Thursday, February 1, 2007

Reading Journal Eliot

Dorothea is best defined by the words “scared”, “lonely”, “confused”, “growing”, and “emotional”. Mr. Casaubon is best defined by the words “educated”, “unemotional”, “professional”, “workaholic”, and “indecisive”. Will Ladislaw is best defined by the words “respectful”, “spiteful”, “witty”, “flirt”, and “impassioned”. Pg. 182

Dorothea: “Permanent rebellion, the disorder of a life without some loving reverent resolve, was not possible to her; but she was now in an interval when the very force of her nature heightened its confusion.”

Dorothea: “She wanted to rebel, but she knew it would only confuse the situation.”

Mr. Casaubon: “On other subjects indeed Mr. Casaubon showed a tenacity of occupation and an eagerness which are usually regarded as the effect of enthusiasm…” pg. 185

Mr. Casaubon: “Mr. Casaubon found his passion in his work, rather than his personal life.”

Will Ladislaw: “he was divided between the impulse to laugh aloud and the equally unseasonable impulse to burst into scornful invective.”

Will Ladislaw: “Will thought Mr. Casaubon to be absurd, and could barely keep himself from bursting into laughter, or rather curses.”

When designing characters for fiction, Eliot finds it imperative that the author, “give no more than a faithful account of men and things as they have mirrored themselves in my mind.” She feels that characters should follow their character in the story as well. For instance a faulty character should be on the wrong side whereas the virtuous ones are on the right. I do think that she follows this format because her characters seem like they could be real based on their actions and emotions. She also puts her characters into a place in the story that fit their character. Dorothea is confused and therefore she maintains a position as the main character who is at the center of all of the story’s problems because of her confusion.

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