What is UP with George Eliot?

[galateaencore]

So, to alleviate the stress.

 

I think that George Eliot should have been one of those women who never learned to read, and instead had 12 children. Then she would have been of a neutral benefit to humanity, rather than a negative one. I mean, Gogol burned the second tome of Dead Souls - and Dead Souls was like x9000 better than anything I ever read by Eliot. And by sheer circumstance, I have been cursed with reading a lot of hers.

 

On the other hand, I just read a blog that counts good novels before and after the advent of George Eliot. Like, BGE and AGE. What is UP with that?

 

I don't get it. I wholly accept that this may indeed be the case, but I just don't get it.

 

 

Could a budding scholar perhaps explain why her writing is so valuable?

[thestage]

I should read Dead Souls

[dorotheabrooke]

I really don't intend to describe all my research here, especially to someone who seems so negatively predisposed toward it, but I will say that I find what you posted as insulting. Wishing that she had never read and instead birthed 12 children--I mean, come on (this is particularly insulting to Eliot's intelligence and femininity, by the way... not to mention my own. Should I stop reading have 12 children then, since I enjoy her writing?). I think you got a bit carried away there if your only complaint is that you don't like her writing style. Additionally, just because you don't like her novels doesn't mean she was a negative influence to society. This remark is incredibly ignorant and judgmental. You should do more research before you try to insult someone that is heavily influential to not only Victorian studies, but novel studies, feminist studies, gender studies, realism, and many more. I don't "get" magical realism, but I would never say that we're the worse for having it. 

 

Overall: didn't think that this thread was funny. (If that's what you were trying to accomplish.)

 

My suggestion: read more. Research--including that of the historical background. Maybe even have some compassion.

[t1racyjacks]

I'm with dorothea here. don't think it is funny at all. I'm not a huge George Eliot fan but I think one cannot deny (regardless of how much one likes her) that she is incredibly intelligent. For why her writing can be appreciated by others, you don't need a 'budding scholar'. Just to and read anyone. Even those who don't like her have something good to say. go into the uni library, access an online journal and type 'george eliot' into the search terms. you're welcome.

[grazzle]

I thought it was funny. I have no idea who George Eliot is, but I have had the same evil thoughts about other authors. Apparently English people take this sort of transgression very seriously. Who knew?

[rawera]

I've never read him.

[thestage]

I have no idea who George Eliot is

that's pretty weird

I can only assume (hope) you didn't have to take the subject test

[no_foam_cappuccino]

I just have a problem with someone saying "I don't get this. Someone explain it to me." That's not really how knowledge circulation works, especially for people pursuing advanced degrees. 

[Fishbucket]

I just think it's funny that people applying for PhDs in English don't even know that George Eliot is a pen name for a woman. That's a whole new level of ignorance.

[Ategenos]

I see a troll

Who's out to lol

Just leave it be

And you'll soon see

He'll go elsewhere

Out of our hair

[rawera]

I just think it's funny that people applying for PhDs in English don't even know that George Eliot is a pen name for a woman. That's a whole new level of ignorance.

 

What is jokes?

[practical cat]

that's pretty weirdI can only assume (hope) you didn't have to take the subject test

Man, I WISH having knowledge of women writers actually helped on the subject test.

[rawera]

Man, I WISH having knowledge of women writers actually helped on the subject test.

 

It did for me.

[thestage]

Man, I WISH having knowledge of women writers actually helped on the subject test.

george eliot is about as canonical as british novelists come

honestly if you asked for a list of the top five canonical british novelists at least three of them would be women

[rawera]

dickens, woolf, eliot, ...?

[Fishbucket]

austen

[ErnestPWorrell]

from the title of this post, i was really hoping for a jerry-seinfeld-1990s-standup style comedy bit about eloit. very, very disappointed.  

[practical cat]

george eliot is about as canonical as british novelists come

honestly if you asked for a list of the top five canonical british novelists at least three of them would be women

Eh, maybe.

Still, though, not really interested in making arguments here about what is/isn't in the canon. (And I was being flippant in the first place. No need to rush to the defense of the canon!) My test was almost exclusively male Romantic poets so my familiarity with Woolf, Austen, and Eliot was not at all helpful. Then again, being very comfortable with Chaucer, Shakespeare, and (TS) Eliot didn't help me either.

[zielschmerz]

I think that George Eliot should have been one of those women who never learned to read, and instead had 12 children. Then she would have been of a neutral benefit to humanity, rather than a negative one.

You and all the assholes she had to put up with while she was alive, buddy.

[pomoisdead]

from the title of this post, i was really hoping for a jerry-seinfeld-1990s-standup style comedy bit about eloit. very, very disappointed.  

What's UP with George Eliot? No George...No Eliot...

[chaucerettescs]

Man, I WISH having knowledge of women writers actually helped on the subject test.

 

It did for me.

 

 Me too. Off the top of my head, mine had Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Julia Kristeva, Anne Bradstreet, Emily Dickinson, and Anne Sexton on it. The rest of it was mostly either Beat poetry or medieval literature. I fared all right, but, as a Victorianist, I was pretty annoyed.

 

I sincerely hope this post was a troll. Most of us would probably find it funnier if we didn't routinely hear this kind of crap from even respected scholars.