A study of characterisation in the novels of George Eliot

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The important healing quality of confession and the device pf presenting
a 'goal in the form of an image of an ideal self are recurring
themes in the novels. The first is illustrated in the long prison confession
Hetty makes to Dinah in Adam ~. Openness and confession are
symptoms of a readiness for moral gr~nh. Conversely, lack of candour,
,
concealment, self-protectiveness are indications of a character s moral
deficienoies. Tito Melemats concealment of his father's existence, Arthur
Donnitborl'let s last minute failure to confide in Mr Irwine and Bulstrode' 5
inability to open out to his wife despite her loving solicitude are all
examples of moral decline.
The most striking example of the efficacy of the goal of the ideal
self occurs in Daniel Deronda. Gwendolen desperately clutches to her, as
if it were a talisman, Deronda's belief that she Vlill "live to be one
of the beat sort of women. \I
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The importance George Eliot gives to the need for openness betvleen
people relates to the fact that to her, moral growth conoerns not just
the individual and his sense of his own identity but is very much a
question of that individual's relationship with his immediate family,
his community or even his race. Fellowship is most important and a
character's capacity for fellowship reveals his state of moral development
and is, as well, a means whereby he can dev.elop morally. The capacity
for sympathy serves the same two-fold purpose. A loving, trusting
relationship, such as the mentor/pupil relationship;generates an openness
which is shown to be a necessary ingredient not just for the mental
health and moral growth of the individual but for the moral growth and
stability of the community at large.
The goal of the ideal self may be offered by a mentor figure or other
respected friend, or occasionally it may be adopted as a workable myth
or fantasy by the oharacter herself without any intermediar--J. Maggie