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Adam Bede By George Eliot(1819-1880) Short summary



Adam Bede
By George Eliot(1819-1880)
                     Short summary
The main story revolves around the life and love of 
 Adam Bede, a carpenter of good and honest character.
 Adam is a practical head of his family, which includes his father,
Thais Bede,
Who has taken to drink and has lost the respect of his son,
Lisbeth, the well meaning but weakly fussy mother and
Seth Bede, his brother, who is a Methodist.
Seth is in love with his fellow
Methodist, Dinah Morris.
Although, Seth has tried his luck with Dinah once yet tries his luck once again.
Seth assures her that marriage will not prove a hindrance in her religious duties.
Dinah respects him very much, but she does not accept his proposal, because she feels that she should not marry. However, she assures him that if she ever thinks of marriage, he would be the first one. Poor
Seth is dejected but tries to find consolation in her assurance.
 Adam is working in the workshop of Mr. Burge who desires that Adam should marry his daughter. In that case, he is ready to make him a partner in the business. However, Adam is in love with the pretty nice of Poysers named Hetty Sorrel.
Hetty is a woman of a very shallow nature. Moreover, she has a soft corner for the heir of the village squire namely Arthur-Donnithorne.
 Arthur is a childhood friend of 
 Adam. He is a good man but is of a weak moral character and cannot resist the charm of Hetty. Unknown to
 Adam, Arthur and
Hetty meet in the woods in the cottage which
 Arthur has furnished for living. At a birthday party,
 Arthur has paid great attention to
Hetty, so that she started thinking to live a life of with
 Arthur and of the charms of that such a life would provide. Naturally, the offer of 
 Adam now means nothing to vain Hetty. Arthur  and Hetty are once surprised in the woods by Adam ,who happens to pass that way just when two lovers are bending down for a kiss.
 Adam Gets angry to see that he is being betrayed by his best friend. He forces a fight on
 Arthur and knocks him unconscious. In fact, for a time it appears to Adam  that he has killed
 Arthur. Adam insists that the affair must end at once. He forces Arthur to write a letter to Hetty, in which he informs her that their love-affair must not continue.
Hetty is shocked to find all her dreams turning to dust and ashes. In this situation a proposal from
 Adam appears to her a best chance. Burge offers partnership to Adam regardless of marriage with his daughter .Adam is now in a position to support a wife and makes a proposal to
Hetty .Hetty accepts him and an early date is fixed for their marriage. All seems to be well for the major characters, Adam, Arthur and Hetty, when a tragedy strikes a swift blow which engulfs all of them.
Hetty discovers herself pregnant. She did not inform anyone about this situation. On the pretext of inviting
Dinah for marriage,
Hetty leaves home. The object of her journey is
 Arthur, how has gone away with his regiment but has left his address with her in case of an emergency. After a tiring journey, she reaches the place but discovered that in the meanwhile the regiment has moved to Ireland. At the end of her resources, she at last decided to meet Dinah. However, she unexpectedly gives birth to a child in the house of a kind-hearted and God-fearing couple. She leaves the place on the very next day. It is known later that she placed the infant in a hollow under a tree and covered it with grass and small pieces of wood. Later, she comes back to look for the child, which, in the meanwhile, has been taken away by a man who has seen a small hand coming out of the grass. On reaching home, he finds the infant to be dead. He informs authorities and
Hetty is arrested for child-murder. In Hays lope, this news first reaches the priest,
Mr. Irwin.
In the meanwhile,
 Adam has been on the futile search for
Hetty. He, now, learns the bitter truth from
Irwin and also tells him that he knows about Hetty and Arthur.
Hetty is tried for the crime of murdering her own child, is found guilty and sentenced to death. She is saved from the very verge of death by a hard won relief by Arthur. Her punishment is changed into life imprisonment.
Dinah Morris succeeds in moving the hardened heart of Hetty and obtaining a full confession from her. During
Hetty’s trial she comes in close contact with
 Adam and falls in love with him.
Seth despairs of success with
Dinah in his love-suit and asks Adam to try his luck with her. Adam does so and is accepted. Hetty undergoes a long imprisonment, is released but dies on her way home.
 Arthur decides to join the army and leaves Hays lope.


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