Building An Ecologically Harmonious Homeland

Eco-criticism is a critical method just put forward in the 1970s. It focuses on the ways nature is represented in literary texts and the relationship between man and nature, and reflects on the position of man in the whole ecosystem. Sticking to ecological equality and holism, eco-criticism insists on the intrinsic value of nature, reacts against anthropocentricism, and also questions the negative impact of industrial civilization on the whole ecosystem.George Eliot was a thoughtful and far-sighted writer, and her novels reflected the full range of her ideas on religion, society and human life. And The Mill on the Floss reflects her care about nature, her doubt about the influence of industrialization and her concern about human spirit, all of which are significant in eco-criticism.This thesis analyzes The Mill on the Floss from the ecocritical perspective, trying to reveal and analyze the ecological consciousness in this novel. The whole thesis consists of four chapters besides the introduction and the conclusion.The introduction concentrates on the summary of George Eliot's life and The Mill on the Floss, and the extant researches on this novel at home and abroad.Chapter One interprets the basic ideas of eco-criticism, and the main points of this thesis.Chapter Two focuses on the descriptions of nature in The Mill on the Floss. In this novel, Eliot presented vivid pictures of the beautiful natural scenery and harmonious man-and-nature relationship. However, nature has been scarred and spoiled by the invasion of modern industrialization; nature has been exploited and materialized by people with anthropocentric ideas. The flood in the end might be regarded as a warning for the imbalance of man's relationship with nature. But the wilderness of Red Deeps is still a good place for Maggie. This novel also suggests that only through the purifying value of nature can the crisis be managed.Chapter Three sets out to examine the uncovering of the distorted society and the disharmonious human relationship in the novel. The novel clearly shows Eliot's doubt about industrialization. The progress of industrialization altered people's life. Farmers lost their land and some people became the on-going capitalist. The once harmonious human relationship lost its balance in the face of interests, as is the case with the Dodson family—the "proud, honest egoists". Maggie tries to find a way to release her suppressed inner self. She is designed to serve the role as a Noah. And its end may suggest that only in a place without any influence of industrial society can people retain a harmonious relationship.Chapter Four discusses Eliot's concern about human spirit reflected in the novel. Losing their home, the Tullivers break their memory unity, which makes them out of context. Tom becomes a victim of the industrial mechanization. The loss of nature results in the disharmonious human relationships, and also the loss of the true self. The novel offers a solution by returning to childhood and nature to counteract the destructive effect of industrialization. Return to nature can help people regain their childhood memory and purity, bring about self-recovery, and save people from the negative impact of the industrial progress.The thesis draws a conclusion in the end. The Mill on the Floss embodies the basic ecological ideas and indicates Eliot's hope to construct an ecologically harmonious homeland; the novel describes the degradation of nature, the distortion of society and the loss of self in a realistic way, and reflects Eliot's great concern about the harmony of the whole ecosystem. Thus, reading it from the perspective of eco-criticism can help us get a new understanding of the novel, and is significant to current society.