Reflection Of Morality And Characterization In The Mill On The Floss

It is in Victorian Age that many English writers emerged. They left behind valuable cultural wealth for the world literature. George Eliot was one of the writers. In her life, George Eliot completed a large number of literary works. Her works and life have drawn much attention of the critics both at home and abroad. Eliot is good at the combination of speculative philosophy and rich creation of literary works, endowing her works with powerful intelligence. Her creation of literary works, especially her novels, reveals her rich spiritual world and life philosophy. Therefore, her influence and position in the world literature can not be displaced.Not only can literary works reflect people's emotion and culture in real life but also express their moral behavior and concept. Literary works of different ages can express people's moral behavior and concepts of different times. The Mill on the Floss is George Eliot's highly autobiographical novel. The memory of her childhood is clearly reflected in the novel. The bright point of the novel is an exquisite depiction of the inner world of characters. The heroine's hard and short life constitutes the main plot of the novel while the other minor common people around her are also depicted elaborately. They have no profound thoughts or great intelligence, yet they are endowed with distinct characters. Their behavior implies simple life philosophy. The unique feature of The Mill on the Floss is good combination of Eliot's own outlook of philosophical ethics and morality with the characterization of the novel. Although Eliot never claims she is a moralizer, yet undoubtedly her morality affects her depiction of characters and plots in her novels.The thesis attempts to first explore Eliot's gender morality based on equality with gradualism, then analyze her religion of humanity stressing on morality, love and forgiveness and finally elaborate her marriage morality emphasizing love and social morality. Then it discusses how Eliot conveys her gender morality on the depiction of Maggie's rebellion and self-denial; how she expresses her religion morality on the description of dual personality of the minor characters and Maggie's death for harmony; and then how she incorporates her marriage morality on the portrayal of Maggie's moral choice at love crossroads. The thesis intends to provide a new and profound interpretation of Eliot's morality and her depiction of characters.