Middlemarch by George Eliot (Book Analysis) E-Book

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• Herausgeber: BrightSummaries.com
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Serie: BrightSummaries.com
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 19

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

Unlock the more straightforward side of Middlemarch with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of Middlemarch by George Eliot, which tells the story of two idealistic protagonists whose great aspirations are ultimately disappointed. Both characters make disastrous marriage decisions which stifle them and prevent them from fulfilling their ambitions, and also feel constrained by the limited world of the provincial town in which they live. The novel is an exceptionally accomplished portrait of 19th-century society and provides a perceptive, nuanced depiction of its characters’ psychology. Middlemarch is widely considered to be George Eliot’s masterpiece and an outstanding example of literary realism; Eliot is also known for her novels Adam Bede, Silas Marner and The Mill on the Floss. 

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This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:
• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection

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Leseprobe

GEORGE ELIOT

ENGLISH NOVELIST

Born in Nuneaton in 1819.Died in London in 1880.Notable works:Adam Bede (1859), novelThe Mill on the Floss (1860), novelSilas Marner (1861), novel

George Eliot is the pen name of Mary Anne Evans. The author spent her childhood in Warwickshire, where her father was employed as an estate manager. In her twenties Evans began to associate with free-thinkers, and translated Strauss’s Life of Jesus (1846), a work which provoked controversy by denying that many of the miracles recounted in the New Testament ever happened. After her father’s death, she moved to London, where she edited the Westminster Review and mixed with radical thinkers. Evans scandalised literary London by living openly with the married journalist, George Henry Lewes, until Lewes’s death in 1878.

With Lewes’s encouragement, Evans turned to writing fiction at the age of 37. Her first novel, Adam Bede (1859), became an immediate bestseller. This was followed by five novels that displayed her developing skill, which reached its apex in her masterpiece, Middlemarch (1871), considered by many critics to be one of the greatest English-language novels ever written, and a pinnacle of achievement in literary realism. Evans’s work is also celebrated for its insightful psychological portraits, and for its exploration into the motives that drive people.

MIDDLEMARCH

REALIST NOVEL

Genre: novelReference edition: Eliot, G. (2008) Middlemarch. Oxford: Oxford University Press.1stedition: 1871Themes: realism, gender, marriage, idealism, Bildungsroman (coming-of-age novel)

George Eliot’s fifth novel, Middlemarch, is generally considered her masterpiece and is celebrated as one of the greatest works in English literature. The novel focuses on the emotional development of its protagonist, Dorothea Brooke, a wealthy, intelligent and beautiful young woman. The novel is therefore an example of a coming-of-age story, or to use the German critical term, Bildungsroman. The novel is set against the backdrop of the 1832 Reform Bill, which was passed 40 years before its publication, and therefore also falls into the genre of historical fiction. Middlemarch