The Portland daily press., 1881-02-19
Adam Bede.
Some Suggestions as to the Originals in
George Eliot's Story.

Much has been published concerning the
originals of the characters in George Eliot's
first great novel, "Adam Bede," with some
general Truth, but not with accuracy. An In
teresting letter from the great writer herself
to friend in 1859, just after the appearance
OF the novel, tells how far her work was por-
traiture; her bare elements of position and cir
cumstance were real, but the personages she
gave life to were ideal. 1t has been said that
her aunt Elizabeth Evans was the original of
"Dinah Norris" and her uncle Samuel Evans
the "Seth Bede." Her father, she says in this
letter, lived in Warwickshire during all her
life with him, and when she was about II
years old her aunt Elizabeth visited them 81
was then" said she, Strongly under the influ-
ence of Evangelical belief, and earnestly en-
deavored to shape this anomalous English
Christian life of ours into some consistency
with the spirit and simple verbal tenor of the
New Testament" Her aunt she had heard
spoken of as "a strange person, given to q IA
natlcal vehemence of exhortation in private
as well as in public;" she found her ia tiny
little woman, with bright, small dark ewes.
and hair that had been black, imagine. but
was now gray-a pretty woman in her yonth.
but OF totally different physical type from
Dinah. The difference-as you will believe
was not simply physical; no difference is.
She was woman of strong natural excitabil-
lty, which, knew, from the description /
have heard my father and half-sister give pre
vented her from the exercise of discretion
under the promptings of her zeal. But this
vehemence was subdued by age and sickness:
she was very gentle and quiet in her manners
very loving-and (what she must have been
from the very frsD truly religious soul.
in whom the love of God and love of men
were fused together. q As to NV
aunt's conversation, it is fact that the
only two things OF any interest / remember
her telling me how she had, with another
pious woman, visited an unhappy girl in
prison, stayed with her all night, and gone
with her to execution and one or two ac-
counts of supposed miracles in which she be-
heved-among the rest the face with the
crown OF thorns seen in the glass. In her ac-
count OF the prison scenes, remember no word
she uttered-I only remember her tone and
manner, and the deep feeling / had under the
recital OF the girl she knew nothing be-
lieve-or told me nothing-but that she was
common, coarse girl, convicted of child muir
der. The incident lay in my mind for years,
as dead germ, apparently-till time had
made my mind indus in which it could fruc-
tify; it then turned out to be the germ of
Adam Bede." Elizabeth Evans in short sue
gested Dinah. but was nothing like her. "As
to my aunt, slchildren or grandchildren saying,
if they did say, that Dinah is good portrait
OF my aunt-that is simply the vague, easily
satisfied notion imperfectly instructed people
always have of portraits" 80. "How Gu
rlous it seems to me that people should think
Dinahs sermon, prayers and speeches were
copied-when they were written with hot
tears, as they surged up in my own mind"