English Language and Literature Commons^™

Book Review: The Clarendon Edition Of Middlemarch, Kathleen Porter

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

We welcome the Clarendon edition of George Eliot’s Middlemarch, which is generally considered to be her greatest novel. It took her about three years to write, and it seems to have caused a good deal of trouble to all concerned.

David Carroll's splendid Introduction, although not intended to be biographical, offers the reader a glimpse of the working life of the Leweses. As the Editor tells us, George Eliot left no detailed account of the 'germ' of Middlemarch, but her letters to John Blackwood gave hints that an 'English novel' was in her mind as early as 1867. Then, after …

"Listening" A Poem Inspired By Middlemarch, M.A. Valk

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

LISTENING

Listening to silence

on its other side

hearing the grass grow

the beat of a bird's heart

the fall of a star

Shall 1 die of the roar

waiting for silence

to break - like glass?

Book Review: George Eliot, Kathleen Adams, Jennifer Uglow

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

When I first heard that Virago were to pubIish a book about George Eliot (the author sought my help in locating certain photographs) I was a Iittle apprehensive. I feared that this might be a militant feminist view of a lady who concerned herself deeply about the 'Woman Question' but who did not align herself with the growing Victorian feminist movement. But a first reading allayed my fears, for Jennifer Uglow treats her subject with sympathy and understanding and does not try to prove that George Eliot was an active feminist when she was not.

The book opens with a …

The Sixteenth George Eliot Memorial Lecture- 1987, Beryl Gray

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

Although from its first chapter the novel evolves towards the crises of Maggie's brief maturity, my focus here is on the two final Books of The Mill on the Floss. Book VI is called "The Great Temptation"; Book VII is called ''The Final Rescue". Taken together, these two Books can be read as an allegory of moral struggle and redemption.

The temptation itself is located in Paradise. Indeed, the first chapter of Book VI - ''The Great Temptation" - is entitled" A Duet in Paradise". In conjunction, the key titular words - "Temptation" and "Paradise" - conjure the Temptation in …

George Eliot's Wesleyan Madonna, Elsie B. Homes

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

George Eliot's "favorite painting in all the world" was Raphael's "Sistine Madonna”, which she and George Henry Lewes first viewed at Dresden when she was writing Adam Bede. In her journal, she recorded that on her first sight of the painting she sat down briefly, but then "a sort of awe, as if I were suddenly in the presence of some glorious being, made my heart swell too much for me to remain comfortably, and we hurried out of the room" (Haight 264). Each day as they came to the gallery, they would return last to what Lewes termed “this …

Annual Report 1987

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

Before I began this, my 20th. annual Report, 1 looked back to my first and found, to my amusement, that it was a mere half quarto page! During that year we had visited the Amold Bennett Country, seen the play of 'Wutherlng Heights', and our Guest of Honour at the Dinner was the writer, Richard Church, a kinsman of George Eliot. Our total membership was 60.

1987 was inevitably a quieter year than 1986 - can it really be more than two years since we unveiled the Statue? At the AGM in March it seemed almost inevitable that we should …

A Hard Moral Core, Vic Hopkins

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

The novelist C. P. Snow, reviewing a book on George Eliot by Robert Speaight (1954), seeking an answer to his own question: “Which of the Victorian novelists means much to the younger writers today?", after rejecting most of them, finally selected George Eliot, who, in her time, he explained

"received a complete esteem not given to any other English novelist, and who afterwards became regarded as a faintly comic monument.”

I paused over the statement, puzzled and fearing worse might follow, but mercifully the writer of it, buoyed perhaps by the thought II serious art needs a hard moral core", …

Omar S. Pound, Arabic And Persian Poems In Translation, Robert Spoo

Articles, Chapters in Books and Other Contributions to Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

“What Thyng It Is That Wommen Moost Desiren”: Image And Self-Realization In The Wife Of Bath's Prologue And Tale, Thomas W. Köhn

Masters Theses

The Wife of Bath is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating of the Canterbury pilgrims. At the same time she is one of those literary figures whose complex character constantly seems to elude the reader's judgement. Alisoun presents herself as a feminist advocating male subjection and female sovereignty in marriage, but her self-assertive behaviour cannot conceal an equally powerful longing for love and acceptance. Some critics therefore praise the psychological depth of the Wife's portrayal while others label her a stock character and join in the derisive laughter they believe her fellow pilgrims to bestow on her.

This thesis explores …

The Spherical Vision, Nancy Topping Bazin

English Faculty Publications

Virginia Woolf's experiences as a manic-depressive influenced her vision of reality and, in tum, her aesthetics. Manic-depression is a "cyclic" illness-cyclic in the sense that the manic-depressive moves alternately between two extreme psychological states. Hence, he experiences reality in terms of two opposite perspectives. Psychotic depression involves what Jung describes as the experience of the "shadow." That is, looking into the unconscious, the individual sees his own reflection. He takes a risk in looking, for as Jung says, "The mirror does not flatter, it faithfully shows whatever looks into it; namely, the face we never show to the world because …

The Technical Achievement Of C. Rossetti In Goblin Market And Other Poems, Jay D. Fisk

Masters Theses

During Christina Rossetti's lifetime (1830-1894), and for some fifty years after her death, critical attention focused on her life, more specifically on how that life affected her poetry. Critics tried to show how her Italian ancestors, artistic brothers, spiritual mother and sister, and her many illnesses influenced her works. Other than these basic facts, little else was known.

Later, psychological critics found much sexual symbolism in the "repressed" poet's works. "Goblin Market," with its tale of strange little goblin men seducing innocent maids with their fruits seemed particularly well-suited to a Freudian approach. This poem received so much attention that …

The George Eliot Fellowship Treasurer's Report- 1986

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

You will see from the Statement, which I hope is straightforward, that the finances of the Fellowship are in a satisfactory condition. In 1986 one of our High Income Bonds matured and was reinvested, together with £250 from the Snare Account, in a Capital Share 90 Account. This gives us a better rate of interest on our investment.

Profits on meetings, outing and sales are very encouraging. We prefer to raise money by our efforts rather than have to increase subscriptions and 1986 was a good year, with the result that subscriptions for this year remain the same as in …

George Eliot And Theatre: The Toast To The Immortal Memory, Kathleen Adams

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

In 1838, at the age of 18, Mary Ann Evans was deep in her evangelical period, taking everything very, very seriously. On a visit to London with her brother Isaac she refused to accompany him to the theatre, preferring instead to stay home and read History of the Jews. Not quite theatre, but she went to S1. Michaelis Church in Coventry with Miss Rebecca Franklin, her teacher at the Coventry school, to hear Haydn's Creat'ion, Handel's Jephtha and a new oratorio by Mendelssohn entitled Paul (all in one concert) and she wrote to her old school-friend, Martha Jackson, "nothing can …

"'Minds That Move At Large': A Scottish Perspective On Collegiate Literary Societies, Past And Present", Patrick G. Scott

Faculty Publications

This paper contrasts two kinds of literary society, based on examples from eighteenth-century Edinburgh: the "ludic" or playful use of rhetoric in the early 18th century Easy Club, centred on the Scottish poet Allan Ramsay (1686-1758), and the "agonistic" or forensic rhetoric of the later 18th century Speculative Society, especially as seen in the Scottish lawyer and reviewer Francis Jeffrey (1773-1850) and in the influential Edinburgh Review for which he wrote. The paper originated as the keynote address to Rhetor '86: the Convention of the National Association of Collegiate Literary Societies, held in Columbia, SC, October 10, 1986.

Milton's Land-Ships And John Wilkins, Sidney Gottlieb

Communication, Media & The Arts Faculty Publications

Frank Huntley's highly informative essay on "Vultures, Chinese Land-Ships, and Milton's 'Paradise of Fools' " surveys much of the background for Milton's quick reference to the wind-driven "cany Waggons light" in Paradise Lost 3.437-39.' He suggests that subtle wordplay makes these vehicles a particularly apt introduction to the anti-Catholic satire that immediately follow

Address At Westminster Abbey Wreath-Laying

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

ROSEMARY MARTIN was our Guest of Honour. She had been invited because of her very sympathetic portrayal of Dolly Winthrop in the BBC Television film of 'Silas Marner' - a much loved character with a special place in George Eliot's novel.

After she had placed the Fellowship chaplet of laurel and white carnations on the Memorial Stone which had been unveiled exactly six years earlier by Gordon S. Haight, Miss Martin admitted that, prior to the invitation to play Dolly Winthrop in the film, she had read no George Eliot. She was interested in the part and then read 'Silas …

Speech At The Nuneaton Wreath-Laying, Len Struebig

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

Almost twenty years ago, for the first time, I joined the small group of admirers who annually pay tribute to the memory of Nuneaton's famous daughter.

It is perhaps fitting that my last public duty, albeit as ex-Curator, should be connected with George Eliot. Over the years I have listened with interest to the various speakers, each with their own particular reason for being honoured with the responsibility for laying the Fellowship tribute.

I have heard Lewes and Evans descendants recount family memories handed down with pride. Last year we heard John Letts tell us of the close bond which …

Shakespeare's Henry V And The Alexandrian Allusion, Winona Howe

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The character of Henry V (in Shakespeare's play of the same name) has been a matter of debate among critics, some of whom accept the historical view of Henry as an extraordinarily able and heroic king, while others view him as an extremely unattractive personality, a spiritual hypocrite, and a conqueror of unmitigated cruelty. Cited as supporting evidence for this unflattering portrait is a passage in Act IV which consists of a conversation between two characters, Gower and Fluellen. In this conversation, Henry is compared to Alexander the Great or "the Pig" as Fluellen terms him.

Two critics, Ronald Berman …

Beowulf For Modern Man: Orality And Literacy And The Anglo-Saxon Heroic Poem, Mark David Nevins

Fenwick Scholar Program

My goal in this thesis is to show the difference of interpretation between a reading of the Old English poem Beowulf as the work of an oral performer and a reading of it as the work of a literate author. Given the premises set down by intensive study of oral composition of poetry, and given all the literate arguments for interpreting the poem, I would like to show that Beowulf can still be read as an oral poem, and that such a reading may result in an understanding of the poem that is at least as good, if not more …

Charles Dickens & The Breakdown Of Society's Institutions For Children, David Major

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

As a social critic, Charles Dickens carries an attack against the mistreatment of children throughout his career. At first reacting in the defense of wronged children, he develops a view of the process of social breakdown that results from mistreating children. Adults fai3 in their duty to children because they fail to recognize the needs of children as children and even fail to recognize the human rights of children. This mistreatment is implemented by social institutions that are supposedly dedicated to caring for children. The family fails to bring up the child with love and care. The child's education rarely …

Treasurer's Report 1985

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

You wiII see from the Statement that our finances are healthy despite high expenses last year. The loss of almost £94 on the Annual Readings was both unexpected and disappointing. For years we have benefited financially from Gabriel Woolf's Readings and we welcome his wiIIingness to come again this year, when we hope to be able to show our appreciation of his continued support. We are fortunate to have many generous members, whose help has been invaluable. We had a bequest of £ 100 from the late Mrs. Reeve and donations of £260. 67p.

Dr. Ezell continues, at his own …

"The Validity Of E.D. Hirsch", Patrick G. Scott

Faculty Publications

Argues that the negative reaction to E.D. Hirsch's controversial book Cultural Literacy stems from ignoring the continuities between his early work as a literary critic and theorist with his later work on writing and composition. Originally presented at the Winthrop College Rhetoric Symposium, 1986.

Orts 9, 1986, The George Macdonald Society

Orts: The George MacDonald Society Newsletter

1. After what seems a long winter it is good to look out of the window and see the sun shining at long last. Spring usually brings on a new burst of energy and here is the newsletter – apologies for the slight delay.

Orts 10, 1986, The George Macdonald Society

Orts: The George MacDonald Society Newsletter

1. Already the damp autumn weather has arrived and thoughts are turning towards Christmas. A little Mediterranean respite was granted to Freda Levson, Jean Schurer and Bill Raeper, however, when they travelled to Bordighera in Italy from the 13th to the 20th September at the invitation of the Anglo-Ligurian Club to join in their annual celebrations commemorating the death of George MacDonald on September 18th. The club itself flourishes under the energetic presidency of Miriam Masterton and seeks to unite Italians and English speakers adopting the principles that MacDonald himself used at Casa Coraggio. Certainly the warmth and generosity of …

Patterns And Patterning: A Study Of Four Poems By George Herbert (Book Review), Sidney Gottlieb

Communication, Media & The Arts Faculty Publications

Book review by Sidney Gottlieb.

Westerweel, B. (1984). Patterns and patterning: A study of four poems by George Herbert. Amsterdam: Rodopi; Atlantic Highlands, NJ: distributed by Humanities Press.

ISBN 9789062039456

Annual Report- 1986

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

1986 was undoubtedly the Year of the Statue and the erection and unveiling in March was the highlight of our work in promoting and honouring George Eliot. A full report appeared in the 1986 Review and it is not necessary to include any more in this report, except to say that, after all the public ceremony of the day before, the Fellowship met at the George Eliot Hotel on Sunday, March 23rd for a Celebration Luncheon. This was informal and extremely pleasant, and it proved to be a real 'family' affair. Jonathan and Marjorie Ouvry stayed over to be with …

George Eliot And The 1832 Election, Geoffrey D.M. Block

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

This article is an examination of some political aspects of George Eliot's Felix Holt.

The very first Iine of the first chapter of the novel makes it clear that the action takes place in 1832. This was the year of the Reform Act - the year too of the first general election to be held under the provisions of that Act. When she began writing her book in 1865-66 George Eliot did some painstaking research into the happenings and into the electoral practices of the 1832 election. (See her oft-quoted Journal and the Quarry usefully abstracted in the Clarendon edition …

Obituary 2: Gordon Haight, Margaret Wolfit

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

In the spring of 1972 when I was making plans to take my one woman version of “The Mill of the Floss” to the Edinburgh Festival fringe I plucked up courage and wrote a letter to Gordon Haight asking his help with some programme notes. I had, of course, read and greatly admired his definitive biography of George Eliot, but I had never met him. Some weeks later I received a telephone call from him. He told me he was in London, he didn’t know how he could help m but suggested that I might like to see him at …

Respond To The Speech At The Unveiling Of George Eliot Statue, Kathleen Adams

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

The George Eliot Fellowship feels a great sense of achievement today, for. after two years of work and effort, we now have George Eliot in the heart of 'Milby' - the name she chose for Nuneaton. We are proud to have played so Iarge a part in having this fine memorial statue erected as a token of our admiration of a great but warm and human woman. What she would have thought of the statue we have no way of knowing. But, although she was a diffident person, I Iike to think she would have been warmed and touched that …

Book Review: Silas Marner- Not Quite A "Common Ol' Workin' Man", Kathleen Porter

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

To compile a programme of Readings about 'the curse of the drinking classes' (Oscar Wilde) which is both· satisfying and moving, requires some diligence and industry. This belies Gabriel Woo If's statement, as he introduced himself to his audience, that, apart from two whole weeks in an office, he had spent his life not doing a day's work, in Mr. Lawrence senior's sense of the word. As a matter of fact, we were moved, in a most satisfying way, sometimes to laughter, sometimes to tears, by passages read with such feeling that it was hard to believe that our reader …