Scenes of Clerical Life

Rating:
Summary: Tales of Three Clergymen
Review: George Eliot's Scenes of Clerical Life consists of three tales involving three separate clergymen in England in the early 1800s. "The Sad Fortunes of the Reverend Amos Barton" is about the financially strapped curate of Shepperton who lacks tact, charm, and learning. Although he is initially unpopular with his parishioners, he earns their affection through his personal misfortune. The second tale, "Mr. Gilfil's Love Story," is about a parson at Shepperton (prior to the time of Amos Barton) who falls in love with Caterina, the daughter of an Italian singer, who, in turn, falls for someone else. When that someone else chooses another woman to be his wife, Mr. Gilfil deals courageously with the devastated Caterina, who is now at "the point of lunacy" because of the rejection. The third tale, "Janet's Repentance," has Reverend Edgar Tryan trying to stir up interest about the Evangelical Church in the religion-indifferent industrial town of Milby. The townfolk vigorously oppose Tryan's efforts in some very dramatic scenes. Janet, a female alcoholic who is frequently beaten by her husband, is at first resistant to Reverend Tryan, but later sees him as a fellow sufferer. She then seeks his guidance for personal problems, with positive results. All three tales are unabashedly sentimental and melodramatic. As this was Eliot's first attempt at fiction, one can see she had a ways to go before she developed the literary perfection that resonates in her later novels like Middlemarch. The tale about Amos Barton is my favorite because Eliot succeeded in making a drab character the hero of a story. The "sad fortunes of" should have been kept out of the title, though, because it suggests only the depressing side of the tale instead of the triumph of character it really is. The way Caterina in the Gilfil tale continues to find her singing the only way to "lift the pain from her heart" points out how a person may deal with grief by relying on an innate talent. The way Janet in the repentance tale goes from a kicked-about drunk to self-actualization is inspiring. Eliot's minor characters, such as the old women, the doctors, and the servants are well drawn, using the speech patterns and vernacular consistent with their respective class or degree of education. Overall, I recommend Scenes of Clerical Life as a fine introduction to George Eliot. However, I feel it is important to read Adam Bede immediately afterwards so one can see how quickly Eliot's ability to write fiction evolved into an art.

Rating:
Summary: Tales of Three Clergymen
Review: George Eliot's Scenes of Clerical Life consists of three tales involving three separate clergymen in England in the early 1800s. "The Sad Fortunes of the Reverend Amos Barton" is about the financially strapped curate of Shepperton who lacks tact, charm, and learning. Although he is initially unpopular with his parishioners, he earns their affection through his personal misfortune. The second tale, "Mr. Gilfil's Love Story," is about a parson at Shepperton (prior to the time of Amos Barton) who falls in love with Caterina, the daughter of an Italian singer, who, in turn, falls for someone else. When that someone else chooses another woman to be his wife, Mr. Gilfil deals courageously with the devastated Caterina, who is now at "the point of lunacy" because of the rejection. The third tale, "Janet's Repentance," has Reverend Edgar Tryan trying to stir up interest about the Evangelical Church in the religion-indifferent industrial town of Milby. The townfolk vigorously oppose Tryan's efforts in some very dramatic scenes. Janet, a female alcoholic who is frequently beaten by her husband, is at first resistant to Reverend Tryan, but later sees him as a fellow sufferer. She then seeks his guidance for personal problems, with positive results. All three tales are unabashedly sentimental and melodramatic. As this was Eliot's first attempt at fiction, one can see she had a ways to go before she developed the literary perfection that resonates in her later novels like Middlemarch. The tale about Amos Barton is my favorite because Eliot succeeded in making a drab character the hero of a story. The "sad fortunes of" should have been kept out of the title, though, because it suggests only the depressing side of the tale instead of the triumph of character it really is. The way Caterina in the Gilfil tale continues to find her singing the only way to "lift the pain from her heart" points out how a person may deal with grief by relying on an innate talent. The way Janet in the repentance tale goes from a kicked-about drunk to self-actualization is inspiring. Eliot's minor characters, such as the old women, the doctors, and the servants are well drawn, using the speech patterns and vernacular consistent with their respective class or degree of education. Overall, I recommend Scenes of Clerical Life as a fine introduction to George Eliot. However, I feel it is important to read Adam Bede immediately afterwards so one can see how quickly Eliot's ability to write fiction evolved into an art.