George Eliot and Intoxication : Dangerous Drugs for the Condition of England

Throughout George Eliot's fiction, not only do a remarkable number of her characters act under the influence of unwise consumption of alcohol and opium, but these drugs also recur often as metaphors and allusions. Together, they create an extensive pattern of drug/disease references that represent sociopolitical problems as diseases in a social body and solutions to those problems (especially solutions that depend on some kind of written language) as volatile remedies that retain the potential to either kill or cure. Throughout George Eliot's Fiction, Not Only Do A Remarkable Number Of Her Characters Act Under The Influence Of Unwise Consumption Of Alcohol And Opium, But These Drugs Also Recur Often As Metaphors And Allusions. George Eliot's Constructions Of Drug-consuming Characters (especially Parental Characters), Analyzed In A Context Freshly Drawn From A Variety Of Warwickshire Local Histories, Demonstrate How Intricately She Connects Medical, Aesthetic, Political, Cultural, And Gender Issues Of Her Period Through References To Intoxication. Kathleen Mccormack Also Describes George Eliot's Forward-thinking Theory Of Addiction And Concludes With A Radical Biographical Speculation Concerning Christiana Pearson Evans, The Novelist's Shadowy Mother.--jacket. 1. George Eliot And Victorian Intoxication -- 2. Backgrounds And Landscapes -- 3. The Early Fiction -- 4. Public Houses: Unstable Language In Dangerous Places -- 5. Parables Of Addiction -- 6. Romola: San Buonvino -- 7. Felix Holt's Muddled Metaphors -- 8. Middlemarch: 'profit Out Of Poisonous Pickles' -- 9. Daniel Deronda: After The Opium Wars. Kathleen Mccormack. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "Throughout George Eliot's fiction, not only do a remarkable number of her characters act under the influence of unwise consumption of alcohol and opium, but these drugs also recur often as metaphors and allusions.". "George Eliot's constructions of drug-consuming characters (especially parental characters), analyzed in a context freshly drawn from a variety of Warwickshire local histories, demonstrate how intricately she connects medical, aesthetic, political, cultural, and gender issues of her period through references to intoxication. Kathleen McCormack also describes George Eliot's forward-thinking theory of addiction and concludes with a radical biographical speculation concerning Christiana Pearson Evans, the novelist's shadowy mother."--BOOK JACKET. Front Matter....Pages i-xii George Eliot and Victorian Intoxication....Pages 1-14 Backgrounds and Landscapes....Pages 15-38 The Early Fiction....Pages 39-56 Public Houses: Unstable Language in Dangerous Places....Pages 57-90 Parables of Addiction....Pages 91-110 Romola: San Buonvino....Pages 111-134 Felix Holt’s Muddled Metaphors....Pages 135-158 Middlemarch: ‘Profit Out of Poisonous Pickles’....Pages 159-182 Daniel Deronda: After the Opium Wars....Pages 183-201 Epilogue:....Pages 202-208 Back Matter....Pages 209-234