George Eliot and Nineteenth-Century Science The Make-Believe of a Beginning [Paperback]

This study explores the ways in which George Eliot's involvement with contemporary scientific theory affected the evolution of her fiction.This study explores the ways in which George Eliots involvement with contemporary scientific theory affected the evolution of her fiction. Dr Shuttleworth shows how, as Eliot moved from Adam Bede to Daniel Deronda, her conception of a conservative, static and hierarchical model of society gave way to a more dynamic model of social and psychological life.This study explores the ways in which George Eliots involvement with contemporary scientific theory affected the evolution of her fiction. Dr Shuttleworth shows how, as Eliot moved from Adam Bede to Daniel Deronda, her conception of a conservative, static and hierarchical model of society gave way to a more dynamic model of social and psychological life.This study explores the ways in which George Eliot's involvement with contemporary scientific theory affected the evolution of her fiction. Drawing on the work of such theorists as Comte, Spencer, Lewes, Bain, Carpenter, von Hartmann and Bernard, Dr Shuttleworth shows how, as Eliot moved from Adam Bede to Daniel Deronda, her conception of a conservative, static and hierarchical model of society gave way to a more dynamic model of social and psychological life.Acknowledgements; Preface; 1. Science and social thought: the rise of organic theory; 2. Adam Bede: natural history as social vision; 3. The Mill on the Floss: the shadowy armies of the unconscious; 4. Silas Marner: a divided Eden; 5. Romola: the authority of history; 6. Felix Holt: social and sexual politics; 7. Middlemarch: an experiment in time; 8. Daniel Deronda: fragmentation and organic union; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index.