Mary Anne Evans wrote under the pen name George Elliot for much of her career in literature. For this blog I chose to look at several letters written by Ms. Evans to friends as well as pieces published in magazines, newspapers, and collections as well. The first one we see is titled "Letter to Sara Sophia Hennell" (519). The footnote informs us that Ms. Hennell was Evans most constant correspondent throughout her lift. It is written in a most casual tone which hints at their comfortable relationship. In this letter she lectures on the value of human expression and speech. She calls for "those who can write, let them do it as boldly as they like" (519). Again in her piece "From The Natural History of German Life"(520), Evans calls out the value of art for self expression and the betterment of the world. She claims the value of all different workers and people for the different perceptions they bring with them. This piece largely ties in with Middlemarch and her own biography. The letter "Journal, Richmond, 30 November 1858" (522) highlights the amount of biography and real world experiences in Evan's works. She highlights her debates of how much actuality to use in her works. She does base them somewhat off of her real experiences but mostly she was an active member of the society that she was seeking to critique giving it credibility. It is undeniable that Evans was a controversial and interesting woman which lends more though as to what of her personal experiences are included in her literature. She again stresses the paramount importance of sympathies for the artist in her "Letter to Charles Bray" (526). In her letter she calls into focus that if the reader is not able to feel the intent of the art, they are missing the most important elements of human experience.
Analysis-
Evans wrote under the pen name of Elliot for several reasons. One, most likely is due to her controversial relationship with Lewes but another most likely due to her sex. As a woman, her political works would be due to greater scrutiny if published under her female name. In her essay published in The Wesminster Review "From The Natural History of German Life" she calls for an examination of the principles applied to the understanding of art. Like the characters in Middlemarch who fall prey to a bias society and the environment of Evans herself, she questions the morality of how art is interpreted. She calls into question the observations of "The landholder, the clergyman, the millowner, the mining-agent" (521) and how their views are stifled by the culture. The characters of her novel are largely middle to upper class individuals, definitely not strictly the bourgeois. She defends the validity of the lower class perception in art and society. She claims that "Art is the nearest thing to life;..." (520) claims that there is real value in understanding "the people."It seems that she makes the claim for humans dependence on conditions for development. That for true understanding, one must examine all classes and their experiences. A mode explored broadly in her novel, maybe explaining why there is such a broad cast of characters utilized in its plot. She notes this throughout her letters and works, she deeply believes in the value of sympathies from the reader to the novel for without it, the artistic value is diminished and missed by the reader.
Elliot, George. Middlemarch. 2nd ed. New York, London: W.W. Norton &, 2000. Print.
Evans wrote under the pen name of Elliot for several reasons. One, most likely is due to her controversial relationship with Lewes but another most likely due to her sex. As a woman, her political works would be due to greater scrutiny if published under her female name. In her essay published in The Wesminster Review "From The Natural History of German Life" she calls for an examination of the principles applied to the understanding of art. Like the characters in Middlemarch who fall prey to a bias society and the environment of Evans herself, she questions the morality of how art is interpreted. She calls into question the observations of "The landholder, the clergyman, the millowner, the mining-agent" (521) and how their views are stifled by the culture. The characters of her novel are largely middle to upper class individuals, definitely not strictly the bourgeois. She defends the validity of the lower class perception in art and society. She claims that "Art is the nearest thing to life;..." (520) claims that there is real value in understanding "the people."It seems that she makes the claim for humans dependence on conditions for development. That for true understanding, one must examine all classes and their experiences. A mode explored broadly in her novel, maybe explaining why there is such a broad cast of characters utilized in its plot. She notes this throughout her letters and works, she deeply believes in the value of sympathies from the reader to the novel for without it, the artistic value is diminished and missed by the reader.
Elliot, George. Middlemarch. 2nd ed. New York, London: W.W. Norton &, 2000. Print.
I think using her pen name was very important during her time like you have mentioned. It allowed her to give a real life depiction of classes and social restraints while protecting herself. The idea as art as self expression is a beautiful thought by Eliot and it gives more support as to why she used her pen name. How would she ever have been able to express herself in a society that held women lower?
ReplyDeleteI think it's really important that you brought to attention the understanding and morality of art in her essay, when she herself as well as her works would have been scrutinized even further if she wouldn't have used her male pen name. I also think it's great that you brought to our attention that the sympathies from the reader are so important, as the novel wouldn't have lost its artistic value without it.
ReplyDeleteHalfway through your blog, it occurred to me that I thought you were writing about Elizabeth Barrett Browning (mostly because I'm reading blogs for my Browning class this afternoon as well). Barrett Browning also links sympathy and art or aesthetics (often with a bit of scorn for the past and relish for the present thrown in). Like Eliot, she writes of her work as art and has a developed aesthetic that can be traced. I've been trying to figure out this afternoon if EBB and Eliot knew each other, but all I've found so far is one letter from Eliot to Robert Browning. If they didn't, it seems like they might have enjoyed each other.
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