At the end of her writing career, George Eliot, turned to the experimental form of fiction she had attempted in her first work of fiction, "Poetry and Prose from the Notebook of an Eccentric". "Impressions of Theophrastus Such", which remains one of the author's least popular works, contrasts with the former in its tone of absolute misanthropy and cynicism. Through a series of ruthless character sketches by the psychologically alienatated Theophrastus, Eliot suggests the dilemma between knowledge of others and self-knowledge. Theophrastus's convoluted and bombastic style is clearly a tongue-in-cheek display of linguistic audacity on the part of Eliot whose stress on the performative role of language seems directed towards the extent to which it is successful in mediating the complexities of human thought aand behaviour an articulating a unity of purpose and design that transcends the egoistical concerns of the individual.
“George Eliot’s Metacritical Analysis of Human Behaviour in Impressions of Theophrastus Such”, RSV, anno XXVI, 52, luglio 2021.
Renzo D'Agnillo
2021-01-01
Abstract
At the end of her writing career, George Eliot, turned to the experimental form of fiction she had attempted in her first work of fiction, "Poetry and Prose from the Notebook of an Eccentric". "Impressions of Theophrastus Such", which remains one of the author's least popular works, contrasts with the former in its tone of absolute misanthropy and cynicism. Through a series of ruthless character sketches by the psychologically alienatated Theophrastus, Eliot suggests the dilemma between knowledge of others and self-knowledge. Theophrastus's convoluted and bombastic style is clearly a tongue-in-cheek display of linguistic audacity on the part of Eliot whose stress on the performative role of language seems directed towards the extent to which it is successful in mediating the complexities of human thought aand behaviour an articulating a unity of purpose and design that transcends the egoistical concerns of the individual.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
