Importance of Autobiography: George Eliot S

Autobiographical Elements (In The Mill On The Floss )
George Eliot‘s
early memories of places and persons have been closely woven
into the fabric of the novels
The mill on the floss" is an autobiographical novel and the novelist
has put more of herself in this novel than in any other novel The
mill on the floss" is the spiritual autobiography of Evans and the
history of Maggie Tulliver is the history of Marry Evans also W.R
Nicoll goes to the extent of saying so long as George Eliot is read
wise readers will turn to The Mill on the Floss” as the best, the trust
and the most authoritative account of her own complex character.
"in fact Maggie’s struggles are her author’s transposed into fiction.
Importance Of Autobiography
Psychologically every person wants to lead a smooth life. But those
who receive a tragedy after tragedy in life essentially want to have
some catharsis by shedding some drops of tears. These tears can
be of various types. It may be some saltiest water from the eyes or
may be the use of saltiest ink on pages. George Eliot does not drop
the dew drops from her eyes because she does not want to be
laughed at. She adopts another method to get rid of the constant
burden of mind. For this purpose she creates some characters in
her novels which are the real projection of G. Eliot’s life
Resemblance in early life,
There is a close parallel between the characters and life stories of
Marry Evans and Maggie Tulliver. Emotionally and spiritually,
Maggie is identical with Mary ann. Maggie like her creator, has the
intellectual potentiality for which the environment into which she is
born does not provide much courage. She has desperate need for
affection and intimate personal relations. Maggie is the fullest
revelation we can have of George Eliot in her youth. To Mrs.
Tulliver, Maggie seemed “half an idiot" in some ways- for if she
sends the child upstairs for something, Maggie forgets what
she had gone for, and would “sit down on the floor in the sunshine
and plait her hair and sing to herself like a bedlam creature….." The
practical, house proud Mrs. Tulliver cannot appreciate Maggie and
sighs “It seems hard as I should have but one girl and her so
comical”. Similarly Mary Ann Evans had unmanageable hair and
was no comfort to her mother in house work either. Mary Evan’s
father Robert’s true English nature and temper are reproduced in
Mr. Tulliver and like Maggie. Mary Ann also was the favourite of her
father Marry Ann adored her brother Isaac as Maggie her own
(Tom). Their romping, fishing, excursions, their pudding and puffs
and cakes are almost the same. Isaac also had an untidy playtime
very like Bob Jaken of the novel.
Similarity in location,
The mill on the floss" is a “master piece of memory". In the sense
of clerical life she had made use of the stories relating to early
domestic circle. She now took herself for a heroine and scenery is
supposed to be in Lincolnshire and the town of St Ogg’s is said to
represent Gainsborough. But her native district still supplies the
detail. The Round pool" to which she had gone on fishing are
expeditions with her brother and the “Red deeps" which had been
a favourite haunt’ are transported from Griff to Dorlcote mill. The
attic to which Maggie retires in the mill is the attic to which George
Eliot had retired in her father’s house.
Resemblance in families,
There is a close parallel between the family of Mary Ann and
Maggie Tulliver. The writer tells us her history in detail and gives
us the correct information about her aunts and uncles. Mary Ann’s
mother was one of the four sisters of the Pearson family and their
social and financial superiority and snobbery provide the material
for the portrayal of the four Dodson sisters. Robert had three
children Christiana the first daughter, Isaac the son and Mary Ann
the youngest. The sort of life led by Isaac and Mary
as a boy and girl is almost like that of Tom and Maggie in the first
two books. In portraying the character of Lucy, the author
resembled her own sisters Christiana who was neat and pretty
quite a contrast to Ann.
Resemblance in nature,
There is a close affinity between Maggie’s nature and that of Mary
Ann Evans. Maggie’s nature is impulsive like her creator. Mary Ann
had troubles with her rebellious locks and dresses similar to those
of Maggie. Books like “The Pilgrim’s Progress", "History of
the Devil’s", and Aesop’s fables were the favourites of Mary Ann as
with Maggie. The mental sharpness, the clinging affectionateness,
the ambition, the outlook beyond the present, the religious and
moral pre occupations, the thirst for knowledge, the spiritual and
moral conflicts, the passionate high thinking, love of music and
everything truly beautiful, these are common to both Maggie and
Mary. Like Maggie, Mary too used to speculate that as she was
younger the smaller fish would come to her fish in road and bigger
to Tom’s.
George Eliot speaks for Mary Ann when she says in the novel
“It’s a wonderful subduer, this need of love : this hunger of the
heart…. as peremptory as that other hunger by which nature forces
us submit to the joke and change the face of the world". It is even
said that Marry Ann had an adventure with gypsies as Maggie runs
away with gypsies in the course of novel. Mary Ann doted on Issac
just as Maggie does on Tom
Resemblance in love affairs,
“The Mill on the Floss" is an experience re-lived by a woman
approaching the maturity of her powers which makes it sometimes
glows like an October sunset and sometimes tremble like a daffodil
in an April breeze".
Mary Ann Evans’s early religious views underwent a change
and she passed through a crisis, moral and spiritual, very much like
Maggie who comes under the influence of Thomas a Kempis, the
fifteenth century author of “Imitation of Christ". There was a
constant struggle between her head and heart, convention and
emotion. Marry Ann was passionately attracted towards George
Lewes who was a married man. She defined her family’s wrath and
lived with Lewes though unmarried to him. The action led to her
alienation from her brother Isaac. It has a close parallel to tom’s
reaction to Maggie’s affair with Stephen. But here reality departs
from art because Maggie renounced Stephen Guest as a lover who
did not legitimately belong to her W.R Nicoll asserts that “The Mill
on the Floss” is the best, the truest and the most authoritative
account of the novelist’s own complex character".
Resemblance in Drowning Incident
Death by drowning had also been a part of Mary Ann’s life. Her
grandfather George Evans died by drowning. She had seen people
crying in the cruel clutches of flood. In “The Mill on the Floss" she
had delineated the same situation when Maggie and Tom
are swallowed by the flood.
Winding up the discussion, we can say that the novel “The Mill on
the Floss” is a direct representation of the writer’s most intimate
characteristics. But to call novel wholly autobiographical would be
wrong. It is mainly the first two volumes of the novel that can be
called a “spiritual autobiography" of Mary Ann Evans. A.W ward
observes that George Eliot has “poured most abundantly the
experiences of her own life when it had still been one of youth and
hope."

Importance of Autobiography: George Eliot S

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Importance of Autobiography: George Eliot S

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Importance of Autobiography: George Eliot S

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Autobiographical Elements (In The Mill On The Floss )

You might also like