scientific and literary discourse in the nineteenth century. By thus reassessing Eliot's contribution to feminist thought, it presents a revolutionary reading of her novels which is informed by contemporary feminist criticism and the new historicism. "This is an important book because of the questions it raises, the issues it covers, and the illumination it brings to Eliot and Spencer and to crucial problems in the nineteenth century: Paxton looks at the ways scientific data get turned into arguments about the nature of women in society, about women and education, about women and sexuality. This work shows how truly current Eliot's novels are, no matter what their setting."--Barry Qualls, Rutgers UniversityOriginally published in 1991.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
George Eliot and Intoxication: Dangerous Drugs for the Condition of England
by K. McCormackThroughout George Eliot's fiction, not only do a remarkable number of her characters act under the influence of unwise consumption of alcohol and opium, but drugs also recur often as metaphors and allusions. Together, they create an extensive pattern of drug/disease references that represent socio-political problems as diseases in a social body and solutions to those problems (especially solutions that depend on some kind of written language) as volatile remedies that retain the potential to either kill or cure.
George Eliot and Italy
by A. ThompsonThis study considers George Eliot's novels in relation to Dante and to nineteenth-century Italian culture during the Italian national revival and shows how these helped shape her fiction. Thompson argues that Eliot was able to draw selectively on a powerful Risorgimento mythology of national regeneration and that her engagement with the work of Dante Alighieri increases steadily in her later novels, where the Divine Comedy becomes a sustaining metaphor for Eliot's meliorist vision and for her theme of moral growth through suffering.
George Eliot and Music
by Beryl GrayA treatise which explores the extent to which music played a role in the literary works of George Eliot. The author concentrates principally on "The Mill on the Floss", "Middlemarch" and "Daniel Deronda" and argues that music was an indispensable component of each of these works.
George Eliot and Nineteenth-Century Psychology: Exploring the Unmapped Country (The Nineteenth Century Series)
by Michael DavisIn his study of Eliot as a psychological novelist, Michael Davis examines Eliot's writings in the context of a large volume of nineteenth-century scientific writing about the mind. Eliot, Davis argues, manipulated scientific language in often subversive ways to propose a vision of mind as both fundamentally connected to the external world and radically isolated from and independent of that world. In showing the alignments between Eliot's work and the formulations of such key thinkers as Herbert Spencer, Charles Darwin, T. H. Huxley, and G. H. Lewes, Davis reveals how Eliot responds both creatively and critically to contemporary theories of mind, as she explores such fundamental issues as the mind/body relationship, the mind in evolutionary theory, the significance of reason and emotion, and consciousness. Davis also points to important parallels between Eliot's work and new and future developments in psychology, particularly in the work of William James. In Middlemarch, for example, Eliot demonstrates more clearly than either Lewes or James the way the conscious self is shaped by language. Davis concludes by showing that the complexity of mind, which Eliot expresses through her imaginative use of scientific language, takes on a potentially theological significance. His book suggests a new trajectory for scholars exploring George Eliot's representations of the self in the context of science, society, and religious faith.
George Eliot and Nineteenth-Century Psychology: Exploring the Unmapped Country (The Nineteenth Century Series)
by Michael DavisIn his study of Eliot as a psychological novelist, Michael Davis examines Eliot's writings in the context of a large volume of nineteenth-century scientific writing about the mind. Eliot, Davis argues, manipulated scientific language in often subversive ways to propose a vision of mind as both fundamentally connected to the external world and radically isolated from and independent of that world. In showing the alignments between Eliot's work and the formulations of such key thinkers as Herbert Spencer, Charles Darwin, T. H. Huxley, and G. H. Lewes, Davis reveals how Eliot responds both creatively and critically to contemporary theories of mind, as she explores such fundamental issues as the mind/body relationship, the mind in evolutionary theory, the significance of reason and emotion, and consciousness. Davis also points to important parallels between Eliot's work and new and future developments in psychology, particularly in the work of William James. In Middlemarch, for example, Eliot demonstrates more clearly than either Lewes or James the way the conscious self is shaped by language. Davis concludes by showing that the complexity of mind, which Eliot expresses through her imaginative use of scientific language, takes on a potentially theological significance. His book suggests a new trajectory for scholars exploring George Eliot's representations of the self in the context of science, society, and religious faith.
George Eliot and Schiller: Intertextuality and Cross-Cultural Discourse (Routledge Revivals Ser.)
by Deborah GuthThis title was first published in 2003. Though Friedrich Schiller enjoyed prominent literary standing and great popularity in nineteenth century literary England, his influence has been largely neglected in recent scholarship on the period. With George Eliot and Schiller: Intertextuality and Cross-Cultural Discourse, Deborah Guth explores the substantial evidence of the importance of the playwright and philosopher's thought to Eliot's novelistic art. Guth demonstrates the relationship of Schiller's work to Eliot's plotting of moral vision, the tensions in her work between realism and idealism (which an understanding of Schiller redefines substantially), and her aesthetics. The specific focus of the study is the Schillerian subtext of George Eliot's work and a resultant reassessment of her realism. However, the intertextual methodology, applications of Iser's thinking on the translatability of cultures, and a placement of Eliot in a German context serve as a gateway for reconsidering Eliot's contributions in these areas, as well. While recent scholarship on Eliot has focused on gender analysis, New Historicism and cultural materialism, the frame remains largely English. Guth contends that the immense continental underpinnings of Eliot's writing should lead us to re-situate her beyond national boundaries, and view her as a major European, as well as English, writer.
George Eliot and Schiller: Intertextuality and Cross-Cultural Discourse
by Deborah GuthThis title was first published in 2003. Though Friedrich Schiller enjoyed prominent literary standing and great popularity in nineteenth century literary England, his influence has been largely neglected in recent scholarship on the period. With George Eliot and Schiller: Intertextuality and Cross-Cultural Discourse, Deborah Guth explores the substantial evidence of the importance of the playwright and philosopher's thought to Eliot's novelistic art. Guth demonstrates the relationship of Schiller's work to Eliot's plotting of moral vision, the tensions in her work between realism and idealism (which an understanding of Schiller redefines substantially), and her aesthetics. The specific focus of the study is the Schillerian subtext of George Eliot's work and a resultant reassessment of her realism. However, the intertextual methodology, applications of Iser's thinking on the translatability of cultures, and a placement of Eliot in a German context serve as a gateway for reconsidering Eliot's contributions in these areas, as well. While recent scholarship on Eliot has focused on gender analysis, New Historicism and cultural materialism, the frame remains largely English. Guth contends that the immense continental underpinnings of Eliot's writing should lead us to re-situate her beyond national boundaries, and view her as a major European, as well as English, writer.
George Eliot and the Landscape of Time: Narrative Form and Protestant Apocalyptic History
by Mary Wilson CarpenterCarpenter discusses apocalytptic narrative schemes in Romola, Adam Bede, Middlemarch, Daniel Deronda, and The Legend of Jubal. In the context of nineteenth-century British interpretation of the prophesies, this study reveals an unsuspected visionary poetics in Eliot's writings and demonstrates that her later works rewrite Protestant apocalyptics in both romantic and satiric styles, suggesting a new approach to Victorian narrative form.Originally published in 1986.A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.
George Eliot and the Politics of National Inheritance
by Bernard SemmelIn this stimulating history of the ideas behind George Eliot's novels, Bernard Semmel explores Eliot's imaginative use of the theme of inheritance, as a metaphor for her political thinking. Through detailed analyses of Eliot's novels and other writings, and a study of the intellectual currents of the time, Semmel demonstrates how and why Eliot's views on inheritance provided central ideas for her fiction. Semmel uncovers Eliot's intent when she wrote of the obligations of inheritance both in the common meaning of the term, as in the transfer of goods and property from parents to children, and in the more metaphoric sense of the inheritance of both the benefits and burdens of the historical past, particularly those of the nation's culture and traditions. He believes Eliot's novels dwelt so insistently on the idea of inheritance in good part because she viewed herself as intellectually "disinherited," writing as she did at a time when much of England was being transformed from a traditional community to an alienating modern society, and when, moreover, she suffered from a painful estrangement from her family. In this thought-provoking study, Semmel dissects the politics of Eliot's novels, including Middlemarch, Daniel Deronda, Romola Felix Holt, and Adam Bede, and convincingly displays the relationship between Eliot's variations on the theme of inheritance and her acceptance of Britain's traditional policies of compromise and reform. All those interested in Victorian literature, history, and political thought will appreciate Semmel's George Eliot and the Politics of National Inheritance.
George Eliot and Victorian Historiography: Imagining the National Past
by Neil McCawIn this new study of George Eliot's fiction, textual attempts to imagine a coherent and unified national past are seen as producing a contradictory vision of Englishness. It is a historiographical national identity, constructed in the image of predominant, and conflicting, trends in the Victorian writing of history. The inherent uncertainty caused by the shift between different perceptions of English history leads, in the later fiction, to an abandonment of contemporaneous grand narratives. The consequence is a history that anticipates a more modern, radical philosophy of history.
A George Eliot Chronology (Author Chronologies Series)
by Timothy HandsThis is a companion to George Eliot's life and works, listing year by year the details of her biography, her wide reading and her literary output. The chronology also offers previously unavailable bibliographical information, listing Eliot's periodical publications.
A George Eliot Companion: Literary Achievement and Modern Significance (Literary Companions)
by F. B. Pinion
George Eliot for the Twenty-First Century: Literature, Philosophy, Politics
by K. M. NewtonGeorge Eliot for the Twenty-First Century reexamines Eliot two hundred years after her birth and offers an innovative critical reading that seeks to change perceptions of Eliot. Tracing Eliot’s literary reception from the nineteenth century to the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, K. M. Newton frames Eliot as an unorthodox radical and considers the philosophical, ethical, political, and artistic subtleties permeating her writings. Drawing from close readings of her novels, essays, and letters, Newton offers a new critical perspective on George Eliot and reveals her enduring relevance in the twenty-first century.
George Eliot for the Twenty-First Century: Literature, Philosophy, Politics
by K. M. NewtonGeorge Eliot for the Twenty-First Century reexamines Eliot two hundred years after her birth and offers an innovative critical reading that seeks to change perceptions of Eliot. Tracing Eliot’s literary reception from the nineteenth century to the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, K. M. Newton frames Eliot as an unorthodox radical and considers the philosophical, ethical, political, and artistic subtleties permeating her writings. Drawing from close readings of her novels, essays, and letters, Newton offers a new critical perspective on George Eliot and reveals her enduring relevance in the twenty-first century.
George Eliot in Germany, 1854–55: 'Cherished Memories' (The Nineteenth Century Series)
by Gerlinde Roder-BoltonFrom 1854 to 1855, George Eliot spent eight months in Germany, a period that marked the start of her life with George Lewes. Though Eliot documented this journey more extensively than any other, it has remained an under-researched part of Eliot's biography. In her meticulously documented and engaging book, Gerlinde Röder-Bolton draws on Eliot's own writings, as well as on extensive original research in German archives and libraries, to provide the most thorough account yet published of the couple's visit. Rich in historical, social, and cultural detail, George Eliot in Germany, 1854-55 not only records the couple's travels but supplies a context for their encounters with people and places. In the process, Röder-Bolton shows how the crossing of geographical boundaries may be read as symbolic of Eliot's transition from single woman to social outcast and from translator and critic to writer of fiction.
George Eliot in Germany, 1854–55: 'Cherished Memories' (The Nineteenth Century Series)
by Gerlinde Roder-BoltonFrom 1854 to 1855, George Eliot spent eight months in Germany, a period that marked the start of her life with George Lewes. Though Eliot documented this journey more extensively than any other, it has remained an under-researched part of Eliot's biography. In her meticulously documented and engaging book, Gerlinde Röder-Bolton draws on Eliot's own writings, as well as on extensive original research in German archives and libraries, to provide the most thorough account yet published of the couple's visit. Rich in historical, social, and cultural detail, George Eliot in Germany, 1854-55 not only records the couple's travels but supplies a context for their encounters with people and places. In the process, Röder-Bolton shows how the crossing of geographical boundaries may be read as symbolic of Eliot's transition from single woman to social outcast and from translator and critic to writer of fiction.
George Eliot, Judaism and the Novels: Jewish Myth and Mysticism
by S. Nurbhai K. NewtonThis is the first study to argue that Jewish Mysticism influenced all Eliot's novels and not just her Jewish novel, Daniel Deronda , and leaves the reader with a very different George Eliot from that assumed by most previous criticism. Though previous studies have attempted to qualify the still-dominant view that George Eliot is firmly as part of the realistic tradition, this study goes further by demonstrating that a cohesive mythic structure with its basis in Jewish mysticism is identifiable in her fiction. Providing helpful background and factual information about the Golem and other aspects of Kabbalah, this work will appeal to anyone interested in the myth of the Golem, the re-writing of Victorian culture from a Judaic perspective, and George Eliot studies in general.
George Eliot, Music and Victorian Culture
by Delia da Sousa CorreaGeorge Eliot was passionate about music and her writing is steeped in musical allusion. This book explores musical reference in her work and investigates contexts such as Eliot's friendship with Wagner, the legacy of Romanticism, music's role in scientific theory, and the ambivalent status of female musicality. The book establishes how intensely Eliot's musical allusions are informed by her contemporary culture and offers a fresh view of the experimental writing through which she took literary realism into previously uncharted regions.