British society

A detailed Summary of British society

The nineteenth (19th) century was a period of great change and accompanying social unrest in the British Isles. Most outstanding among the changes was the industrial revolution. As everything in life, it brought good, but it also brought evil. The industrial revolution combined with the expansion of the British Empire made the United Kingdom, the richest and most powerful country in the world. Some of the islanders became unbelievably wealthy, but others, unfortunately, became unbelievably poor. Writers from this historical period cognizant of the human suffering, became social critics of what was taking place in England, of how the rich and powerful became more oppressive than before and how the very poor, were evenly more oppressed. Among these writers were Charles Dickens and George Eliot. In his novel, Felix Holt the Radical, Eliot (nee Mary Anne Evans) describes graphically the conflict and battle between these two groups.

In the novel, Eliot portrayed British society as having two types of people, the oppressors, who were the landowners who had the ability to vote and serve in government and then there the oppressed, who are the back breaking workers. The factory workers and miners (the oppressed) were denied bas

I believe that the fact that the author, George Eliot is a woman is a significant factor to this novel. Eliot clearly shows that during this time that women were not considered important in the eyes of men. Their main duty was to produce an heir. However, the women during this time did have capable minds with their own thoughts and ideas, for example, Mrs. Transome, Harold's mother. She was able to run the estate in the absence of her son but when he returned, he treated her as an invalid. Women are forced by society to depend on men, as it was the case for Mrs. Holt, Felix's mother. Felix Holt would not allow his mother to sell her homemade remedies for illnesses but she has no one to depend on when he is thrown into prison. Eliot depicts a life of unhappiness and misery for the most women in this novel. Mrs. Transome is a woman suffering with anguish and pure hatred for her son that leaves her to be a bitter woman.

If left to themselves, these workers would have never conceived the idea to rally against their oppressors. A strong influence was needed, a catalytic agent, in order to instill in them the idea that change was needed and rising against the leaders of society their oppressors would bring about the best results. The outcome of Mr. Johnson's speech resulted in a very short-lived revolt with much chaos. The day of the election saw upset drunken workers who wanted the blood of those who put them in their sorry state. Their demonstration consisted initially of their anger by throwing vegetables at the people eligible to vote and at store windows (p. 264). The people in the mob, however, grew even more hostile. The mob decided to inflict some pain on Spratt whom was a Sproxton man who did not support the radical movement Spratt was found in the Seven Stars, a well known establishment known for supporting the Troy political side. They invaded the inn in which he was staying and dragged him out into the streets kicking and screaming. The mob taunted him in order to see how much they could frighten him before they really hurt him. They continued their rampage until thy reached the town's center (Treby Manor) where they invaded the manor and proceeded to destroy whatever they could. The mob was destructive and out of control that the military was called in to put a stop to them. As a result of such rash actions by the mob, three people died, many of innocent people were wounded and there were damages to property and businesses, (p 281). Tragically, one of the men who died was Tommy Transome, which means that the estate would pass to Esther Baycliff, legal heir to the Transome estate.

The intentions of the characters in the novel, then, are based on innocence and mistaken motives, not on malice, therefore, they are capable of redemption.

As presented by the author in this book it appears to be a fact that popular movements actually under way are foolish and inadequate, and that the only wise course is dissociation from them. Eliot presents as evidence for this philosophy, the fact that Felix ended up spending four years of his life in prison even though he had not done anything wrong. It would have served him better and prevented hardship, had he not been associated with it. The movement also created problems for Harold with Jeremy who was blackmailing him with potentially damaging information. The movement brought about the tension between Harold and who turned out to be his father, Jermyn. Further, it created conflict between Harold and his mother to the point where she ends up wishing that, "he had never

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Approximate Word count = 2405
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History