The Lifted Veil

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The need for Evans to resort to a pseudonym makes me wonder if she thought that her book would not be equally appreciated as she was a female writer in the Victorian age? Thus Latimer decides to tell the strange story of his own experiences. Deprived of a public school education, as it was a fact that he was too sensitive and shy to put up with the rough experience of a public school, the only avenue left open to him was to have private tutors.

However, he became ill there and his father decided to take him back to England. At this stage of his life our narrator was beginning to have visions and very odd things were happening to him. This was a gift that put him into a state of great excitement but before returning to England he met Bertha Grant and upon sight of her he fainted I thought only women did that?

Latimer then began to wonder if he had a mysterious disease. Bertha was to marry Alfred and our narrator then had a passion for this woman and the downward spiral began with a most unfortunate occurrence. Then he had foreseen an event that involved Bertha which proved to be true. For a young man who had never believed in evil, he had now reached the nadir of despair.

Inspiration for Writers and Readers from Classic Women Authors

The metaphysical and supernatural aspects of this novella are exquisitely described. And then the curse of insight — of my double consciousness, came again, and has never left me. I know all their narrow thoughts, their feeble regard, their half-wearied pity.

Something that I never knew, as was explained on the dust jacket about this series by Melville House was that: Too short to be a novel, too long to be a short story, the novella is generally unrecognized by academics and publishers. In the Art of the Novella Series here, Melville House celebrates this renegade art form and its practitioners with titles that are, in many instances, presented in book form for the first time. View all 10 comments. Two completely different works in this slim volume, a short short: The Lifted Veil pp and a literary critical piece on women's fiction: Silly Novels by Lady Novelists pp guess what she thinks about them view spoiler [ there is a clue in the title hide spoiler ] both together in one volume purely to get the book up to pages in length, they share nothing in common.

The Lifted Veil

This book is one of the penguin Little black classics series, which despite being in and out of bo Two completely different works in this slim volume, a short short: This book is one of the penguin Little black classics series, which despite being in and out of bookshops now and again with the express purpose of looking for books to buy, I have never noticed on sale to the public, the only other book in this series that I've read is Mary Shelley's Matilda which by some curious circumstance is a little similar to The Lifted Veil in that both stories start with an unknown narrator promising to tell us the innocent reader the story of their life because they are approaching death.

Both are also one trick stories: Shelley's story is her wondering what would happen if a father and daughter were reunited after many years of separation, and the father is obsessed with his daughter's deceased mother, and the daughter looks very much like her mother In passing he refers to himself as a ghost seer which struck me as unfamiliar in English but rung a bell - Schiller wrote a story called Der Geisterseher and since there is some play in the story around the writings of the German Romantics I wonder if Eliot's story borrows from, or picks up on a theme from, or develops an idea from the Schiller thriller, which naturally I have not read, but I have my suspicions, dark and sinister suspicions.

Some nice turns of phrase particularly on the ability of rich people to afford more complex marital arrangements in those difficult times before modern divorce laws were introduced - Eliot herself, or rather the man in her life was rather inconvenienced by the absence of an equitable divorce law, and so never could be a public figure as a literary heavyweight in Victorian Britain. Silly Novels by Lady Novelists I felt very awkward about this one, it wasn't so much She stoops to Conquer as she stomps to conquer and she stamps for thirty odd pages over much trashy Victorian rubbish appealing to audiences as uncritical and highly segmented as we are familiar with today - ie young Methodist ladies who want to sigh over the love story in which the plain overlooked girl with a good heart gets to marry the young curate who may be ugly, but is unbending on questions of church discipline.

I don't disagree with anything she says, but since I am mild mannered there is something uncomfortable about it - like watching a heavy-weight boxing champion go into a school and take on the pupils for five rounds each in the ring, laughing he knocks them down and out as the bell goes. View all 4 comments. Feb 27, Paul rated it really liked it Shelves: Quite an oddity for Eliot; a novella that can be read in one sitting and a first person narrator. It also has a distinct gothic edge and feels in the tradition of Mary Shelley and Poe. The themes are not so much supernatural as pseudo-scientific.

It concerns the narrator Latimer who believes himself to have extra sensory powers; the ability to see the future and read the thoughts of others. The narrator Latimer is certainly and unreliable narrator one feels. His seeming ability to forsee scenes and see thoughts start in his teenage years and is something he keeps quiet.

He has a premonition of them marrying and being unhappy to say more would invite spoilers. If we were able to see into the hearts of others we would be horrified. The plot devices allow Eliot to explore a deep cynicism about human nature and it is rather gloomy. I think Eliot is playing with plot devices; Latimer has no choice but to be an omniscient narrator as the author gives him the ability to see the future and the thoughts of others.

There is a deep narcissism in Latimer and there is no altruism. It is all about using the gift to find out what others think of him and seeing himself mirrored in others. It is also interesting to note that Latimer is described as weak and sickly and he is mostly reactive rather than proactive; Eliot places him in what would have been a traditionally female role in Victorian fiction. All in all it is an oddity, but I enjoyed it and although the tale is rather bleak, I do think Eliot is having a little fun with the institution of marriage.

View all 6 comments. Una novelita o nouvelle que se puede leer de una sentada, y mi primer contacto con la autora victoriana George Eliot. El retrato de Dorian Gray. It is an old story, that men sell themselves to the tempter, and sign a bond with their blood, because it is only to take effect at a distant day; then rush on to snatch the cup their souls thirst after with an impulse not the less savage because there is a dark shadow beside them for evermore.

Le doy tres estrellitas y media.

Sep 10, Werner rated it liked it Recommends it for: Fans of 19th century fiction. This book won't be every reader's cup of tea. As the above description suggests, its subject matter was atypical for Eliot --though she wrote it in , her publishers found it so different from her usual work that they delayed printing it until Premised as it is on psychic phenomena --flashes of telepathy and precognition, which in Eliot's day were just beginning to attract the attention of some intellectuals, and of the public the titular "veil" is the one that hides the future -- I wo This book won't be every reader's cup of tea.

Premised as it is on psychic phenomena --flashes of telepathy and precognition, which in Eliot's day were just beginning to attract the attention of some intellectuals, and of the public the titular "veil" is the one that hides the future -- I would definitely classify it as science-fiction; but most genre buffs might not recognize it as that, because of the unfamiliar Victorian style and the lack of any attempt to advance an explicitly scientific explanation for the protagonist's abilities.

But we're in the realm of "soft" sci-fi here; Eliot wasn't interested in "explaining" her premise, but rather in using it to explore certain thematic concerns. And while they're approached here from a for her fresh angle, those concerns turn out to be some of the same ones that are prominent in her better-known, more "respectable" descriptive fiction: Her protagonist assumes the latter; the author's sympathies are with the former view, but she doesn't spell this out explicitly --the reader has to work to dig it out between the lines.

This is a dark, somber novel, unremittingly serious, concentrating on the inner life of the characters more than on outward events though the latter are mentioned to illuminate the former. Written in the Romantic style, the emotions it seeks to evoke are fear and sorrow; and many modern readers will find the narrative pace somewhat slow, though the short length 67 pages --the Penguin edition has a helpful critical Afterward that adds about two dozen pages partly compensates for this.

IMO, the stylistic influence of Poe can be detected here; and in turn, this work very probably influenced Henry James. But if modern readers can get past these features, there is rewarding content here. View all 3 comments. A few days after the incident of the opal ring, we were paying one of our frequent visits to the Lichtenberg Palace. I could never look at many pictures in succession; for pictures, when they are at all powerful, affect me so strongly that one or two exhaust all my capability of contemplation.

I had stood long alone before it, fascinated by the terrible reality of that cunnin A few days after the incident of the opal ring, we were paying one of our frequent visits to the Lichtenberg Palace. I had stood long alone before it, fascinated by the terrible reality of that cunning, relentless face, till I felt a strange poisoned sensation, as if I had long been inhaling a fatal odour, and was just beginning to be conscious of its effects.

Intense and hopeless misery was pressing on my soul; the light became stronger, for Bertha was entering with a candle in her hand—Bertha, my wife—with cruel eyes, with green jewels and green leaves on her white ball-dress… Neeless to say, there will be poison mentioned again in this strange story, and further descriptions of hard cold eyes. Mar 02, Nikki rated it liked it Shelves: Still, a friend passed this and Brother Jacob on to me after she was done with it back at university, and I finally got round to actually reading it.

My only defence, as a holder of two English degrees, is to protest that this was emphatically not my period at all. Without ever quitting her tone of badinage and playful superiority, she intoxicated me with the sense that I was necessary to her, that she was never at ease, unless I was near to her, submitting to her playful tyranny. Give it a rest, men are not at the mercy of their gonads. May 16, Lanie rated it liked it. An unhappy man, who believes he knows exactly when and how he will die, tells his story.

When I started this story it bored me. The main character, the narrator, seems lost in self pity. His life has been hard, right from the beginning, it's not his fault, and he's going to have an extended moan about it. He philosophises about life, death and fate, it's terribly depressing. However, as the story continued I became more caught up in it, more interested in how it would work out. In the end it was An unhappy man, who believes he knows exactly when and how he will die, tells his story.

The Lifted Veil by George Eliot (1859)

In the end it was quite satisfying, but the main character remained unremittingly gloomy, passive and fatalistic. He believes that everything bad in his life is preordained. He thinks that nothing can change it so he does not try. On the whole I felt a combination of tedium, depression, and interest.

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Im not sorry that I read it, but I'm glad it was short. Aug 19, Kirsty rated it really liked it Shelves: She does so incredibly deftly, and she weaves her settings and scenes into beautiful views which come to life in front of your eyes. I also love her writing style. Despite this, I do not feel that novellas really suit her authorship. She is far better, in my opinion, when she is filling a novel and crafting her beautiful words without any kind of restriction upon them.

It feels as though her creative spirit has been suppressed a little in this form, and it is a real shame. The Lifted Veil is rather a quiet novella — a nice enough story, but not a memorable one, unfortunately. It was dark, atmospheric and heavy on the supernatural element. If you are in the mood for a dark victorian short story, read The Lifted Veil! To say I am confused would be putting it lightly. Something about this book reminds me of The Great Gatsby, which is definitely a good thing.

I love the writing style but I think I completely missed or misunderstood the plot. This book confuses me, but it is so beautifully written en brings about a story and a setting in so few words that it still deserved a 3 out of 5. Oct 06, Kathleen Flynn added it Shelves: What a strange novella! Stopped reading Madwoman to download and read this in an afternoon. Definitely a little-known side of George Eliot.

Now returning to Madwoman. El final me ha estropeado bastante la historia. However, the novella includes many important points and themes, such as the sympathy and lack of sympathy in human relationships, fear of the inevitable death the unknown and acceptance of the difficult known, the complex nature of human relationships, sibling jealousy, parent-child relationship, superiority vs.

That is to say, can human being cope with such a knowledge? What is the impact of such knowledge? I loved the use of the first person narration life narration , and I loved the questions it raises. Finally, I found the novella attractive from the opening pages. Required reading for EN The British Novel, this book was very short. I had a hard time getting through it because I had to keep pausing at the extensive colon use. O God, let me stay with the known, and be weary of it: Bertha was the only being who remained for me in the mysterious seclusion of soul.

I like Gothic literature and I like George Eliot, but this novella fell flat for me. A true novelty for Eliot but in subject supernatural and style 1st person narrative.

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It's a fun little read for the purpose of seeing a great author exploring for her element, before she found her true calling. Mar 27, Meg rated it really liked it. Un bellissimo racconto noir, che fa a meno delle tipiche tinte fosche e delle scene forti. I personaggi della vicenda sono delineati magnificamente attraverso le loro sensazioni e emozioni. Jan 02, Christian Paula rated it liked it. What a strange story.

Unreliable narrator, an experiment gone wrong, an exile both necessary and not. Feb 07, Neri. Honestly, I have no clue why many people love this book because for me this book felt like an 18th century persons fever dream. Jan 23, Brian rated it it was amazing.

A novella not to be missed. Deliciously disconcerting and gloomy! Jan 26, Aleece rated it it was ok. It pains me to give George Eliot two stars. A rather dark novella told by Latimer, its central character, coming to the end of his life which has been interesting, if totally lacking in worldly success. While a modern reading of this story might render a reanimation by blood transfusion rather simplistic, this plot detail is handled with great skill. What it does have in common with her other works of fiction is its use of moralizing and psychological insight.

Romola by George Eliot According to the Penguin Books edition: The time of my end approaches. Unless, then, I am cursed with an exceptional physical constitution, as I am cursed with an exceptional mental character, I shall not much longer groan under the wearisome burthen of this earthly existence. If it were to be otherwise—if I were to live on to the age most men desire and provide for—I should for once have known whether the miseries of delusive expectation can outweigh the miseries of true provision.

For I foresee when I shall die, and everything that will happen in my last moments. Just as I am watching a tongue of blue flame rising in the fire, and my lamp is burning low, the horrible contraction will begin at my chest. I shall only have time to reach the bell, and pull it violently, before the sense of suffocation will come. No one will answer my bell. My two servants are lovers, and will have quarreled. My housekeeper will have rushed out of the house in a fury, two hours before, hoping that Perry will believe she has gone to drown herself.

Perry is alarmed at last, and is gone out after her. The little scullery-maid is asleep on a bench: The sense of suffocation increases: I make a great effort, and snatch at the bell again. I long for life, and there is no help. I thirsted for the unknown: O God, let me stay with the known, and be weary of it:

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