Impressions of Theophrastus Such
Impressions of Theophrastus Such is a work of fiction by George Eliot (Marian Evans), first published in 1879. It was Eliot's last published writing and her most experimental, taking the form of a series of literary essays by an imaginary minor scholar whose eccentric character is revealed through his work. In a series of eighteen sometimes satirical character studies, Theophrastus Such focuses on various types of people he has observed in society. Usually, Theophrastus Such acts as a first-person narrator, but at several points, the voice of Theophrastus Such is lost or becomes confused  with Eliot’s omniscient perspective. Some readers have identified biographical similarities between Eliot herself and the upbringing and temperament Theophrastus Such claims as his own. In her letters, George Eliot describes herself using many of the same terms. Plot/Chapters. Ch. I “Looking Inward”: Theophrastus Such introduces himself and states his purpose and the circumstances leading up to writing this book. He also tells the readers to be prepared for writings of confession as well as performance, and that the readers will have to work to understand the allusions and accounts of his character before judging the work. Ch. II  “Looking Backward”: Discusses Theophrastus Such’s boyhood in the Midlands, containing some memories of George Eliot’s own childhood in Warwickshire. Ch. III “How We Encourage Research”: A devastating and (stiff upper lip) hilarious account of the way one titan of science obliterates the career of a young challenger in order to defend his turf, before quietly stealing his idea and publishing it as his own. Theophrastus Such describes Proteus Merman and his attempt to join a circle of the educated. Proteus Merman’s exclusion and inability to join the group is highlighted by the contrasting of Proteus’ last name  with those of the other members. As a “merman,” Proteus is doomed to be an onlooker of this community, all of whom are named after cetaceans (Narwhale, Grampus, etc . . .). In addition, Proteus Merman and his wife, Julia, share similarities with characters from Middlemarch, Casaubon and Dorothea, whose relationship can be compared with the relationship between George Eliot and her husband, George Henry Lewes. Eliot denied George Henry Lewes was the model for Causabon; however, significant aspects of the character match with Lewes’s experience as a man of science, including his response to criticism in “determin[ing] to prove his own  theories scientifically infallible,” his status as an “unfulfilled researcher,” and his lack of success in garnering respect and acknowledgement with his research, which also applies to Proteus Merman. Like Dorothea and Marian Evans, Julia is a devoted wife. Her marriage, similar to Dorothea’s with Causabon, is poisoned by her husband’s disappointment as he “gradually becomes rancorous and suspicious”. Both situations display how single-minded focus puts a strain on relationships and how a certain flexibility of mind and attention is healthy and something to be grateful for. Ch. IV “A Man Surprised at His Originality”: A written eulogy  of Lentulus, a man who critiqued the writing of others and boasted of the perfect verse he would soon write and never did, another echo of Eliot’s Edward Casaubon. Ch. V “A Too Deferential Man”: Theophrastus Such describes Hinze, who has no goal for himself in mind whatsoever. Ch. VI “Only Temper”: This chapter is about the angry temperament of Touchwood. Such condemns Touchwood for his behavior, contending that a usually good and benevolent personality cannot make up for poor conduct. Ch. VII “A Political Molecule”: Cotton manufacturer Spike alliances with businessmen for his own profit, though his  actions are for the benefit of the group. Ch. VIII “The Watch-dog of Knowledge”: Theophrastus Such speaks of Mordax and attempts to vindicate him. Ch. IX “A Half-breed”: Inspired by George Eliot’s experience with Evangelicalism in Nuneaton and continuing the theme of the lives of clergymen in The Scenes of Clerical Life, Ch. IX “A Half-bread” follows Mixtus, a man formerly of religious and reforming inclination until he moved to London, married, and became a man hunting after wealth. Ch. X “Debasing the Moral Currency”: Theophrastus Such expresses his worry over the breakdown of civilization, referencing  classical texts and acts of violence that occurred in the 1800s. Ch. XI “The Wasp Credited with the Honeycomb”: Theophrastus Such mocks communism and the concept that there is a definitive origin for ideas. It is a retelling of Aesop’s “The Worker Bee, the Drone, and the Wasp." Ch. XII "So Young!": A man called Ganymede has not released the image of himself he had held as a child. Then, he had been told how young and girlishly pretty he was, and he still acts as if those descriptions apply. Ch. XIII “How We Come to Give Ourselves False  Testimonials and Believe in Them”: The chapter explores the importance of accurate representation. This includes facing what we have become inwardly as well as outwardly. Ch. XIV “The Too Ready Writer”: Pepin wishes to write a romance encapsulating a time (ancient Rome and other past ages) but without writing of the common element. He writes historical fiction without accuracy, not worthily representing the times, an error Eliot consciously avoided in her writing of her historical novel, Romola. Ch. XV “Diseases of Small Authorship”: Theophrastus Such analyzes an egotistical female writer called Vorticella (vorticellae are one-celled, parasitic organisms). Her life  is described as if seen through a microscope, interacting with other small organisms. Ch. XVI “Moral Swindlers”: Mine-owner Gavial Mantrap, first described as a moral man, swindles verbally and financially. A message from this chapter is a man who is kind to his family but wrongfully uses their political and financial ability cannot be called moral, and that those holding great skill with words have even more responsibility to use them carefully with consideration to their moral impact. Ch. XVII, “Shadows of the Coming Race”: This chapter represents a discussion between Theophrastus Such and his friend Trost, a  man with great interest in technology, about the future and the use of machines. Theophrastus Such believes machines will come to a point where they can supersede men. Ch. XVIII, “The Modern Hep! Hep! Hep!”: Theophrastus Such turn introspective, comparing himself and the exile he felt described in Ch. II “Looking Backwards” with the history of the Jews. A full copy of Theophrastus Such can be found "here" on the "George Eliot Archive" and below in the External Links. An interactive dictionary inspired by "A George Eliot Dictionary: The Characters and Scenes of the Novels, Stories, and Poems Alphabetically Arranged ," which was where a lot of the above content was found, will be coming soon to the "George Eliot Archive". Critical Reception. Contemporary Reviews At the time of "Impressions of Theophrastus Such"’s publication, the audience of George Eliot had not been expecting another work from the authoress’ pen until she had finished her late husband's (George Henry Lewes) literary project. Though many reviews expressed their initial excitement for the book, they also expressed their disappointment. "The Sheffield Daily Telegraph" compared the work to “those numerous preliminary sketches which a painter makes in the course of elaborating a great  picture.” "The Chicago Daily Tribune" likewise saw "Impressions of Theophrastus Such" as the possible groundwork for another of George Eliot’s novels, never to be fully realized. This reviewer notes the similarities between the essays in "Impressions of Theophrastus Such" with excerpts scattered throughout George Eliot’s works. Many of the reviews acknowledge the writing within "Impressions of Theophrastus Such" to be clever but its long-windedness and inability to evoke an emotional response renders little enjoyment for the readers. "The London Echo", "The Standard", and "The Pall Mall Gazette" comment upon the last chapter of "Impressions of Theophrastus Such  (Ch. XVIII “The Modern Hep! Hep! Hep!), discussing George Eliot’s novel Daniel Deronda" and how the authoress presents Jews within her works. "The Pall Mall Gazette" believed this chapter to be the only section harkening back to the skill and style displayed in George Eliot’s celebrated works. "The Standard" believed Theophrastus Such showed a brilliance in its satirical and humorous hints but lacked depth, giving off an ephemeral air and distancing readers from the book’s characters. All referenced articles can be found on the "George Eliot Archive". Direct links are below in External Links. Current Scholarship "Impressions  of Theophrastus Such" is not one of George Eliot’s most studied works, many researchers focus on her novels, but there have been a few essays discussing the significance and symbolism contained within the series of literary essays. Emily Butler-Probst's essay, “They Read with Their Own Eye from Nature’s Own Book: Imagining Whales in Impressions of Theophrastus Such” (2021), focuses on the chapter concerning Proteus Merman (Ch. III “How We Encourage Research”), where a group of academics refuse to acknowledge Merman’s theories because he is not one of them. Butler-Probst builds on many of the  connections between George Henry Lewes and Proteus Merman from Dr. Beverley Park Rilett’s 2016 article “George Henry Lewes, the Real Man of Science Behind George Eliot's Fictional Pedants,” which is referenced in the summary on Ch. III, though Butler-Probst’s article goes on to highlight Lewes’s influences beyond character inspiration to include Eliot’s allusions to Lewes’s Seaside Studies content. Scott C. Thompson, in his 2018 essay, “Subjective Realism and Diligent Imagination: G.H. Lewes’s Theory of Psychology and George Eliot’s Impressions of Theophrastus Such,” speaks of the progression of George Eliot’s realism  in her novels, from the perceptive observations in her early works to the complex social groups built into her later writings. Though it does have a cast of characters acting out scenes and exchanging dialogue, "Impression of Theophrastus Such" does not tell a story, as did her novels. Thompson especially points out George Eliot’s deviation in her decision to write her last work in first-person rather than the third-person narrator of her novels and how this changed her usual characters from “fully realized and psychologically complex” to “typified [and] one-dimensional”. Another recent article, “George Eliot’s  Last Stand: Impressions of Theophrastus Such” (2016) by Rosemarie Bodenheimer explores how contemporary readers felt about the change in style, and explores whether "Impressions of Theophrastus Such" is meant to be read as a fictional narrative fiction. She also delineates the significance and views of Theophrastus Such as the narrator. According to Bodenheimer, readers felt betrayed by the change of tune in George Eliot’s works; along with several other recent scholars, Bodenheimer argues for reading Impressions of Theophrastus Such as a work of fiction, noting that Theophrastus is a “self-reflexive fictional character whose failings and contradictions are the  real subject of the book”. The book was written in the form of reflexive essays, but it is still fiction because the people and events Theophrastus Such observes are imagined. Routledge and Sons, 1924.