Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1872-03-18
GEORGE ELoT-The remarkable English

GEORGE ELLoT-The remarkable English
woman who writes under the name of George
Eliot is much greater woman. or at least pos
sesses much greater mind, than her French
contemporary, who writes under the name Of
George Sand That her reputation as novel
ist is not more European is owing principally
to the fact that she is dispassionate in the rep
resentation Of passion. Her large brain calmly
Judges the instincts and emotions of her sensi-
tive and sympathetic heart. She looks at w pas
sion with divning eye, but she also looks
through it. Reflection masters sensibility, and
exalts duty at the expense of desire We are
never swept away, as in the novels Of George
Sand, by the practical faacies on which is
based the whole logic of passion. 1t would be
unjust to say that George Sand is not thought
ful, but George Eliot is more than thought
ful, she is essentially thinker. When we com
pare her, in this respect, with such novelists
as Dickens, Thackeray, Reade, and Trollope,
with Jane Austen, Mrs. Oliphant, Mrs Gas
kell, and the author of "Jane Eyre" we are
at once impressed with her superiority to them
in width and wealth of mind. Recognized as
one OF the most eminent delineators OF individ-
uai character, especially of its humblest and
most rustic forms, she at the same time indi
Gates philosophic capacity which commands
the respect Of such prodigies of mere under
standing as Herbert Spencer and John Stuart
Mill. She is, In fact, the one person of
thoroughly trained scholarship, Of system
atized views Of the whole scope of human
life, of exact knowledge Of what are called
the Sciences who in the present cen
tury has written novels, Hence the peculiar
reputation she enjoys among the cultivated
classes of England and the United States. Her
admirers almost form clique. We vividly re-
member conversation we had with an accom-
plished Englishman, who was "outside the cir
cle'' of George Eliot's champions. He admit
ted her power and influence, but thought ''the
thing was overdone. Even in his criticisms,
however, he implied that the admiration of her
various talents and accomplishments was widely
difused throughout Great Britain, and that, for
once at least, woman had proved her lntellec-
tual capacity to compete with the best OF living
masculine minds
The comprehensiveness of George Eliot in
telect and the extent and certainty of her ex-
perienee and scholarship. are, in hernovels, i'm
piled rather than directly expressed, because
she only gives the results Of her investigation,
and suppresses all the processes. Indeed, no
writer is less inclined to pedantry, less disposed
to that vice oflanguage, which has been called
the art Of putting into words of four syllabes
ideas which are in only one. She shyy insinu
ates her subtle observations, or makes the
thoughts start up so naturally from the story or
the characters, that they are not obtrusively
prominent, and can be overlooked by readerswho
are attracted only by the incidents or persons.
Her power of characterization, her humor, her
pathos, her sentiment, the singular simplicity,
grace, melody, and beauty of her style, can
hardly fail of being appreciated By the average
novel reader-BoSton Globe.