Description
Roles and expectations have traditionally shaped the lives of women. For a long
time, gender determined where one would socially stand and the places they could go
to (COSTA, 2020), and access to proper and meaningful education was denied. This
research aims to analyse the relationship between women, knowledge, and
authorship, as displayed in George Eliot’s Middlemarch (1871), under a feminist
approach to literature (COSTA, 2020; ROCHA, 2016; ARMSTRONG, 2006; WEIL,
2006), considering the Victorian context in which the book was written. For this
purpose, this thesis focuses on Rosamond, Dorothea and Mary, and their relationship
with knowledge and education. From Rosamond’s traditional education and
accomplishments to Dorothea’s desire for knowledge and Mary’s questioned
authorship, it can be noticed that women’s abilities and capacities are frequently
questioned in the novel. Furthermore, Dorothea’s desire to connect to a higher power
through instructions is not fulfilled. The conclusion is that Eliot keeps her characters
from achieving the enlightenment which she highly praises, advocating for better
access whilst bound to the mindset which restrained girls from gaining complete
independence and achieving remarkable things.
