George Eliot’s plot construction with special reference to her novel “Adam Bede”.
Q 1:
Discuss merits and demerits of George Eliot’s
plot construction with special reference to her novel “Adam Bede”.
Or
What are the new trends that are introduced by
George Eliot in plot construction in English novel writing?
Discuss with special reference to her novel “Adam Bede”.
Answer:
George
Eliot
is
considered to be a revolutionary name in the field of novel writing. She has
been considered among the last of Victorians but first in the modern novelist.
Her modern approach created a sensation in the literary circles. In the hands
of
George
Eliot
novel
undergoes a clear cut change. It is truly said that from the time of Fielding
to
George
Eliot
conception
of the form of English novel
remained unchanged. One of the important changes introduced by
George
Eliot
is that of providing a complex plot and psychoanalysis of her
characters. In “
Adam
Bede
”she
has very beautifully given the inner workings of
Arthur
,
Adam
and
Hetty
’s
minds. She analyses their motives, mental process, inner conflicts, their souls
and development of their characters. She dissects the soul of her characters and
brings out their inner struggle. In the earlier novels, the plot was of
straightforward nature and unity was only in terms of the presence of hero.
But, in the novels of
George
Eliot
we come across
the refined elements of the crafts of fiction. The plot of “
Adam
Bede
”
is not well unified as that of
“Mill
on The Floss”
and
“Middlemarch”
,
yet it shows the quality introduced by
George
Eliot
.“Adam
Bede ”does not have a loose plot to which we were used to in the early
novels of Jane Austen and Dickens. The plot of this novel is skillfully put together
and we really appreciate the full magic of its story and see that it is a great
work of art. The plot is preconceived by the author. The story unfolds the
character as it proceeds further. The story teller works her will on us because
we are convinced that these people and town or village actually exists.When we
read the suffering of the characters, we indulge in the natural human tendency
to sympathize. In “
Adam
Bede
”
the events and the background are intermingled perfectly. The evolution of
the plot depends upon the qualities of the characters as well as the
opportunities provided and restrictions imposed by the environment. This is exactly
what happens in “
Adam
Bede
”.
The opportunities and restrictions act and react so impressively that the plot
takes a lofty image in the eyes of the readers.
The
full effect of
Arthur
’s
submission to the sensual appeal of
Hetty
’s
charm and innocence and all that happens later on depends upon the relationship
of both the character to each other and to the world. The pride and
self-respect of Poysers Hetty’s family, is established in reader’s mind by the
vivid () picture of their surroundings, their domestic life and the performing
of their church duties. All these elements play a very vital role in the plot
of “Adam Bede” to cause a tragedy and enhancing the bitterness. It is the
social background and the standard of conduct that makes it necessary for
Hetty
to
run away before the birth of illegal child. It is the honour which creates a
sense of affliction for them.“Adam Bede ”deals with different aspects of
human life at different levels. Even
Arthur
cannot
tolerate the shame that was brought due his relation with
Hetty
.
Most of the action that we see in this regard provides us the inner psyche of
the characters and reveals the importance of this form of honour. This special interest
of the plot is the whole novel. As famous critic
Gerald
Bullet says,
“The dramatic
strength of Adam Bede lies in the story of Hetty, so strongly imagined and
so honestly told, giving the reader great psychological insight into the
behaviour patterns of the characters involved in special intimacy. The
sense of humanity, warm sense of rural comedy and hustle and bustle of
life is wonderfully amalgamated in the main plot.”
Like
all great novels, “
Adam
Bede
”
has also some flaws. Critics make thepoint that the end of the novel is not
that impressive as it should be. The weakness of plot is mentioned on different
levels. The oppressive natureof
Adam
and
Dinah, the sacrifice of probability (
,
and the untidy ending have often been mentioned in this regard. But these minor
flaws become pardonable when we see that Georg Eliot was giving new trends in
the field of plot construction. This new experiment bound to have some failure.
In short, it can be safely said that “
Adam
Bede
”
has a very special chain of events which has been marvelously arranged to
build a forceful plot.
George Eliot
’s
effort is highly appreciable in this regard.
Comments
Post a Comment