고려대학교

초록/요약

This paper aims to study painterly narrative strategies in Adam Bede by George Eliot. Eliot’s realism is distinct from photographic realism in that objects or people represented in the novel are nothing else than psychological phenomena and that they are what they seem. The world of things is primarily perceived in the form of visual impressions; these impressions, as our life is in constant flux, are always and already shot through by otherness on ever newly emerging horizons. Thus, sympathy, which is central to understanding Eliot’s society, can come only when we accept otherness that necessarily brings about fear and pain. It is argued that the main characters of Adam Bede, particularly Adam and Hetty, grow by, to a greater or lesser extent, experiencing pain and accepting otherness in their relationships. To understand this characterological change, attention is brought to ways that, modifying various visual images or scenes, Eliot creates a structural pattern and in so doing effectively manifests change in the characters’ inner consciousness. It is stressed here that Eliot’s visual form or word painting at the remarkable is a hybrid, which is charged with opposing voices, the clash of which entails a butt of irony. Having sympathy for others, it is held in conclusion, is an important requisite for, on the one hand, helping us overcome fear and pain caused by uncertainties in our communal life. On the other, it is further argued that increasing the likelihood of helping others and showing compassion towards them will point to the way to a better world.