A study of characterisation in the novels of George Eliot

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a wider, more universal situation. It is only her anxious control of her
characters and of her readers' response to those characters that we regret.
A certain measure of freedom is required even in a world dominated by
"universal causality," 22 if a character is to accept responsibility for
his actions and achieve moral growth. But if the nature of that moral
growth is closely circumscribed by a moral absolutism and a hierarchical
construct then we will find restrictions on the ways in which a character
is allowed to define himself within his particular community and on the
sorts of choices open to him. And the rigidity that this entails will be
partially concealed by the authorial approval meted out to those vlho are
morally developing. llltimately what this means, is that if we accept
)
George Eliot's premises, we can see that her conclusions are irrefutable.
Within her inflexible set of co-ordinates her characters do achieve carefully
controlled moral growth and do learn to transend their egoistic
limitations. They are socialised. Freedom, in George Eliot's scheme, is
"necessity understood," 23 and in our acceptance of her frame of reference
we are also asked to adhere to this definition. When we understand the
necessity that presses on her characters, we can also recognise the small
measure of freedom that they are allowed and the possibility of moral
growth which this confers. If, however, by an analysis of George Eliot's
system of beliefs, we are able to step outside her, framework, we can see
a sad 10s8 of freedom and autonomy. The characters are not encouraged to
rebel against their circumstances, because a failure to accept the reality
of the circumstances which oppress them is a sign that they are morally
lightweight. Ironically, if vIe refuse to accept George Eliot's universe,
we stand convicted, in her terms, of "moral stupidity, It 24 and range ourselves
on the side of such superlative egoists as Gwendolen Harleth. Yet
within the terms of her own set of' beliefs, we can see an implicit recognition
that moral growth is correlative with freedom. Even allowing f'or