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Abstract The thesis examines the concept of the quest in relation to the novels of George Eliot (1819-1880), Mary Anne Evans at birth. The quest is an attempt to change the status quo and achieve an aim, which entails a challenge of the prevailing norms. The thesis consists of a preface, an introduction, three chapters, and a conclusion. The “preface” presents George Eliot’s background in the English Midlands, the influence of the different religious and philosophical debates on her, her own quest to pursue an independent career, her journalistic success as a reviewer and an editor in London, her defiance of the codes of the Victorian society, and her intellectual and literary accomplishments. The introduction “Victorian England” studies the main conflicts and changes that prevailed during the Victorian age; mainly the change from an agricultural to an industrial country, the conflict between science and faith, the religious dispute of the conforming and non-conforming sects, political reform, and the women’s movement. At that time the novel was the dominant literary genre. The introduction also places George Eliot among her contemporaries, namely the two female novelists, Elizabeth Gaskell and Charlotte Bronte. Chapter I, “Quest for Self-Autonomy” deals with different female characters’ quest for emancipation. In Scenes of Clerical Life (1858), a collection of three spacially related tales, Eliot portrays the religious life at that time. In “Janet’s Repentance” she depicts Janet Dempster who could once more regain control over her life. In Adam Bede (1859) Dinah Morris defies traditional society in her vocation as a Methodist preacher, Mrs. Poyser defends her family and farm against the landlord’s exploitation, in contrast to Hetty Sorrell, the selfseeking woman who aspires for personal benefit. whereas Adam Bede and Silas Marner (1861) represent the preindustrial country life, The Mill on The Floss (1860) is located in an urban setting. Maggie Tulliver, as a town girl, seeks education and independence and faces the obstacles that society imposes on her in order to assert her self in a genderbiased society. Chapter II, “Quest for Perfection”, tackles the quest of both idealistic and egoistic females for perfection in the other three novels Romola (1863), Middlemarch (1872), and Daniel Deronda (1876). In her quest for perfection, Romola faces two disillusionments in her husband, Tito, and the trusted guide, friar Savonarola. In Middlemarch, (1872) Dorothea is another idealist who aims at being a social reformer and a learned woman, but is restricted by her society. In Daniel Deronda, Gwendolen Harleth is self-centered and over-conscious of her beauty. Thus, she is often likened to Rosamond Vincy in Middlemarch, but whereas Rosamond remains the same until the end Gwendolen is capable of moral development. Chapter III, “Male Characters’ Quest” examines the male characters in the seven novels. In the patriarchal Victorian society whereas women were fettered by strict social codes, men had the freedom to act. Therefore men’s quests were mainly materialistic, political, and in rare cases scientific. Whether village labourers, country gentlemen, town citizens including doctors, fake thinkers, lovers, and husbands are all examined along with the different stages of these characters’ lives and quests. The chapter also explores the male/female relationship from the male standpoint to represent the other point of view. The “Conclusion”, is an account of the issues raised and discussed in the thesis assessing George Eliot’s ideas. |