| Abstract: |
George Eliot was one of the most distinguished female novelists of the Victorian Age. She possessed a good analytical skill and sharp intelligence which enabled her to discuss certain issues related to woman. Her reputation as a great female novelist rested upon her exceptional manipulation of her heroines. Her works served as an attempt to improve the social condition of women in her time.After examining Eliot’s selected novels, one could notice that her heroines were portrayed in their adolescence. This fact may be attributed to many social and economical reasons. Concerning the social reasons, Eliot was conscious that adolescence is a suitable phase in which young girls have limitless aspirations. In adolescence, women make crucial choices without being aware of their consequences. Concerning the economical reasons, the majority of readers passed through this critical period, a fact which raised the rate of selling her novels. Besides, publishers preferred this kind of novels, since young girls had no means of entertainment except reading them.Eliot did not submit to her heroines’ feelings. She was against those who yielded to temptations, since frustration and death were their ultimate destiny. She aimed at raising the sympathy of her readers. Furthermore, she tried to enrich her readers’ moral principles. Although Eliot was the creator of her heroines’ aspirations, she did not sympathize with them. She criticized the way of obtaining their aspirations. They were frustrated, because they violated the moral codes of their communities. In fact, the relationship between the faulty conduct and the consequent sufferings of her heroines can be regarded as her central target as a novelist. She tried to appear as a conservative female novelist though she herself violated the moral traditions of her society by her illegal relationship with a married man. She sought social approval and traditional conformity. As a result, she was categorized as a moral novelist who did not write about sexual oppression or drunken characters. She was not ignorant of such matters, but she wanted to safeguard herself from the criticism of her contemporaries.Eliot’s interest in tackling the theme of frustration of womanly aspirations may be attributed to many personal and artistic points of view. On the one hand, when her heroines were frustrated, she raised the readers’ sympathy so that the position of women may be improved in the future. On the other hand, she lived an unconventional sad pattern of life, a fact which resulted in testing the morality of her female heroines and the reaction of the society towards their behaviour. The cruel treatment of her mother, the keeping home for her widowed father, the loss of faith, the separation from her family both financially and socially, her work in different fields of literary activities, and her illegal relationship with G. H. Lewes resulted in her untypical attitudes towards her heroines. These facts interpreted her inclination towards portraying painful, punished, and frustrated heroines. Having lived unconventional way of life, she wanted to appear as a conservative writer who took the side of morals, ethics and principles.Since ancient times, woman played a key role in wars, business, industry and agriculture. Religion gave her a special position within her society. The limitations imposed upon her were self-made. Her inferiority was linked to people who imprisoned her within their homes. As a result, Eliot adopted certain issues related to women’s inferior position in society. Being a female novelist, she possessed the ability to express women’s aspirations and desires from a feminist point of view. Thus, her interest in women’s issues was personal and artistic at the same time.During that period, women failed to achieve equality with men. They were viewed as self-sacrificing victims who were deprived from their rights. Traditionally, they were brought up as dependent creatures not independent ones. Socially and financially, they were dependent upon their fathers, brothers, or husbands afterwards. They could not enjoy the freedom to be educated, to work, or even to choose their future husbands. They acted as puppets within the male dominated world.Eliot’s treatment of her heroines was unconventional. She examined the unfriendly relationship between women and their societies. She portrayed the aspirations of Hetty Sorrel who failed to achieve her aspirations because of the social restrictions of that era. Hetty was attracted to Arthur’s wealth and fineries with whom she imagined that she was a rich lady. She violated the moral codes by an act of adultery. She was frustrated and was categorized as a fallen heroine. Adam Bede showed the position of the fallen woman in the Victorian Age. Hetty Sorrell was condemned by her society twice: first because of the killing of her illegitimate child and second by her act of adultery. Hetty had no principles, she thought of infanticide in order to get rid of her shame. Her aspirations to become a rich lady blinded her and drove her to this sad end in which such mistaken acts could not be corrected.Hetty’s frustration was partly due to class distinction in society. Eliot criticized this distinction, since the upper classes (represented by Arthur Donnithorne) could not marry from the lower classes (represented by Hetty Sorrell). Hetty’s fault was due to her unconsciousness of class distinction, a fact which caused her frustration. In addition, she could not predict or evaluate the consequences of her behaviour.In The Mill on The Floss, Eliot introduced a new kind of heroine who searched for another kind of aspirations. Maggie Tulliver dreamed of achieving self-independence through education, work and emotional affairs. Furthermore, she searched for achieving self-renunciation with a man she deeply loved. She is portrayed as a sensitive heroine who lacks moral responsibility. Her fault is her yielding to Stephen Guest’s invocation to travel with him. Unfortunately, this Journey with Stephen Guest and her decision to return home a day later qualify her as sinful heroine. Since public opinion plays a crucial role in people’s life, Maggie is condemned and punished. Both Hetty Sorrell and Maggie Tulliver were regarded as two fallen heroines, though they were totally different. The former committed adultery and infanticide, whereas the latter neither committed adultery nor infanticide. The former was guilty, whereas the later was innocent, but morally irresponsible. Thus, Eliot proved that society’s judgment was upon women was severe either they were innocent or not. Eliot also illustrated that woman was the only person who bore the burden alone. Although both Hetty and Arthur in Adam Bede committed adultery, Hetty was the only person who was punished and condemned. Similarly, in The Mill on the Floss, Maggie faced a severe destiny.For the first time, Maggie was independent from her family and any patriarchal authority. She decided to return to her family after one-day absence with Stephen Guest. This decision was the beginning of the end of her life. Secondly, when Tom turned to her to be rescued from the flood, she failed and they died together. In this scene, all the barriers between the two were vanished and they were reunited into an endless embrace. Eliot solved Maggie’s problem by death for two reasons: the first was to raise sympathy for her, the second was to bring grace to Eliot as a moral and conservative writer who refused any illegal relationship that did not end into marriage.The Mill on the Floss was an autobiographical novel. Maggie was identified with young Eliot. But, they had different attitudes towards their lovers. Maggie refused to be indulged into an illegal relationship with the suitor of her cousin, whereas Eliot accepted Lewes’ illegal relationship though he was married.Eliot’s Middlemarch examined her conception of marriage as an unsatisfactory end for her ambitious heroine. Dorothea Brooke dreamed of being the wife of a great scholar whom she helped in his working. She imagined that she served a hero who could provide her with knowledge and education. In addition, she wanted to live an ideal life, nobler than the Middlemarch way of life.Unfortunately, Dorothea’s marriage was a failure, since he himself was originally flawed. Their relationship was cold, barren and a sort of pupil-mentor relationship. She imagined that marrying an old great scholar could liberate her from the limits of her early life. Her aspirations and expectations were frustrated. She failed to achieve any emotional, spiritual, or even intellectual aspirations. She vainly struggled to assert her individuality against his oppression.Dorothea’s remarriage was also a failure, since she was not satisfied with her domestic duties. In Middlemarch, marriage was not a triumph for Dorothea. She was totally immersed in her domestic duties. Actually, she failed to reconcile her aspirations with the society’s expectations of woman’s submission. Thus, marriage was no longer a central aim for the nineteenth century heroines.On the one hand, Eliot supported those heroines who searched for wider opportunities in life. The search for achieving self-independence and self-assertion was her central target. She also wanted her heroines to rebel against their harsh conditions. This call for rebellion seemed to be rare and unconventional during that period. Therefore, Eliot gained popularity and her novels proved success and great reputation.On the other hand, Eliot criticizes those heroines who violate the moral codes of their society like Hetty in Adam Bede and Maggie in The Mill on the Floss. Thus, frustration and death were their eventual fate, since they gained neither of their aspirations nor the respect of their society. In other words, they lost everything and gained nothing. Eliot was against those heroines who declared inferiority to their husbands and depended upon them for achieving their aspirations like Dorothea in Middlemarch. She criticized the immoral heroine who was easily deceived by the temptations of a rich gentleman and her readers like Hetty in Adam Bede. Throughout her novels, Eliot wanted women to be moral and to have strong principles. Immoral heroines faced severe destiny. Besides, she wanted men to regard women as complementary to them, since these women might be their daughters, sisters, or mothers.In spite of the heroines’ frustration, Eliot portrayed the frustrated heroine as a positive character who did not stand passively lamenting her bad luck. In Middlemarch, the failure of Dorothea’s two marriages did not mean the end of life. She, instead, searched for other alternatives to fulfill her satisfaction. For example, she helped the poor, established new cottages for them and participated in many charitable works.Eliot’s heroines were not satisfied with their lot in life. They were, either single or married, unhappy and dissatisfied. For example, both Hetty and Maggie were single heroines but they were frustrated and died at the end of the novel. Dorothea was a married, but she was also frustrated and dissatisfied at the end of the novel. There are many reasons: First, Eliot wanted to test the reaction of her readers towards her views about marriage as a hindrance of women’s self-fulfillment. Second, the heroines’ refusal of their domestic duties may be attributed to Eliot’s hatred of her mother’s way of life. We are told that Eliot’s relationship with her mother was not easy. Thus, she hated any woman who reminded her of her mother. Finally, if she, in reality, practiced the feelings of wifehood and motherhood, she might have another opinion about her heroines’ satisfaction of marriage bond.Traditionally, home was the suitable place for women, but Eliot’s heroines did not appreciate the sanctity of marriage. They regarded it as a way by which they could escape from parental authority. Besides, they imagined that marriage was a first step towards achieving their aspirations. Unfortunately, they failed because in marriage women had to be submissive to their husbands’ authority. In other words, in both cases women were subjected to their fathers’ domination or their husbands’ authority. Eliot was not against her heroines, but she criticized those heroines who utilized marriage to achieve their personal aspirations. She also showed the severe social restrictions, which faced women during that period. In fact, she never separated her heroines from their society. The novels’ sad endings reflected Eliot’s awareness of these restrictions.Eliot reflected a strong belief in religion in her selected novels. In Adam Bede, religion and religious characters played a great part at crucial moments. For example, in the prison scene, Dinah Morris played an important role in pacifying Hetty Sorrel. Similarly in The Mill on the Floss, Dr. Kenn helped Maggie Tulliver to pass through her dilemma when everybody left her.Furthermore, there were two kinds of characters: good and bad. Although bad characters abused good ones, the good characters forgave them and stood behind them in their troubled times. In Adam Bede, when Hetty deceived Adam, he stood behind her during her calamity. Similarly in The Mill on the Floss, although Maggie Tulliver refused Philip’s love, he supported her at the end of the novel. In addition, in Middlemarch, Dorothea was offended by Casaubon’s ill treatment, but she acted dutifully during his illness.Eliot’s heroines escape when they face a problem beyond their capacities. For example, in Adam Bede, when Hetty bore an illegitimate child, she eloped to get rid of her child. Similarly, in The Mill on the Floss, when Maggie was frustrated by the death of her father, she traveled to her cousin Lucy Dean, since she met Stephen Guest. In addition, in Middlemarch, Dorothea Brooke travelled to her sister Celia, since she met Will Ladislaw.Technically, Eliot wrote her novels from the omniscient point of view. She used the third person in narrating her novels to sure herself the criticism of her readers and contemporaries. In addition, she wanted to comment freely upon her heroines’ feelings and attitudes without unveiling her true identity. Eliot acted as a teacher who taught her heroines a moral lesson. Their crises served as a turning point and acted as a cleansing process. In Adam Bede, this process occurred when Hetty asked those around her to forgive her. In The Mill on the Floss, Maggie’s death served as a moment of cleansing at which the readers felt great sympathy towards her. In Middlemarch, Dorothea’s confession of her mistake was a turning point of her life.Furthermore, Eliot relied on contrast between characters and events in order to clarify her characters’ attitudes. She contrasted the upper classes and the lower classes, the rich and the poor, the good and the bad, the submissive and the radical, the moral and the immoral. Besides, she powerfully employed imagery throughout her novels, a fact which was praised by her contemporaries. Finally, she used the analytical technique to interpret her characters’ aspirations as representatives of their generations. She also showed a great interest in investigating the causes of their frustrations either internally or externally.
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