The significance of utterance and silence in the shift from rebellion to continuity in George Eliot's novels

D.Litt. et Phil. (English)This study investigates George Eliot's approach to the existential dilemma of her times, the collision of the individual with the general. It takes into account the historical context in which political radicalism and religious controversy threatened the stability and continuity of the individual and of society. The novels fictionalize the philosophical ideas expressed in earlier writings in terms of the individual experience of the characters. Each of the eight chapters is devoted to one ofthe novels and is discussed in chronological order of publication. Reference is made to George Eliot's letters and essays where relevant. The affinities of George Eliot with Auguste Comte and with Wordsworth are also considered. The nature and extent of a protagonist's rebellion is defined as it appears in each specific novel. The forms of active and passive rebellion are diverse. An utterance, usually an extended speech act made in complete sincerity, is a visible sign of the shift of consciousness which occurs when the individual moves from a state of rebellion to one of continuity of being. The two main categories of utterance are those of confession and those of commitment. The continuity of being towards which the individual strives consists of a belief in the innate goodness of the individual and trust in another sympathetic human being to release the good. Chapter One, Scenes of Clerical Life and Chapter Two, Adam Bede, emphasize the ceI,ltral role of a confessional utterance in the attainment of coherence of self. Chapters Three to Six focus on the novels published between 1860 and 1866 that are marked by key utterances of commitment and belief, arising from a sympathetic feeling towards another person. In The Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner and Romola, the pervasive Antigone theme is evaluated in which there is an opposition of two equally valid claims proposed by characters uttering contrary points of view in their expression of a rebellion against accepted norms. With the novel Felix Holt in Chapter Six, a political dimension appears and is further emphasized in the criticism of contemporary mores of the last two..