Recontextualising George Eliot
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The People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research Frères Mentouri University – Constantine Faculty of Letters and Languages Department of Letters and English Language Recontextualising George Eliot: A Cosmopolitan, Progressive, and Modern Victorian Writer Thesis Submitted to the Department of Letters and English Language in Candidacy for the Degree of LMD Doctorate in Anglo-Saxon Civilizations and Literatures Submitted by: Supervised by: Dallel Chenni Dr. Khemissi Bougherara Board of Examiners: Chairman: Prof. Brahim Harouni Université Frères Mentouri – Constantine Supervisor: Dr. Khemissi Bougherara Université Larbi Ben M’hidi – Oum El Bouaghi Examiner: Prof. Hacène Saadi Université Frères Mentouri – Constantine Examiner: Prof. Med Lyazid Bendjeddou Université Badji Mokhtar – Annaba Examiner : Prof. Salah Bouregbi Université Badji Mokhtar – Annaba 2016 i Dedication To my dear parents. To Ma Ftaima. To Jaddi Brahim. To the memory of Badidi and Maziza. To all my family and friends. To the memory of Edward Said. ii Acknowledgements My deepest gratitude goes to my advisor and supervisor Dr. Khemissi Bougherara for his continuous support, valuable advice, constructive corrections, precious insights, and above all for his patience, concern, and understanding during times of greatest need. I have been very fortunate to have him as a pragmatic mentor for this dissertation. I would like to sincerely thank the board of examiners Prof. Brahim Harouni, Prof. Hacène Saadi, Prof. Med Lyazid Bendjeddou, and Prof. Salah Bouregbi for having taken the time to read this thesis, and for having considered it worthy of attention. My sincere thanks also go to the Department of English Language of Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne University, especially its Head, Prof. Guillaume Marche, who welcomed me for a one-month period training, and generously granted me access to the university library. I am much obliged to Prof. Françoise Dupeyron-Lafay, and Dr. Sabine Reungoat for their time and energy. Both of them kindly accepted to be advisors during my stay, and offered me the possibility to have access to the BnF Research Library. Their valuable assistance, stimulating discussions, and critical comments have provided a significant contribution to this research work. Special thanks go to Prof. Kenneth Newton and Dr. John Rignall who both took the time to read my e-mails and answer my questions. I will always remain grateful to Dr. Rignall who took the initiative and trouble to send me a copy of his last published book—a considerable source of information for this research work. I am also indebted to the Head of the Department of Letters and English Language, Frères Mentouri University – Constantine, Mr. Hamoudi Boughenout, who has been a dedicated supervisor for my MA dissertation, a wise advisor, and an academic mentor during iii the past five years. I would like to acknowledge his unstinting help and support without which the outcome of this research would be much diminished. I also owe many thanks to the staff of the Department for their assistance, help, concern, and kindness, especially Mr. Mohammed Yachir, Mrs. Fatiha Sahli, Dr. Nasr-Eddine Megherbi, Prof. Brahim Harouni, and Prof. Samir Laraba. I equally extend my thanks to all my teachers and all my colleagues. My love, affection, and heartfelt gratitude go to my dear parents who kept me motivated and on track, and tirelessly guided me along the way. They offered endless love, support, encouragement, understanding and advice. Without them, the realisation of this project would have simply been impossible. I am equally thankful to other people who gifted me with their trust, and whose genuine support was no less crucial in this work: Nadir Belbekri, Toufik Belbekri, and Salim Chenni; all my family members including my grandmother, my grandfather, uncles, aunts, and cousins; my friends and students; Katia, Iman, Faten, Loubna, Loudjeine, Lina, Rayane, Raounak, Amina, Khaled, Zaki, Adel, Samah, Bariza, Radhia, Amira, and Meriem. I am grateful to you all. iv Abstract The cosmopolitan nature of George Eliot’s thought, the diversity of her career, the controversial political views she held on colonialism, the social progress she promoted, and the original use she made of her artistic culture in her fiction all prove she is a multifaceted figure whose writings need to be re-interpreted and recontextualised in the light of twenty- first century criticism. This research intends to explore Eliot’s cosmopolitanism in terms of her Judaeo-Christian European intellectual heritage, link it with Medieval Islamic thought and culture, and further extend it to determining her attitude to Islam and Arabs within the colonial context of her time. The research also wishes to investigate the extent to which some medieval Islamic philosophical ideas that have migrated to Europe have contributed in shaping Eliot’s progressive views about achieving both individual self-improvement and social progress through her lifelong adoption of realism, which depicts the flaws of Victorian society, promotes human sympathy and raises her readers’ awareness. The dissertation finally aims at highlighting Eliot’s sense of modernity apparent in both her way of thinking and writing, which undeniably connects her with some aspects of modernist literature, as well as with other artistic disciplines whose techniques she originally exploited in enhancing the quality of her fiction. Combining biographical analysis and reader-response criticism approaches, the methodological rationale adopted in the thesis is at the interdisciplinary interface between the history of ideas and literary criticism, which means that a special focus will be devoted to Eliot’s biographical and intellectual backgrounds as necessary contexts to interpret her works and understand her postures. This dissertation is meant as a contribution to Victorian studies in extending the findings made so far by contemporary critics about Eliot’s cosmopolitanism to include Islamic intellectual heritage, which she has chosen to ignore. This research equally demonstrates that Eliot’s perception of both Arabs and Islamic culture is a biased and a prejudiced one. v Résumé La pensée cosmopolite de George Eliot, la diversité de sa carrière, ses opinions politiques controversées, le progrès social qu’elle revendiquait et l’emploi original de sa culture artistique dans sa fiction font d’elle une écrivaine aux facettes multiples dont les écrits nécessitent aujourd’hui une réinterprétation et une recontextualisation à la lumière de la critique littéraire contemporaine. Cette recherche vise d’abord à explorer le cosmopolitisme d’Eliot en termes d’héritage intellectuel judéo-chrétien, pour ensuite le relier à la pensée islamique médiévale, et enfin s’en servir afin de déterminer l’attitude d’Eliot vis-à-vis de la culture islamique dans le contexte colonial victorien. Cette recherche vise également à mesurer l’impact de certaines idées philosophiques de l’Islam médiéval qui auraient contribué à modeler sa vision progressiste qu’elle a traduite à travers ses romans grâce à son adoption du réalisme pour dénoncer les fléaux de la société victorienne, promouvoir la compassion en tant qu’idéal humain, et provoquer chez ses lecteurs un changement de mentalité. Enfin, cette thèse met l’accent sur la modernité d’Eliot, visible à la fois à travers sa pensée et ses écrits, et qui la relie indéniablement à certains aspects de la littérature moderniste et aux arts dont elle a exploité les techniques afin de parfaire son œuvre. Associant l’analyse biographique et la critique « reader-response », le raisonnement adopté dans cette thèse est à l’interface entre l’histoire des idées et la critique littéraire, portant une attention particulière aux références intellectuelles et biographiques d’Eliot comme contextes de lectures indispensables à l’interprétation de ses écrits et à la compréhension des ses attitudes. L’apport le plus important que cette recherche aura contribué aux études victoriennes est d’avoir élargi le champ d’exploration du cosmopolitisme européen d’Eliot, déjà entrepris par les critiques contemporains, et d’inclure la dimension islamique qu’Eliot avait choisi d’ignorer. L’autre apport de cette recherche est d’avoir démontré que la perception des Arabes et de la culture islamique chez cet auteur victorien est porteuse de préjugés raciaux et religieux. vi ملخص انثّقافح انؼانًّٛح انّرٙ ذحهّد تٓا خٕسج إٚهٕٛخ ، ٔذُ ّٕع يسٛشذٓا انًُّٛٓح ، ٔ ذضاسب يٕاقفٓا ان ّسٛاسّٛح ، ٔانشق ّٙ اﻻخرًاٙػ انّز٘ كاَد ذُاد٘ تّ ، تاﻹضافح إنٗ اسرؼًانٓا انٙػُّٕ نثقافرٓا انفُّٛح فٙ سٔاٚاذٓا ، ك ّم ْزا ٚدؼم يُٓا أدٚثح يرؼ ّذدج انًضاٚا ٚدذس تأٌ ؼٚاد انُّظش فٙ كراتاذٓا قصذ ذحهٛهٓا فٙ ضٕء ان ّذساساخ انُّقذّٚح انؼًاصشج . ذشيٙ ْزِ ان ّشسانح فٙ تادئ اﻷيش إنٗ اسركشاف ثقافح إٚهٕٛخ انؼانًّٛح يٍ حٛث إسثٓا انفكش ّ٘ اﻷٔسٔتٙ ، نرُرقم فٙ يشحهح ثاَٛح إنٗ ستظ ْزِ انثّقافح انؼانًّٛح تانفكش اﻹسﻻيٙ فٙ ػصشِ ان ّزْث ّٙ كٚ ٙسرؼًم ْزا ان ّشتظ فٙ انُّٓاٚح نرحذٚذ ٔخٓح َظش إٚهٕٛخ تانُّسثح نهثّقافح اﻹسﻻيٛح ٔسظ انًُاخ اﻻسرؼًاس٘ انّز٘ كاٌ ٚسٕد تشٚطاَٛا فٙ انقشٌ انرّاسغ ػشش . كًا ذسرٓذف ْزِ ان ّشسانح قٛاط يذٖ ذأثٛش تؼض اﻷفكاس انفهسفّٛح اﻹسﻻيّٛح ان ّسائذج فٙ انؼصش ان ّزْثٙ ٔ انّرٙ ساًْد فٙ تهٕسج سؤٚح إٚهٕٛخ انرّقذيّٛح انًردهّٛح فٙ سٔاٚاذٓا ، ٔ ْزا تفضم اسرؼًانٓا اﻷسهٕب اﻷدتٙ انٕاقٙؼ نهرُّذٚذ تاٜفاخ انًرف ّشٛح فٙ يدرؼًٓا آَزاك ، ٔ ذشقٛح سٔذ انرؼّاطف يغ اٜخش ، ٔ ذغٛٛش رُّْٛح ق ّشائٓا . كًا ذسهّظ ْزِ ان ّشسانح ان ّضٕء ػهٗ ػصشَح إٚهٕٛخ انٕاضحح فٙ فكشْا ٔ كراتاذٓا ، ٔانّرٙ ذشتطٓا تثؼض خٕاَة اﻷدب انؼصشاَٙ . كًا ذسركشف ْزِ ان ّشسانح تؼض انفٌُٕ انّرٙ ندأخ انكاذثح إنٗ اسرغﻻل ذقُّٛاذٓا كٙ ذشذقٙ تكراترٓا اﻷدتّٛح. ًٚضج انًُٓاج انًٛثٕدٔنٕخٙ انّز٘ ذُرٓدّ ْزِ ان ّشسانح تٍٛ طشٚقر ّٙ انرّحهٛم نه ّسٛشج ان ّزاذّٛح ٔ انُّقذ انًثػ ُٙهٗ اسرداتح انقاسئ ، ي ًّا ُٙؼٚ أ ٌّ خهفّٛاخ إٚهٕٛخ انفكشّٚح ٔ يسٛشذٓا ان ّزاذّٛح سرحظٗ تؼُاٚح خا ّصح فٙ ْزا انثحث نرحهٛم أػًانٓا اﻷدتّٛح ٔ ذحذٚذ آسائٓا ٔ يٕاقفٓا . أْ ّى يا أضافرّ ْزِ ان ّشسانح إنٗ ان ّذساساخ انُّقذّٚح فٙ اﻷدب انثشٚطاَٙ نهقشٌ انرّاسغ ػشش ْٕ إثشاء انُّرائح انّرٙ ذٕصم إنٛٓا انُّقذ انؼًاصش فًٛا ٚخص انطّاتغ انؼانًٙ نفكش ٔ كراتاخ إٚهٕٛخ تانكشف ػٍ يساًْح انثّقافح ٔ انحضاسج اﻹسﻻيٛح فٙ ْزا انداَة .