Character sketch of Adam Bede

Q 3: 

Give a character sketch of Adam Bede.

 Answer: 

 Adam is an intelligent but not well educated rural carpenter who feels that he understands the nature of the things. For him life is very simple and he believes that the world operates according to certain mechanical principles which never change. He also believes that one should spend one’s life according to certain principles of right conduct. He is an unemotional person and believes that one should always do one’s duty no matter what the circumstances are. For this reason he is a sober young man, totally dedicated to his work. He rarely does things for his own pleasure but always tries to do the right thing in every situation.

Such a kind of attitude creates many fine qualities in him.

 Adam has a strong nature. He is brave and aggressive and does not yield under pressure, because he thinks he knows what right is. He is self-confident and expresses himself honestly. His dedication to his duty makes him strong willed and determined person. It also leads him to approach problems in a logical forward looking way. All in all, he is a very optimistic young man as novel opens. He feels that he can handle any situation through positive action. He feels that he is in control of himself and of the course of his life. The deep study of novel reveals that

 Adam is somewhat immature. Even the experiences of life have not changed his strict view point. As his reaction to his father shows that he lacks sympathy for other people’s weaknesses. He is dedicated to duty himself and he expects others to have same attitude in life. He is thus self-righteous and somewhat intolerant. His basic aggressiveness is expressed through his violent attitude. Sometimes, he seems to feel that violence is the most honest and practical way to solve the problems. As he feels in control of his situation, he is a proud and self-centered man. He is the one who clings to his own opinion and insists on getting his own way. The negative features in his personality emerge most clearly in his first reaction to Arthur when he comes to know about the love affair between Arthur and Hetty. His passions get out of hand and he tries to solve his problem in the most direct possible way by taking physical revenge on Arthur and then forcing him to write to Hetty about terminating the relationship. At this point his pride has even corrupted his good qualities and he refuses to forgive Arthur. The regret that Adam feels for having knocked Arthur down is the first step towards maturity. He realizes that he has done something rash which serves no useful purpose and which cannot be retracted. From this point, under the influence of Dinah, Mr. Irwin and his own experience, he begins to soften. He becomes acquainted with “irremediable evil” at Hetty’s trial. It is the sort of situation which he cannot control or set right. This places him in a dilemma and he solves it by accepting the imperfect situation and by extending sympathy to Hetty and Arthur. In short, he becomes humble and instead of judging people’s behaviour by his own standards, he treats them well in spite of their faults. His self-righteous and intolerance fall away and he realizes that doing right implies acting in a loving way whether people come up to his notion of proper conduct or not. The pride which has isolated him from others vanishes and he accepts his own and his nears limitations. After a great struggle, he is able to put others happiness before own, even to forgive the man he had considered his enemy. Adam’s personality is consistent throughout the novel. His values simply shift as he grows more mature and realistic. At the end, he is still strong but now his strength founded on acceptance of the world as it is. He has come to see that it is more important to love than to be technically right in any given situation.

 Adam is thus Eliot’s primary illustration of the way in which a man can develop what according to her standard is proper self understanding. He becomes moral instead of moralistic and evolves gentleness. In short,

 Adam Bede is a perfectly round character and grows steadily throughout the course of the novel.