Discuss the themes expolred in George Eliot's Adam Bede - Essay Example

She lived in a male dominated society and which is why she was forced to satisfy her desire of writing by acquiring a Pseudonym, which was again a male name “George Eliot”. She was a rebel and her novels were not fantasies but were based on real life experiences. In this novel she has explored various themes like – Class Discrimination, Love, Motherhood, Identity of Women, Human Infanticide, Industry, Nature, Adultery and Reputation in the society. Every character in Eliot’s novel bears some kind of significance.

Each one possesses certain traits that make readers understand how a person should be or should not be. As every character unfolds in the novel, we find how skillfully, Eliot has dealt with different themes or issues in the form of events or happenings in the lives of those characters. Every character is the personification of every theme, which the writer intends to convey to the readers. Adam Bede, the protagonist of this novel is a carpenter by profession. He is a very lovable character, good looking and is a true moralist.

He is described to have extra-ordinary skills in carpentry. He falls in love with Hetty Sorel, the orphaned niece of Mr. Poyser. Mr and Mrs. Poyser feel that Hetty and Adam would make a good match, as they both belong to the same social class. On the other side, Captain Arthur Donnithorne, who is the grandson of the Squire Donnithorne also is in love with Hetty. He is physically attracted towards her but suddenly changes his mind and thinks that it would not be good to continue his courtship with Hetty, who belongs to a lower class than his.

Hetty too loves Arthur and dreams of marrying Captain Arthur and becoming a gentlewoman. She dreams of the riches and the respect she would be getting after marrying Arthur. Thus we come to know that marriage was moreover based on social class than love. Before marrying every person thought of the reputation or the standard of his or her partner. Thus we see that Eliot has