Philosophy in Middlemarch

The present dissertation aims to show that Middlemarch presents a high level of complexity, which can be identified as philosophy. Notably, it sets out to demonstrate that the novel represents a seminal narrative work whereby philosophy and literature merge, bringing forth a groundbreaking experiment, which differs from the genre of the philosophical novel. In the first chapter, drawing from New Historicism, an overview of the culture context in which George Eliot lived is provided. The aim is to foreground the issues which are either mentioned or implied in the novel: the technological progress, the advancement in medicine and biology, the main features in literary production, the seminal philosophical theories as well as positive psychology. With regard to the second chapter, it explores some philosophical interpretations of Middlemarch, which are analysed by references both to the novel and to the raised philosophical controversies. Lastly, the third chapter, drawing from the refutation of the philosophical interpretations previously analysed, provides a different philosophical insight into the novel.