There are few stories as touching as Silas Marner which is the story of a man afflicted with seizures who finds a foundling. The child saves his soul and when her true birth comes out, Silas and the adult child are in a dilemma of fate and love.
Such a sensitive story had to be written by a woman. And it was, George Eliot was actually
Mary Anne Evans. The Bronte sisters also used male names when their books were published.
Mary Anne Evans chose a male pen name in that she did not want her books to be considered a silly romance of a woman writer. Her novel Middlemarch is considered one of the best novels of the English language.
Mary Anne Evans lived independently barely within social convention. Although affairs were not considered bad at the time, her living twenty years monogamously with a married man followed by marrying a man twenty years younger than herself was considered scandalous.
One facet of Mary Anne Evans that is repeated is that she was considered unattractive. But when she spoke, it transformed her into a beautiful person, her charm was so great.
Free Ebook of Silas Marner
Free Ebook of Middlemarch
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/george-eliot
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/george-eliots-ugly-beauty
A mix of thoughts, experiences, flash fiction, poetry and humor of Ann Bennett.
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
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There's a poignancy in Eliot's work which is profoundly moving and deeply evocative all at once. I love books from that era of Literature because they convey so much about life, the struggles from an era that seems otherwise so distant.
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by earlier on my blog, Ann. Glad to have found you through the A to Z.
*E for Eloquent: Shailaja/The Moving Quill*
I don't think I have read Middlemarch. I'm glad I read so much when I was young. I'm running out of time and still have so much I want to read. Thanks for visiting. I enjoyed your blog.
DeleteWow, this was a fact I didn't know about who authored Silas Marner. What an interesting like Mary Anne Evans lived!
ReplyDeletebetty
I understand they did not divorce and I guess this is how they solved unhappy marriages. It was shocking how she lived; but, I don't know that it was as obscene as it sounds today.
DeleteThis makes me want to reread Silas Marner. George Eliot was a trailblazer!
ReplyDeleteNilanjana
Madly-in-Verse
Silas Marner is a great book. I plan to read Middlemarch now.
DeleteI knew that George Eliot was a woman but wasn't aware of the courageous way she lived her personal life. I love her work, it is so intricate and layered. I"ve been wanting to read Middlemarch - I think now is a good time.
ReplyDeleteExhaustion #Lexicon of Leaving
I think this is why the male name stayed with her work. It was more her decision than economic pressure. True about how she lived her life. I don't think I would have had the guts.
DeleteSounds like what she lacked in looks she made up for in words.
ReplyDeleteEvery source made comments about her looks. Boo, but there are worst things than being unattractive.
DeleteHi Ann - I don't know enough about George Eliot - though you've enlightened me a bit here with this succinct posting on her. She must have been brave back in the 1800s ... and she certainly opened up doors for the rest of us ... I should learn more ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeletehttp://positiveletters.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/e-is-for-extinct-animals-and-endangered.html
She was a brave woman. I was very surprised when I read about her.
DeleteDid not know George Eliot was a woman! I haven't read Silas Marner, I wish there were more time in the day to read all the books I want to read!
ReplyDeleteCelebrating 'Women & their work' all April: E for An Education for all
With the internet, it is even harder. So much is being written and there is only so much time. I just hope you and I pick the best of it.
DeleteSo she lived with a man who was married to someone else for twenty years, then married someone twenty years her junior? That would be scandalous even today, but damn, you go girl. She certainly went after what she wanted.
ReplyDeleteE - Jumbo the Elephant
True, I don't think I would have guts to do the same.
DeleteHi, Ann!
ReplyDeleteThank you for popping in to see me today at SDMM. I enjoyed your E Day post about George Eliot/Mary Anne Evans. I would like to think the days are long gone when a woman felt the need to publish under a male name to be taken seriously as an author. I remember studying the tale of Silas Marner in eighth grade English.
I hope to see you again soon, Ann!
It is a shame that someone would feel that need. So many readers and writers are female.
DeleteI'm really enjoying your A to Z posts and am looking forward to more. :-D
ReplyDeleteThank you CR, I enjoy visiting your blog.
DeleteExcellent post for the letter E. We've come a long way, haven't we?
ReplyDeleteEverybody Hurts
Annie at ~McGuffy's Reader~
Yes,and no. Women rights exists. But the fact many did not vote for Clinton because she is a woman is disappointing.
DeleteSounds like I should be reading some GE.
ReplyDeletePhillip | E is for Envelope Exchange
They are lovely stories. I like smaller books in that my life has so many interruptions. With that in mind, Silas Marner is a shorter book.
DeleteSure sounds like she could string one along with words no matter her looks.
ReplyDeleteApparently so, it nice to know when anyone's value is based on them and not a superficial item.
DeleteOutside of Mary Shelly, not many women used their real names back then.
ReplyDeleteIt's still a temptation today, it's a man's world.
DeleteThere is a lot to be said for a great personality.
ReplyDeleteDiscarded Darlings - Jean Davis, Speculative Fiction Writer, A to Z: Editing Fiction
I like what Audrey Hepburn said when someone asked her if she would rather be wealthy or beautiful. She said wealthy, looks fade and with money people will still be interested in you.
DeleteI did not know this about George Eliot.
ReplyDeleteI knew her background from my dad's interest in her books.
DeleteHi, Ann.
ReplyDeleteI thought one of the Bronte sister used this pen name. What a fascinating woman and a woman ahead of her times. She would have fit perfectly in the woman's movement of the 70's. Thanks for sharing. Your theme is very interesting and one all us writer bloggers should enjoy. Have a nice weekend.
Thank you Michael. My writing career is shortened in that I've expanded my reading avocation. Mary Anne Evans would make a good topic for a biography.
DeleteI had no clue that GE was a female!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
http://slimexpectations.com/2017/04/letter-g/
A boy named Sue and a gal named George does make for confusion. lol
DeleteI did remember that George Eliot was actually a woman, but not the details. Sounds like Mary Anne Evans was ahead of her time. ☺ It's too bad female writers had to disguise themselves as men to receive the respect they deserved.
ReplyDeleteWe've come a long way baby. I can't imagine not being able to vote, own land, etc. But women have only had the vote for 100 years in the United States. I remember women who would not vote because it was a man's duty.
Delete