George Eliot and the Landscape of Time: Narrative Form and Protestant Apocalyptic History (Studies in Religion)

Mary Wilson Carpenter

ISBN 10: 0807816817 / ISBN 13: 9780807816813

Published by The University of North Carolina Press, 1986

About this Item

Cloth hardcover, xiii + 246 pages, NOT ex-library. Missing the dedication page; a blank sticker on the front endpaper. Pen notations and/or pencil marginalia on 5 pages (mostly in the index section and contents list); highlighting on 7 pages (some very sparse). Else interior is clean and bright, untanned, free of stamps, firmly bound. A touch of light rubbing to the boards' edges. Missing the dust jacket. -- This scholarly study explores the influence of 19th-century religious interpretation on George Eliot's narrative structures. The book argues that Eliot's later works represent a creative rewriting of Protestant apocalyptic schemes into visionary literary forms. Carpenter investigates how Eliot appropriated formal religious systems to map the "landscape of time" in her fiction. Apocalyptic Narrative Schemes: The book discusses specific apocalyptic structures in major works including Romola, Adam Bede, Middlemarch, and Daniel Deronda, as well as her poetry in The Legend of Jubal. Visionary Poetics: Carpenter demonstrates that Eliot developed a "visionary poetics" by translating 19th-century British interpretations of biblical prophecies into romantic and satiric narrative styles. Septenary Structures: A key analytical point involves "sevenfold" or septenary structures found in Eliot's work, which mirror the seven ages of time often found in Victorian family Bibles and the Book of Revelation. For example, Carpenter notes the visible seven-book division in The Mill on the Floss as a reflection of these apocalyptic frameworks. The work is recognized for offering a new approach to understanding Victorian narrative form by connecting it to contemporary religious history. It is cited as a significant exploration of Eliot's conception of history, arguing that Eliot viewed history as an "imaginary line" imposed on inchoate mass - essentially a form of fiction created through formal systems of codification.

Seller Inventory # 012961

Bibliographic Details

• Title: George Eliot and the Landscape of Time: Narrative Form and Protestant Apocalyptic History (Studies in Religion)
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
• Publication Date: 1986
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0807816817
• ISBN 13: 9780807816813
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket

About this title

Synopsis

Carpenter discusses apocalytptic narrative schemes in Romola, Adam Bede, Middlemarch, Daniel Deronda, and The Legend of Jubal. In the context of nineteenth-century British interpretation of the prophesies, this study reveals an unsuspected visionary poetics in Eliot’s writings and demonstrates that her later works rewrite Protestant apocalyptics in both romantic and satiric styles, suggesting a new approach to Victorian narrative form.

Originally published in 1986.

A UNC Press Enduring Edition — UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.