Ep. 660, The Lifted Veil, part 1 of 2, by George Eliot

Published: Jan. 3, 2020, 7:30 a.m.

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Are the dreamlike musings of a sensitive intellectual truly predictive, or merely the result of an overactive imagination? George Eliot, today on The Classic Tales Podcast.

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This week we are showcasing the amazing work of George Eliot, the pseudonym of Mary Ann Evans. A good friend of mine, Morag Kawasaki, did a recent research project showcasing the role of women in romantic and Victorian literature. George Eliot/Mary Ann Evans came up time and time again as the most important female author at this time. Some key takeaways were: women weren\\u2019t judged against the published men of the time, they were only reviewed against each other.

They were also held to a much higher standard than the male writers of the time. Also, Eliot not only spoke but translated four languages: English, German, Greek and Hebrew.

Henry James, when writing about her novel Middlemarch, pointed to the \\u2018constant presence of thought, of generalizing instinct, of brain\\u2019 and he paid passionate tribute to Eliot\\u2019s \\u2018intellectual vigor, her immense facility, her exemption of cerebral lassitude\\u2019\\u201d.

Today\\u2019s story is about an intellectual, who, after suffering an illness, realizes he has gained the ability to read the thoughts of those around him. His name is Latimer, which means \\u2018one who interprets Latin\\u2019. Even this person\\u2019s name is indicative of understanding that which is hidden to most others.

The command of the language, and this ability of Eliot\\u2019s to see what others don\\u2019t are elegantly evident. I hope you like it.

App users can read Morag\\u2019s entire research project, The Journey of the Romantic & Victorian Female Author in their special features for this week\\u2019s episode.

And now, The Lifted Veil, Part 1 of 2, by George Eliot.

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