Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Adam Bede
Adam Bede
Adam Bede
Audiobook20 hours

Adam Bede

Written by George Eliot

Narrated by David Case

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

()

About this audiobook

Adam and Seth Bede work as carpenters in Hayslope. Seth proposes to Dinah Morris, a gifted Methodist preacher. However, she prefers to devote herself to God's work. Meanwhile, Adam Bede woos Dinah's cousin Hetty Sorrel. But she is distracted by the attentions of Captain Arthur Donnithorne. When Adam finds out about Arthur's intentions toward Hetty, he fights Arthur and forces him to leave town.

Soon after, Adam proposes to Hetty, who accepts, only to discover she is pregnant with Arthur's child. She runs away to find Arthur but discovers that his regiment has been called away. Distraught, Hetty restrains herself from committing suicide and gives birth in a lodging-house. She then runs off with the infant and buries it in the brush, where it dies. After she is convicted for child-murder, Arthur finally hears the news, and Hetty's commuted sentence (transportation) saves her from the gallows. Some months later, after Dinah comforts Adam during his mother's illness, Adam comes to realize that he loves Dinah. Although reluctant at first, Dinah eventually agrees to marry Adam.

Adam Bede addresses profound questions of morality, religion, and the role of women in society, while seeking to establish a new aesthetic for fiction.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 5, 2009
ISBN9781400178940
Author

George Eliot

George Eliot (1819–1880) was the pseudonym of Mary Ann Evans, one of the defining authors of the Victorian era, who penned influential works such as Adam Bede, Middlemarch, The Mill on the Floss, and Silas Marner. Eliot began her career by writing for local newspapers, eventually running the Westminster Review. During her time there, she decided to become a novelist and chose a masculine pen name in order to avoid the rampant sexism of the day. Her first novel, Adam Bede, was an instant success. Eliot’s realist philosophy and deep characterizations were defining features of her work, and her classic novels have earned her praise as one of the English language’s top authors.

Related to Adam Bede

Related audiobooks

Classics For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Adam Bede

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

44 ratings35 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I guess this is Eliot's first book, and her novels definitely get much more interesting as her career progresses. The characters are pretty one dimensional, and I don't care if this the 19th century, the ending still makes me mad! Womanhood, gender relations, and sex are handled with much greater subtlety and insight in her other novels, IMO.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Very enjoyable read, with three lovely main characters and several interesting minor characters. If you are a George Eliot fan, this one is not quite on par with "Silas Marner" or "Middlemarch", but it is definitely worth a read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is the third novel by George Eliot that I have read, Middlemarch and Mill on the Floss being the other two. This book was published in 1859 so it is earlier than Mill on the Floss by a year and by 13 years than Middlemarch. I suppose Middlemarch is a more sophisticated novel but I liked Mill on the Floss better and now I like Adam Bede better than either of them. Maybe I’ll always like the last George Eliot that I have read the best until I read another one. I think I have at least 6 more to read so that should take me some time.As the title implies the principal character of the book is Adam Bede, a master carpenter in the village of Hayslope, situated in farming country which Eliot calls Loamshire. However, the real stars of the story are two young women, Hetty and Dinah. Hetty is very attractive and conscious of it. She is vain, somewhat silly and very superficial. Dinah, on the other hand, is subdued, intelligent and religious. In fact, she is a Methodist lay preacher. Hetty and Dinah are both orphans and, at the start of the book, living with their relatives, the Poysers. Mr. Poyser is Hetty’s uncle and Mrs. Poyser is Dinah’s aunt. Dinah is only staying for a while with the Poysers but Hetty has been living with them for seven years. Adam Bede is in love with Hetty and his brother, Seth, is in love with Dinah. Adam has not spoken of his love to Hetty as he is not in a position to offer a home to her. Seth has asked Dinah to marry him but although Dinah is fond of him she tells him she believes she is called to continue preaching and leave aside husband and children for ever.Adam and Seth still live with their parents. Their father was a carpenter as well but has taken to drink and he and Adam do not get along. Their mother is a querulous old woman who prefers Adam over Seth even though Seth is a good son to her. The night the story begins Adam comes home to find that his father is out drinking and has not made the casket that is promised for the morrow. He stays up all night to make it and when the morning comes he and Seth deliver it and then find that their father drowned in the stream by the house during the night. When the news reaches the Poysers, Dinah immediately sets out to comfort Mrs. Bede while Hetty hardly takes in the news. Hetty is thinking about Arthur Donnithorne, the young heir to the local estate, who has been flirting with her.Arthur is very well liked and most of the tenantry can hardly wait until he takes over the estate from his grandfather. He is in the militia at present but is home recovering from a broken arm. He is smitten by Hetty’s looks and thinks to pass the time by romancing her. To his credit, he has no idea that Adam, one of his best friends, has feelings for Hetty. When Adam sees Hetty and Arthur kissing he is jealous but also upset for Hetty’s character. Adam and Arthur come to blows but Arthur is persuaded that he has treated Hetty badly and he agrees to write a letter to Hetty telling her that she must not hope there is any future for the two of them. Then he leaves the county and Adam proposes to Hetty. Hetty accepts him because she desperately wants to be doing something else. Before Hetty and Adam can be married, Hetty realizes she is pregnant and she decides to go to Arthur in Windsor.The pace of the story really picks up here, more than half way through the book and I could hardly put it down. However, the first part is very important for establishing the characters and their motives. Plot is important in Eliot’s books but so is characterization. She is also excellent at describing scenes so that I had a clear picture of the countryside and the houses.There is tragedy here but there is also romance and even some comedy. And for someone who lived with her partner without the benefit of marriage herself she seems to laud marriage. At the end of chapter 54, when Adam and Dinah have agreed to marry, there is this sentence:What greater thing is there for two human souls, than to feel that they are joined for life – to strengthen each other in all labour, to rest on each other in all sorrow, to minister to each other in all pain, to be one with each other in silent unspeakable memories at the moment of the last parting?Of course, that sentence could also apply to unmarried couples such as she and George Lewes but it is a wonderful description of the blessing that a loving relationship is, whether the couple are married, common-law, straight or gay. And to think that Eliot said this over 150 years ago. It just shows that the power of love is eternal.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Beautifully written but at the same time I sometimes find George Eliot too sad for my taste - but not as desperately sad as Hardy though thank goodness.I have re-read this novel many times because it is so homely.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Adam Bede by George Eliot was her first novel and was originally published in 1859. The story explores the nature of physical and mental attraction and in this case lead to a tragedy and many misunderstandings before everything was worked out. The author sets her story of love, faith and redemption against a picturesque background of rural England. Unfortunately the rules and morals of society were not a pretty as the setting and there were some that had to pay a very hefty price for taking their attraction to each other too far.I read the book in installment form and found it to be an engrossing story. Set in a small rural village called Hayslope, a love triangle develops between the beautiful but self-absorbed Hetty Sorrel, her suitor, the stalwart Adam Bede and the young squire who seduces her. To complicate the story further, we have Adam’s brother Seth, who loves Dinah Morris, Hetty’s cousin, a virtuous and beautiful Methodist lay preacher. Dinah does not wish to give up her preaching for Seth, but she does have feelings for his brother, Adam.I liked this story but was never overly fond of Adam or Dinah. My sympathies lay much more with the other characters and in particular, Hetty, who really had nowhere to turn and no one to help her. I found Dinah, with her holier-than-thou attitude, rather a cold fish. However, the author enhances the story with rich details, wonderful writing and a wide variety of characters making Adam Bede a very good reading experience.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Did not finish. Which surprised me as I've loved other Eliot novels such as Daniel Deronda and Middlemarch. This one completely failed to grab me.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    There's no doubt that George Eliot consistently produces a similar kind of heroine in all her books (at least those I've read). Dorothea Brooke; Maggie Tulliver; Mirah Lapidoth; and now Dinah Morris - all of them are filled with an inner vision of some Greater Good, and they spend their lives single-mindedly pursuing it. All of them are simple in manner and noble in ideals. All are blind to the sordidness of life and are filled instead with a bright light, which they tend to temporarily pass on to others around them. They all, when described like this, seem as if they'd be preachy, moral characters, highly distasteful to the modern idea of a heroine - the Victorian Martyr type. Probably there are in fact many readers today who do dislike them, but I would find such dislike hard to understand. There is something about George Eliot which I've tried to describe before, and which I love. It resonates with all the things I hold dear in life, but I can never properly put it into words. It's a kind of intelligent compassion, a relentless exploration of how people tick, but without mockery or meanness. It's a way of looking at why people do the things they do (often things that are automatically judged as wrong or stupid), and pulling out all the deep-hidden motives and meanings and bits of personality that went into that action, until it all makes sense. It's a truism that the more we know about a person, the harder it is to judge them. For me, George Eliot shows us that in everything she writes. The story of Adam Bede is a Victorian cliche - simple young country girl 'gets into trouble'. But Eliot removes the cliche-ness of it and makes us see everything with new eyes. Of course, the consequences of it all are hard to understand in the modern world - probably one reason Adam Bede is less well-known than her other books. The issue, so deadly serious then, is of course a pointless nothing in today's common Western society. But that doesn't change the effectiveness of the story, unless the reader is utterly incapable of entering into a set of values different from their own. The other heroine of this book is a very different one for Eliot to depict. It must have been difficult, I think, for Eliot to sympathetically portray a shallow young rustic beauty like Hetty Sorrell, with the instincts of a luxurious animal and no capacity for any real thought at all. But it's very well done indeed.Another lovely thing about this book is its sense of place. Such a luxuriant wallow, this book is, in rural England at its best. Such floods of sunshine, such golden harvest, such shady groves of old oaks on green turf, such rose gardens and wheat fields, such white pure dairies and such winding roads on green hills! And then, when winter comes, such bleakness and dampness and black ice on still ponds! It's worth reading just for all this. I must not forget the minor characters. Mrs Poyser is wonderfully good fun - shades of Dickens. Every sentence out of her mouth is a treasure. And poor sweet Seth Bede is well worth loving too (though many seem to disagree). They all live, every character, their separate, whole lives; even if a lot of it happens in the background. My only gripe would involve a spoiler, so I will dance around it in this review. I'm talking about Dinah's ultimate destiny. It seemed to lessen her character. I thought it was a pity.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Adam personifies goodness, but he's in love with the shallow, self-obsessed Hetty. She is only interested in the material luxuries that the ego-maniacal Arthur can give her. This unfortunate love triangle leads to a tragedy none had anticipated. Eliot has a perfect ear for dialect. Beautifully written and emotionally satisfying.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Six-word review: Love and passion rule humble hearts.Extended review:Intersecting and overlapping romantic triangles generate drama in a rural English village, where Adam Bede, a carpenter, carries a torch for pretty, vain Hetty Sorrel.In this novel as well as those that came later, George Eliot treats her characters--ordinary people, for the most part, in a rustic setting--with respect and compassion. Even mean and despicable characters benefit by her redemptive insight; she never shies away from folly or ill deeds, but she shows the humanity in them. She writes: "The way in which I have come to the conclusion that human nature is lovable--the way I have learnt something of its deep pathos, its sublime mysteries--has been by living a great deal among people more or less commonplace and vulgar." Strong emotions and complex inner states are by no means the province of the privileged classes.Although this first novel has several conspicuous flaws, Eliot's storytelling skills, her rendition of ordinary people, and her depiction of the bond between people and place give this work a spacious scope and a quality of deep reflection. As we share in her perceptions and revelations, we grow our own capacity for empathy and our sense that everyone has a story worth telling.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    George Eliot's Adam Bede lives in the charming rustic countryside and adheres to a stoic version of the Puritan work ethic. His world is disrupted by both the classic temptation of Eros in the form of the too beautiful Hetty and the dissenting spiritual views of the Methodist preacher Dinah Morris.The author controls the narrative and lectures the reader as the other characters, brother Seth, Arthur Donnithorne, the Poysers, and the Rector Irwine are intertwined in the the fates of young Hetty and Adam. The novel succeeds in conveying the bucolic charm of the place while almost convincing us of the inevitability of fate. Above all, the characters are interesting and believable. My favorite, the Rector Irwine is notable in his interest in the classics and his disdain of preaching. Hetty Sorrel, the narcissistic young girl is harder to believe or understand, but she certainly has the requisite beauty to catch the eye of the aristocratic young Arthur who lets his emotions hold sway over his reason (insufficiently developed to handle this battle). Rereading this early novel of Eliot suggests the potential that she would fulfill in her later work, particularly Middlemarch.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A dense delight of a novel, full of amusing witticisms and engaging language. The detail provided in the cause of moral realism is at times a bit too much--these parts can be skimmed without loss. Eliot's views on aesthetics (as voiced by the narrator, particularly in Ch. 17) well reward any serious thought the reader gives them. The heavy-handed plot manipulation to draw the characters together at the end is too forced, but the end can be ignored and the novel still stands up well. The women--Lisbeth and Mrs. Poyser especially--are memorably drawn.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Accurate rendering of English pastoral life, realistic irrevocable consequences of human actions and on moral growth and redemption through suffering. This edition includes good historical notes, a glossary of old English, and a reading group guide which I found very helpful.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Our title character is a good man and a simple one. He sees the world in black and white. Work hard, take care of your family, and you will lead a good life. He falls in love with an impetuous young woman named Hetty. Unfortunately, Hetty has fallen for the wealthy Captain Arthur Donnithorne, a man above her station, but one who is still susceptible to the young woman’s charms. I loved the character of Dinah. She could be perceived as a killjoy or prude, but she never cane across to me like that. She is Hetty’s cousin and is a Methodist preacher who travels the countryside serving in local communities. Keep in mind, this was at a time when it was unusual for a woman to travel about on her own, much less to serve as a leader in the church. She has a fierce strength and independence and doesn’t give into the pleas from her family to give up her calling. When she is asked about being a woman preacher, this is what she says…“When God makes His presence felt through us, we are like the burning bush: Moses never took any heed what sort of bush it was—he only saw the brightness of the Lord.” ****SPOILERS*****Dinah: When she does finally fall for Adam, she still doesn’t agree to marry until he declares that he will never stand in the way of her duties as a preacher and he fully supports her. I was a bit heartbroken from Adam’s brother Seth, since he’s the one who originally pursued Dinah. Hetty’s story is so heartbreaking. I can’t imagine feeling so hopeless and abandoned. In the midst of her panic about her pregnancy she didn’t trust anyone with her secret and so she was unwilling to look for other options. Even though her life was spared, her future was still going to be full of grief and guilt no matter what. SPOILERS OVERBOTTOM LINE: I loved it. It reminded me so much of Tess of the d’Urbervilles and The Return of the Native (both of which were published decades after this one). It’s an intense look at the desperation of one woman and the man who loved her. I appreciated the rich depth of characters like Dinah and Adam. I also liked that Arthur wasn't a one-note cad. He easily could have been, but instead we see the situation from his point of view as well. “What destroys us most effectively is not a malign fate but our own capacity for self-deception and for degrading our own best self.” “What greater thing is there for two human souls, than to feel that they are joined for life--to strengthen each other in all labor, to rest on each other in all sorrow, to minister to each other in all pain, to be one with each other in silent unspeakable memories at the moment of the last parting?”“Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds.”
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Adam was an upright character and his story was full of tragedy, although ended in triumph. "Love Conquers All" Dinah the godly Methodist (woman) preacher seemed an unlikely match at first, although one would assume they would end up together in the end. Because Eliot focused on her so strongly at the beginning of the book, I knew she would be a savior in some way. As Hettie took center stage, I began to think maybe the book should have been titled "The Runaway Bride." The trial of Hettie completely shocked me. I thought it was clever how Eliot kept the bastard child a secret from the reader, and I was floored when Hettie's secret was revealed. Her execution was heartbreaking, in spite of her crime. Dinah saved Hettie's soul with the prison visit and the comfort she brought, allowing Hettie to face the truth, giving her courage to ask her Lord for forgiveness. Although if Adam hadn't of confronted Arthur about the secret relationship he had with Hettie in the first place, her life might have been spared. She might have lived with her shame as a unwed mother, and maybe Arthur would have done the right thing. I thought the ending was bittersweet as Adam realized because of his love and sorrow with Hettie, he felt even stronger about his love for Dinah. Only Dinah with her holiness would have been able to know how badly Adam needed a new life, to forget the pain of his past. I'm glad she found her feelings for Adam were strong enough to forsake the life of a ‘nun.’ Adam and Dinah's love is deep to carry them through the pain of the past to a promising future.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Thank god for sparknotes. While I enjoy Eliot and liked the story presented here, god forbid my attention wandered for a moment, I found myself completely lost. This is another book I'll have to re-read at a later date to thoroughly appreciate since I believe I would have enjoyed it more had I paid closer attention the first time.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    So much I could say, but it's probably been said elsewhere by someone less sleepy. Totally compelling and thought-provoking themes of the relationship between intelligence and moral judgment, gender and power, and human nature. Also wonderfully rendered characters, extreme drama, and general awesomeness.

    Stylistically, it kept surprising me with the beauty of its prose, particularly its descriptions of the characters' inner lives. I also really, really enjoyed the northern English dialect, which is something, because usually dialect makes readers run away in fear. Generally I thought it did a superb job of portraying a small farm community without falling into pastoral cliche. Certain books entitled Tess of the D'Urbervilles had made me assume that I did not like pastoral novels, but in fact in turns out that I simply do not like annoying pastoral novels.

    Eliot's first full-length novel, and one of her best that I've read so far. If I was going to criticize it, I would say that the ending was too tidy, but everything did fit together with a pleasing logic. Also, all Dinah's religious speeches were a bit much, but considering that Eliot was agnostic, I don't think she was trying to be preachy.

    Of all her books I think I will look most forward to rereading this one.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Couldn't finish it, though I tried nobly. Dinah was a bore.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Having been a George Eliot fan for many years ('Middlemarch' is my favourite novel of all time) I have been far too long getting round to reading 'Adam Bede'. I'm not sure whether this is a neglected classic or simply neglected by me, though I have noticed there seem to be few TV or film adaptations, perhaps an indication of the book's relative obscurity.It certainly deserves to be better known and more often read. Though not without faults (it was, after all, Ms Eliot's first novel) it is for the most part rich in its descriptions, absorbing in its plot, and generally strong in its characterisation. It is a slight pity that the 'saints' (Adam Bede and Dinah Morris) are not so imaginatively drawn as the 'sinners' (Arthur Donnithorne and especially Hetty Sorrel) and therefore interest us less, but the same could be said of many undisputed classics - Tess of the D'Urbevilles, for example, featuring the insipid Angel Clare.In fact there are a number of strong parallels between this novel and 'Tess' which make me wonder if Hardy used George Eliot's work as a model for his own. Hetty, like Tess, is a pretty girl of the country labouring classes, seduced and left pregnant by a member of the local gentry. Both babies die in infancy. Both women are arrested, tried and committed to hang, though in Hetty's case there is a rather contrived 'deus ex machina' reprieve brought by her repentant seducer. Both novels are set in rural England and both present a large supporting cast of colourful countryfolk who provide vernacular comic relief. Both are moralistic works of their time, though Hardy's characteristic pessimism about the human lot runs counter to the early George Eliot's optimistic, overtly Christian outlook.I am not claiming for 'Adam Bede' superior provenance over 'Tess of the D'Urbevilles', much less as high a place in the unofficial league table of English literature, but I would hope readers will be stimulated by this review among others favourable to the novel and not wait as long as I did to read it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wow...what a read. What a classic. George Eliot has drawn characters here that will stick with you long after you have read the last page. The proud, honest, hard-working but also hot-tempered and unforgiving Adam Bede - the beautiful but vain and inexperienced Hetty Sorrel - the landlords grandson Arthur Donnithorne, who so easily deceives himself unable to fight temptation, and the merciful Methodist preacher Dinah Morris - and then - as a voice of experience -you have the kind and wise preacher and the I-will-tell-the-truth-no-matter-what Mrs. Poyser. Her "lectures" have a profound effect - not least when the landlord come to visit with another scheme. Well, it's the thought-life of the characters that I so enjoy - their struggles with faith, love, temptation, forgiveness, loss - Eliot has such a keen understanding of the human nature, it's flaws and strengths - and although an agnostic herself, Eliot has developed people of Christian faith with deep warmth, grace and honesty. It's remarkable. I like the way Adam will find his way of reconciling with God and other people - and the way Dinah have to learn to value the "earthly" aspect of the spiritual life. And how Arthur come to realise that he's not perfect after all. And Hetty.... Well, reader....you just have to find out for yourself about her.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I really enjoyed this book. In general, I love George Eliot’s writing, but sometimes with authors, their early stuff isn’t great and just makes you wish you were reading later works. However, this one was really good. The plot is involving and very suspenseful towards the end, but that’s not the reason to read this book. It’s for Eliot’s wonderful depiction of the community of Hayslope, her well-written character descriptions and the memorable asides on human nature in general. At first, the late 18th c dialogue can seem off-putting, but it gets easier soon on. It’s certainly no Joseph from Wuthering Heights, my all time standard for incomprehensible dialect.The main plot is essentially a love triangle between poor, upright Adam Bede, beautiful but shallow Hetty Sorrel and the spirited, generous, careless young squire, Arthur Donnithorne. Adam loves Hetty, but she’s more interested in the exciting and rich Arthur, who in turn finds his flirting with Hetty goes too far. There are some predictable and not-so-predictable twists and turns. Some of the plot points are rather convenient, and the suspense sags a bit after the climactic scenes. Again, however, not reading for plot.The character descriptions are superb, and no one can do justice to the story by saying it’s just a tragic love story. Eliot is able to build up the community of Hayslope by well-written extended and brief depictions of its inhabitants and various community events – a funeral, trial and Arthur’s extravagant birthday party. There are plenty of scenes that could be cut out if Eliot’s purpose was only to further the conflict between Adam, Arthur and Hetty. I always think of a great one where Hetty’s aunt tells off the imperious and despised landowner, Arthur’s grandfather, the present squire. Other important characters include Adam’s constantly worried mother, Lisbeth, his alcoholic father, his patient brother Seth, in love with Hetty’s cousin Dinah, a Methodist preacher, Hetty’s well-off aunt and uncle, the Poysers and the tolerant rector, Mr. Irwine. Eliot describes his mother – Women who are never bitter and resentful are often the most querulous; and if Solomon was as wise as he is reputed to be, I feel sure that when he compared a contentious woman to a continual dropping on a very rainy day, he had not a vixen in his eye—a fury with long nails, acrid and selfish. Depend upon it, he meant a good creature, who had no joy but in the happiness of the loved ones whom she contributed to make uncomfortable, putting by all the tid-bits for them and spending nothing on herself. Such a woman as Lisbeth, for example—at once patient and complaining, self-renouncing and exacting, brooding the livelong day over what happened yesterday and what is likely to happen to-morrow, and crying very readily both at the good and the evil.One of the minor character is Joshua Rann, the rather intolerant, unlikeable parish clerk and shoemaker. However, we get a brief glimpse at another side of him – But there was one reason why even a chance comer would have found the service in Hayslope Church more impressive than in most other village nooks in the kingdom—a reason of which I am sure you have not the slightest suspicion. It was the reading of our friend Joshua Rann. Where that good shoemaker got his notion of reading from remained a mystery even to his most intimate acquaintances. I believe, after all, he got it chiefly from Nature, who had poured some of her music into this honest conceited soul, as she had been known to do into other narrow souls before his. She had given him, at least, a fine bass voice and a musical ear; but I cannot positively say whether these alone had sufficed to inspire him with the rich chant in which he delivered the responses. The way he rolled from a rich deep forte into a melancholy cadence, subsiding, at the end of the last word, into a sort of faint resonance, like the lingering vibrations of a fine violoncello, I can compare to nothing for its strong calm melancholy but the rush and cadence of the wind among the autumn boughs. This may seem a strange mode of speaking about the reading of a parish clerk—a man in rusty spectacles, with stubbly hair, a large occiput, and a prominent crown. But that is Nature's way: she will allow a gentleman of splendid physiognomy and poetic aspirations to sing woefully out of tune, and not give him the slightest hint of it; and takes care that some narrow-browed fellow, trolling a ballad in the corner of a pot-house, shall be as true to his intervals as a bird.Even the secondary characters are important, as Eliot notes herself while describing Rev. Irwine’s sisters – the Miss Irwines were quite superfluous existences—inartistic figures crowding the canvas of life without adequate effect…Nevertheless, to speak paradoxically, the existence of insignificant people has very important consequences in the world. It can be shown to affect the price of bread and the rate of wages, to call forth many evil tempers from the selfish and many heroisms from the sympathetic, and, in other ways, to play no small part in the tragedy of life. And if that handsome, generous-blooded clergyman, the Rev. Adolphus Irwine, had not had these two hopelessly maiden sisters, his lot would have been shaped quite differently…As it was—having with all his three livings no more than seven hundred a-year, and seeing no way of keeping his splendid mother and his sickly sister, not to reckon a second sister, who was usually spoken of without any adjective, in such ladylike ease as became their birth and habits, and at the same time providing for a family of his own—he remained, you see, at the age of eight-and-forty, a bachelor, not making any merit of that renunciation, but saying laughingly, if any one alluded to it, that he made it an excuse for many indulgences which a wife would never have allowed him. And perhaps he was the only person in the world who did not think his sisters uninteresting and superfluous; for his was one of those large-hearted, sweet-blooded natures that never know a narrow or a grudging thought; Epicurean, if you will, with no enthusiasm, no self-scourging sense of duty; but yet, as you have seen, of a sufficiently subtle moral fibre to have an unwearying tenderness for obscure and monotonous suffering. Eliot is also skilled at depicting the psychological state, especially in Arthur and Adam. Adam, though upright and honest, cannot help feeling guilt about his treatment of his father, however much deserved it was. He’s also easily deceived by Hetty, mistaking her feelings for Arthur as signs of affection towards himself, and misinterpreting her petty nature and competitive flirtation to make another girl – who does love him – jealous. Arthur is essentially the villain of the plot, but he’s much more sympathetic than your usual seducer, rake, snobbishly entitled noble. The author shows his many good resolutions, evasions and slight delusions in his relationship with Hetty – nothing will go wrong, it’s not serious, but if something does happen, then it can always be repaired. He certainly does want to be generous and all the villagers in Hayslope contrast him favorably to his stingy grandfather and look forward to the day when he inherits everything. Arthur has many good qualities, but quickly become a liar and hypocrite. He’s sympathetically depicted, so it’s more like you want to smack him for his bad judgment than wish for bad things to happen to him.So highly recommended, for the wonderful prose, characters, descriptions.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A nice piece of fiction set in Napoleonic era Britain. It is a classic for a reason, with a well written story and well done characters. It does tend to reflect Victorian values, but then George Eliot was Victorian.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    George Eliot published Adam Bede, her first novel, in 1859 to great acclaim. This richly detailed novel tells the story of Adam, a carpenter, and his love for Hetty Sorrel, a vain young woman who falls in love with the local gentleman, Captain Arthur Donnithorne. Using this love triangle as her foundation, Eliot painstakingly illustrates the intricacies of rural life at the turn of the eighteenth century.The characters in George Eliot’s Adam Bede exist along a continuum of human weakness. From Hetty and Arthur, who give in too easily to their illicit passion, to Adam’s mother Lisbeth, whose temperament warps an otherwise honest character, all the way to Dinah, a pinnacle of correct behavior and Christian compassion.Adam is situated toward the upper end of that continuum. He is a stoic and honest man, with good intentions and sincere passions. He is a hard worker and trustworthy, respected among his peers and even admired by the small town’s gentry. But Eliot does not give her reader an unflawed hero. Adam is proud and severe in his judgment of others. He is also blind to the failings of the woman he loves. This ultimate but innocent fault will nearly cost him his happiness when the truth of all that has occurred between Hetty and Arthur finally comes to light.Despite its pastoral setting and overall bucolic tone, there is a serious scandal at the heart of the novel. Eliot’s frank, forthright treatment of Arthur and Hetty’s love affair, and its ensuing complications, turn this seemingly quiet novel into a careful investigation of morality and human limitations.Eliot’s real skill lies in portraying the rural setting as well as each of her characters with as much detail as possible. This makes for a layered novel, filled with a number of multifaceted moral dilemmas: Will Dinah consent to marry Adam’s brother Seth, even though she feels called to continue her ministry? Will Adam eventually understand Hetty’s true character? How will Adam negotiate his long-standing friendship with Arthur after the scandal is revealed?Adam Bede is read less often than Eliot’s purported masterpiece Middlemarch and for good reason. Although a highly accomplished first novel and a rewarding and entertaining read, Adam Bede does contain a certain number of conspicuous flaws. The structure for instance, lacks a certain shape and economy. Eliot takes some time to get her plot moving and there are even a few chapters which appear to be superfluous. These small failings, however, only indicate how accomplished Eliot already was at the time she published Adam Bede and provide a wonderful discussion base for her later novels.George Eliot’s Adam Bede is a deeply psychological work which delves into the darker corners of human weakness using the complex realities of love, friendship, sorrow and forgiveness to paint its splendid portrait.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I love, love, love this book - the morality of the story, the characters' honesty and Eliot's compassion for them. It just emanates goodness. It's not a difficult read but it's on the slow side. Still, it's well worth the effort.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I don't think George Eliot will ever disappoint me. This was her first novel so it isn't Middlemarch or Silas Marner, but still wonderful nonetheless. The dialect takes a little getting used to and some of it is impossible to understand, but that is her point since the characters talk about the accents of different villagers they have trouble conversing with. I wish I hadn't read the librarything tags because I don't think I would have foreseen Hatty's actions. Eliot must have pushed the boundaries with her descriptions of Hatty's and Arthur's affair. Although, I connected with many characters, there were way too many villagers that would pop in and out. Unlike her other novels they weren't developed enough for me to remember each character. And by the last 30 pages there really isn't any reason to introduce new villagers just to show english life that was already established throughout the novel.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Eliot in many ways defined the Vicotiran novel thorugh Adam Bede. The story, which takes place in 1799 (i.e. the very beginning of the Romantic age, as compared to the Victorian age in which she was writing the book), takes characters who would have been called heroes by the Romantic writers of the earlier half of the century, and judges them against Eliot's hero, Adam Bede, who defines Victorian morality. Characters like Hetty and Arthur, who fit the guidelines of Byronic heroes, are unable to live up to the strictures of Victorian morality. Through this conflict, Eliot was able to define those characteristics that a Victorian hero should have: control over passion, faith in religion, a strong personal moral code, and a sense of the expectations of his community.That being said, the truly fantastic elements of this novel lie in the rich description of the community and the minor characters that effect the lives of the central triangle. Like (almost) all VIctorian novels, the plot ends with a marriage and a death, and each character is somehow involved or affected by these events.It's been eight years since I read this book (12th grade English), and though many of the smaller details have escaped me, I remember the story well, and remember how reading it affected me. Few books from my high school years really stuck with me, so I have to say that the fact Adam Bede managed to insert itself into my psyche is pretty significant.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I believe this may be the most beautiful book I have ever read. I felt both uplifted and emotionally drained when I finished. The tragedy and the great beauty of George Eliot's writing! I didn't read this edition, mine was much older, but the introduction of my edition quoted Charles Dickens as saying that reading Adam Bede was an epoch in his life, and Alexandre Dumas called it the masterpiece of the century. I'm happy to agree with them. Most people say that Middlemarch is George Eliot's masterpiece. That was tragic and beautiful as well, but I was so much more drawn into the character's of Adam Bede. I loved them all (even Hetty) because even though they may have made bad choices, we were allowed to see things from their perspective and gain an understanding of why they did what they did. I love that about George Eliot. Dickens' characters sometimes seem almost like caricatures because they are either so good or so evil. I appreciate the humanity of Eliot. In fact, I understood Arthur Donnithorne all too well. He so wants to be a good person and have people think well of him, and yet he is weak when it really matters. This is a silly analogy, but I decided to make chocolate chip cookies one day while reading Adam Bede. I knew I really shouldn't because I would eat too many and not be able to stop, but when it came to the point I made them anyway and ate too many. I realized how like Arthur that was! He knew he shouldn't be doing what he was doing, and he talked himself out of it many times, but when it came to the point he still did it.It's interesting that although George Eliot personally seemed to have issues with the religion of her day, she can talk about religion so beautifully in her books. (I realize I have used the word "beautiful" way too many times, but oh if you read it, you will understand.) The year the story takes place is 1799, but the year it was published was (I believe) 1856. There was a lot of religious fervor going on at that time. People were searching and wanting to do what was right, and were dissatisfied with the nation's religion, even though there were many good and wonderful members of the clergy. Who could not love Mr. Irwine? And yet Dinah believed in so much more. I had ancestors in England around that time period who I believe felt the same way, and that's why they were so open to hear of the restoration of the gospel from the Mormon missionaries who were sent there.Mrs. Poyser was an absolute gem! I loved that she was able to tell off the Squire and hold her own with the woman-hating Mr. Massey (I wanted to tell him off, too - I wish we could have heard why he hated women so much.). I was grateful that George Eliot put in an epilogue so we could see what happened to the characters who were missing at the end of the book. This is an amazing book - everyone should read it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    One of my favourite books of all time.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Finely captured snapshot of rural life in England. More believable characters than other Victorian fiction.Read Mar 2007
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    George Eliot (aka Marian Evans) was so far ahead of her contemporaries. Her realist novels read as if they had been written a hundred years later. Of course, she skirts around some of the more difficult subjects in Adam Bede: the relations between Hetty and Arthur are only hinted at, and the murder of the child is related after the fact.But her characterizations are so much more realistic than anything that Dickens produced it is hard to even draw a comparison. Pip seems a caricature next to Adam Bede. And all of Dickens' female characters lack the depth of a Hetty or even a Mrs. Poyser from Adam Bede.An excellent novel, well worth reading again and again.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Credit must be given to George Eliot: she got the dialect of rural England so precisely - it's as if she grew up among the villagers there! She is equally good at pinpointing the sensitivities of bucolic mind and behavior of the peasant population of that era, late 1700s - early 1800s. Her description of rural landscape is vivid and idyllic.But BECAUSE of this adherence to the dialect in dialogues (with countless apostrophes and letter omissions and intentionally irregular grammar of illiterate peasant folk) it was so much harder to read, it was like a stumbling block throughout. About 70 % of the dialogue, I would say, was in dialect. True, the narrative part and dialogue between the educated people (the rector, the young squire and such) was in correct English, but the distraction of the dialect was still distracting.As for the plot - there is a religious theme (with a virtuous and angel-like Dinah, the Methodist preacher), and a tragic life drama, and a lot of moral dilemmas facing the main characters, with the help of the author's stepping in for a chat with the reader at times.I was taken by some insights the author offers, and I can't help but have a few quotes here (for they certainly ring a bell):In one she describes a mother (who is usually very abrupt) dealing with a child "...the mother, with that wondrous patience which love gives to the quickest temperament...".Then a few more:"The vainest woman is never thoroughly conscious of her own beauty till she is loved by the man who sets her own passion vibrating in return"."Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds....""And so Adam went to bed comforted, having woven for himself an ingenious web of probabilities - the surest screen a wise man can place between himself and the truth.""In bed our yesterdays are too oppressive: if a man can only get up, though it be but for a whistle of a smoke, he has a present that offers some resistance to the past - sensations which assert themselves against tyrannous memories ".(I think I should have started my George Eliot reading with "Middlemarch", and I will definitely get to that one...).