A review by dngoldman
Adam Bede by George Eliot

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

George Elliot's Adam Bede was a novel that I read in the 90s. It stayed with me for a long time, as I admired the simple, honest moral courage of its main characters, Diana and Adam Bede. They were simple, but not simplistic. Elliot depicted them with complexity, showing their inner struggles. I felt a deep sense of seriousness that lingered with me for more than two decades. I often thought of the novel, but I did not recall the details of the plot. 

 

When I read the novel again in 2024, I felt the same emotions that I had experienced years before. But the novel also impressed me with new intensity, with its deep exploration of how we misunderstand others and ourselves, the nature of sorrow, forgiveness, and redemption. These themes emerge through Elliot's skillful prose, her amazing psychological understanding of her characters, and her religious awareness (even though Elliot did not believe in God).  

 

Elliot does this in a much gentler and forgiving way than the next great Victorian novelist, Thomas Hardy. So blind to themselves and constantly misjudging others leads the characters to make mistakes of judgement that brings incredible sorrow in their lives. The gap between the readers knowledge (through Elliot’s omnipresent narrator) creates dramatic irony that recalls Thomas Hardy. In fact, Adam Bede has several plot similarities with Hardy’s first success – Far From the Madding Crowd. Both have strong practical men – who may be too virtuous for their own good – equally strong women as love interests that develop gradually, and the fallen women trope of young girl becoming pregnant by a charming rogue. However, Elliot is more compassionate with her characters than Hardy, focusing on personal choice rather than a world that throws characters around. If the inability to know causes mistakes of judgement, often tragic ones, it also leaves room for forgiveness, as Adam does, in part, with Arthur. 

 

That perhaps can never be known with certainty, Adam,” Mr. Irwine answered gently. “In these cases we sometimes form our judgment on what seems to us strong evidence, and yet, for want of knowing some small fact, our judgment is wrong. We find it impossible to avoid mistakes even in determining who has committed a single criminal act, and the problem how far a man is to be held responsible for the unforeseen consequences of his own deed is one that might well make us tremble to look into it. The evil consequences that may lie folded in a single act of selfish indulgence is a thought so awful that it ought surely to awaken some feeling less presumptuous than a rash desire to punish. You have a mind that can understand this fully, Adam, when you are calm. Don’t suppose I can’t enter into the anguish that drives you into this state of revengeful hatred. 

Adam Bede shows that characters can choose between three paths: revenge, denial or reconciliation/forgiveness. Diana and Adam are different from others, not because they don't make mistakes, but because they can acknowledge their own limitations and self awareness. Elliot's gentle treatment of her characters and the way they have to deal with their own trauma, creates a strong sense of empathy. The story avoids being artificial or sentimental, because the reactions are based on nuanced psychological understanding. The events seem to follow directly and logically from the characters themselves. 

 

The novel, the first one by Elliot, is not perfect. It suffers from some problems with the speed of the story at the start, where there is too much dialogue among the residents and details of the scenery that do not match the subtlety of Elliot's psychological observations. And even though Elliot promises not to let the characters behave in predictable ways, some of them, like Hetty, seem to act in ways that invite disaster while the plot is the basic Victorian romance 

 

The novel was so enlightening for me that I frequently sobbed aloud in the final section of the book. Not only at the tragic parts, but also at the parts where forgiveness and acceptance were shown. Elliot, the master psychologist, shows how fragile each of is against our own weakness. The parallel between Hetty’s confession and Adam’s forgives of Arthur. 

Hetty was silent, but she shuddered again, as if there was still something behind; and Dinah waited, for her heart was so full that tears must come before words. At last Hetty burst out, with a sob, “Dinah, do you think God will take away that crying and the place in the wood, now I’ve told everything?” “Let us pray, poor sinner. Let us fall on our knees again, and pray to the God of all mercy.” 

 And I have kept this an other insights with me after completing the book. It is a profound reading experience.  

 

The story revolves around four main characters: Adam Bede, a respected carpenter who own’s moral steadiness can make him intolerant of others; Hetty Sorrel, a beautiful but shallow dairy maid; Captain Arthur Donnithorne, the squire's grandson dandy wants to do the right thig but wants to be liked even more so; and Dinah Morris, a devout Methodist preacher and Hetty's cousin who’s ability present fundamentalism as humanism and draw out other characters. 

 

Adam is in love with Hetty, who is infatuated with the charming Captain Donnithorne. An affair between Hetty and Adam leads to Hetty's pregnancy. After Adam leaves the village, Hetty agrees to marry Adam but then discovers she is pregnant. In desperation, she abandons her newborn baby, which leads to the child's death and Hetty being sentenced to death for child murder. Dinah's compassion and presence bring about Hetty's confession and repentance. Ultimately, Adam intervention commutes Hetty's sentence to transportation. 

 

The novel concludes with Adam and Dinah, who have grown to love each other, marrying and finding peace and happiness together. The story’s happy ending is well earned but also bittersweat. The methodists have since banned female preachers, and Dinah’s voice is silenced 

 

As the novel progresses, Elliot shows she is the master psychologist novelistic psychologist, the characters miss judge each other and themselves, Elliot does this in a much more gentle and forgiving way than the next great Victorian novelist, Thomas Hardy. In Elliot hands this uncertainty leads to, a series of mistakes by the characters leading to incredible sorrow in their lives. The characters have two choices in dealing with the sorrow, the path of vengeance, denial or reconciliation and forgiveness. What sense the two lead characters, Diana and the titular Adam beat apart, is not so much their lack of mistakes, but their ability to recognise the limitations and own self deception tenderness of how Elliot treats her characters and the way they must face their own trauma, leads to an incredible sense of pathos. because these reactions come from such a strong psychological insights, the story never feels contrived or modern. Instead, events seem to come directly in logically naturally from the characters themselves. The novel is not perfect. It has significant pacing issues at the beginning with a few too many scenes of local. And despite Elliot vow not to make the characters react the way that she or the audience expects them to, Some characters, like Hetty, do scene set up for tragedy. 

 

Yet. I found myself weeping out loud often toward the last quarter of the novel.  And I have carried the insights with me after finishing the book. It is a profound reading experience.