George Eliot

George Eliot

George Eliot is looked upon as one of the greatest Victorian writers of all time and is especially distinguished for her emotional characterization. Her vast knowledge on philosophy paved the way for modern portrayals of characters. (www.kirjasto.com)

George Eliot was the pen name of Mary Ann Evans (who would later change her name to Marian). She was born in a country house at Nuneaton Warwickshire on November 22, 1819. Mary Ann was the youngest child of Robert Evans and Christiana Pearson Evans. She had four siblings: Robert, Fanny, Chrissy, and Isaac, who she was closest too. Her father was a carpenter and a land manager. His strict Evangelicalism inspired a similar spirituality in Mary Ann. (Middlemarch introduction)

In 1820 her family moved to Griff where Mary Ann spent 21 years of her life and amongst people who she later depicted in her novels. She was sent to Miss Latham’s boarding school in 1824 where she first turned to books for amusement. In 1828 Mary Ann was sent to Mrs. Wallington’s Boarding School at Nuneaton. It was here that she met Miss Maria Lewis who was the most influential figure in her early life. (Silas Marner Introduction) Miss Lewis was the governess at the school and had strong evangelical beliefs. When Mary Ann was thirteen she graduated from Mrs. Wallington’s Boarding School, but she still kept a close relationship with Maria Lewis that would last for nearly fourteen years. Next she attended Miss Franklin’s school. Here she studied French and was admired for her writing skills. She also wrote poetry and was an accomplished pianist.

After graduating from Miss Franklin’s school Mary Ann’s mother became ill. In February of 1839, Mrs. Evans died. Mary Ann, who was 19 at the time, left school to help care for her father. She and her father moved to a new home in Foleshill, Coventry which was a much larger town than Griff. Here she met Charles and Cara Bray. She found the Brays having doubts on Christianity, just as she had been secretly having for some time. Soon Mary Ann stopped going to church which disappointed her father and longtime friend Maria Lewis.

Continuing to stay with the Brays while nursing her father, Mary Ann began to work on translating Das Leben Jesu, which was one of the most influential works of religious thoughts read in England at that time. After working on it for two years it was published as The Life of Jesus Critically Examined without her name on it. During this time her father’s health condition became worse. He died in June of 1849. (Middlemarch introduction)

After her father’s death, Mary Ann took a Continental tour in Geneva with the Brays. She stayed there for nearly eight months. In 1850 when she returned to Coventry, she changed her name to Marian. Now moving to London she meets John Chapman, a publisher in London. After reading her translation of Das Leben Jesu he asked her if she could write articles for the Westminster Review.

Still feeling lonely and now at the age of thirty three Marian looked for a companion. In 1851 she met George Henry Lewes who was at that time married to Agnes Jervis. Although he and his wife have been separated they are still legally married and are unable to obtain a divorce due to the fact that Lewes excused his wife for committing adultery. (Silas Marner introduction)

In 1852 she translated Ludwig Feuerbach’s Das Wesen des Christentums into Essence of Christianity. This was the only work of hers that had Marian Evans as an author. In 1854 Marian Evans decided to live openly with George Lewes as his lover and spiritual wife. This brought along controversy which included her being criticized for loving a married man and that if Lewes ever left her, she would be an outcast and alone again. Now that she was “married” to George Lewes she and him fled to Germany where the spent eight months, first in Weimar and then in Berlin. Upon their return John Chapman asked if Marian could take over part of the Westminister Review for a salary of fifty pounds a year.

Marian and Lewes moved to Tenby in June of 1856. Here she began to think more about her childhood dream of becoming a fiction writer. She thought that she could write the descriptions of a novel but she feared she lacked the talent to add dramatic passages successfully. Lewes encouraged her to try to write fiction. She started writing fiction and adopted her pen name, George Eliot. She chose this name because George was Mr. Lewes’ first name and Eliot was an easy to pronounce last name.(Adam Bede: Introduction) The reason why she chose a pen name was because during this period of time writing was considered to be a male profession and women writers at this time were not looked upon with great appreciation. (www.kirjasto.com)

In May of 1857, Marian finally decided to tell