We all love a good hero story. They supply us with inspiration and hope. Many follow a typical narrative structure that we have become familiar with. An individual, against all odds, overcomes immense trials and tribulations to achieve their goal. From ‘rags to riches’ stories to the spectacular feats performed by our favourite superheroes, these tales continue to be pervasive in our culture.
But what about the ordinary? Those who gracefully perform small acts of goodness collectively transform the world we live in.
It was a quote at the beginning of the film A Hidden Life that captivated my interest and persuaded me to dive into the novel Middlemarch by George Eliot. [1]
The growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.
The book follows the interconnected lives of characters experiencing the challenges, ambitions and societal expectations in a small rural town (Middlemarch) in the 19th century.
What drew me to the book was not the storyline per say, but rather the extensive time and effort spent on character development. George Elliot allows the reader to intimately view the psychology and thought process of many of the main characters in the story. These inner deliberations provide insight into their decisions which ultimately shape the course of their lives.
The Beauty of Ordinary Life
Middlemarch’s main protagonist Dorothea Brooks does not perform any grand feats throughout the book. Rather her virtue is exemplified in small cumulative acts of generosity.
Yes, like any human being, she makes errors of judgement. Her naïve idealism leads her to neglect the advice of others and results in the disastrous marriage to Mr. Casaubon. However, as the novel progresses, Dorothea demonstrates maturity and her depth of character learning from the many challenges she overcomes throughout her life.
Dorothea doesn’t leave her ‘mark on the world’ as many readers would have hoped for. Nonetheless, her acts of selflessness and courage help transform the lives of others. This is evident in her resolve to help the repair the marriage of her friend Lydgate when he is ostracized from society by false accusations of bribery.
Middlemarch reminds us that the real heroes are not only the individuals we see praised in the history books or tabloids. They are everyday ordinary people who inspire us with their grace, empathy and affection. In an interconnected world, our small insignificant actions end up having a greater impact than we may intend.
Our individual moral choices that we make day in and day out do indeed matter. Their consequences not only affect the lives of our friends and family, but spread like ripples throughout out broader communities.
Sympathy
If art does not enlarge men’s sympathies, it does nothing morally
George Eliot
I have written before that the beauty of great literature is that is enables the reader to glimpse into the mind of another, and open oneself up to broader perspectives.
It is far too easy to be critical and judgmental on people or circumstances that we do not fully understand. Moreover, while we often can offer sound advice to others, we never can fully appreciate how we would have acted if we really stepped into someone else’s shoes.
The narrator in Middlemarch enables the reader to step back and look at the seemingly rash or foolish decisions in a new light.
Take for instance the many personal disappointments and professional shortcomings of Mr. Casaubon. Examining his life based on his external achievements, he is judged by society as a failure. His wife Dorothea comes to the realization that he is not the man she once thought he was. The project he devotes his life to writing, The Key to All Mythologies, is ultimately unsuccessful and incomplete by the time of his death.
However, the narrator advises the reader to look at his faults from a different vantage point , where the reader can understand the workings of his psyche and have compassion for his shortcomings.
In spite of the blinking eyes and white moles objectionable to Celia, and the want of muscular curve which was morally painful to Sir James, Mr. Casaubon had an intense consciousness within him, and was spiritually a-hungered like the rest of us
The narrator continues to plead for sympathy,
For my part I am very sorry for him. It is an uneasy lot at best, to be what we call highly taught and yet not to enjoy: to be present at this great spectacle of life and never to be liberated from a small hungry shivering self– never to be fully possessed by the glory we behold, never to have our consciousness rapturously transformed into the vividness of a thought, the ardor of a passion, the energy of an action, but always to be scholarly and uninspired, ambitious and timid, scrupulous and dim-sighted
Conclusion
After three monthsand almost 900 pages later, I finally finished Middlemarch. While it was indeed a lengthy book, and at times the plot moved at a slow pace, the witty and charismatic writing of George Eliot kept me engaged throughout the novel.
Through its focus on viewing events from a myriad of different perspectives, Middlemarch encourages you to move beyond your narrow egocentric world view.
While the actions of certain characters in the novel may seem reprehensible, Eliot persuades the reader look more closely at the circumstances they find themselves in to evaluate the complexities of their inner life.
Middlemarch reminds us that the world can also use a bit more sympathy.
In this series on education, I’ve been arguing that the education system should aim to nourish one’s unique gifts and work towards cultivating the person as a whole. Of course, it is important to develop practical and marketable skills that enable one to navigate the job market. However, viewing education merely from this narrow reductionist lens of marketability misses the broader picture. As I’ve noted in my article on the German concept of Bildung, education is also about building moral character, and developing the virtues necessary for a well functioning society. Moreover, education can allow us to experiment with different ideas and ways of being, leading to richer more meaningful lives.
In this article, I want to look at the ideas of the philosopher, poet and naturalist Ralph Waldo Emerson. In his essay entitled ‘The American Scholar’, Emerson delivers a commencement speech to a group of young graduates reflecting on the value and objective of the life of a scholar.
Authenticity and Creation
Each age, it is found, must write its own books; or rather, each generation for the next succeeding
We are all born into a particular place and time period. For the most part, our thoughts, ideas and belief systems stem from the culture that we grew up in.
How often do we exercise our ability for self reflection and critical thinking to challenge the conventional wisdom or dominant ways of life in our society?
For Emerson, while the student must learn from the wisdom of the past, they must not be bound by it. Education must aim to inspire an individual to create. Emerson claims that the student must find their own authentic voice rather than dogmatically imitate the teachings of their predecessors. He writes,
The book, the college, the school of art, the institution of any kind, stop with some past utterance of genius. This is good, say they,—let us hold by this. They pin me down. They look backward and not forward. But genius always looks forward. ….. Man hopes. Genius creates. To create,—to create,—is the proof of a divine presence.
The greatest thinkers of the past were those who challenged the views of the masses. They were initially dismissed and scorned for their unconventional views. However, it was only in retrospect where we came to appreciate the true genius of these individuals.
Great thinkers like Socrates provoked the uncritical views held by many of the prominent Athenians in Ancient Greece. He counselled others to make time for self-reflection, and most importantly to think for oneself. Credited as the founder of Western philosophy, Socrates was adamant in abiding by his ideals and values even in the face of death.
A Life of Action
Emerson was critical of the scholars who hide themselves away under books in the proverbial ‘ivory tower.’ The life of a scholar is the life of action. Action enables one to put into practice what they preach.
It is easy to criticize others and the systems we live in, without taking concrete steps to change your behaviour.
Action is the conduit between intellectual theories and the inner workings of the world. Discussing the importance of living a life in accordance with one’s values, Emerson reflects on the value of engaging in meaningful action to make your mark in the world.
Without it thought can never ripen into truth. Whilst the world hangs before the eye as a cloud of beauty, we cannot even see its beauty. Inaction is cowardice, but there can be no scholar without the heroic mind. The preamble of thought, the transition through which it passes from the unconscious to the conscious, is action. Only so much do I know, as I have lived. Instantly we know whose words are loaded with life, and whose not.
It is only through leaving the sheltered world of academia, and venturing out into the world where we gain access to ample raw materials to further nourish our creativity and authentic character.
Conclusion
Emerson, known as one of proponents of the transcendentalist movement, claimed that we ought to look to Nature for insight into our proper place in the world. After all we human beings are apart of Nature, not separate. Through studying the vast intricacies of Nature, we begin to become aware of the vast connections of our world.
We see the linkages between different subjects, and begin to appreciate the role that each of the parts play in the whole. Human beings are not merely individualistic entities striving for self-interest. Rather their actions affect and are affected by the broader systems and ecosystems they are embedded in.
While it is useful for the education system to divide up knowledge into different disciplines creating different experts and specialists, we must never forget the bigger picture- that is how everything is deeply interconnected.
Our lives are intertwined, entangled like waves merging in the ocean. We see ourselves in others, in the world around us. The physical appearance of our parents, the traditions of our culture and unique intricacies of our closest friends all leave their mark on who we are, and who we become.
The ‘I’, our ego, is porous and unbound. It is elusive and cannot be contained, like grains of sand peering through your fingers on the beach. The self is dynamic and evolving as we both shape and are shaped by our environment. To be human is to be nested in a world of finitude and transience. Aware of the fleeting nature of our existence, we eagerly try to find order and balance in a world that is constantly changing.
These are some of the themes that Virginia Woolf beautifully explores in her book The Waves. The book details the coming of age of six characters looking at their lives as they transition from childhood friends to adults collectively experiencing love, loss and friendship.
Those looking for a straightforward narrative, with an event packed plot will be disappointed. The Waves reads more as interwoven soliloquies focusing on the characters internal dialogues. We get a glimpse into the nuances and complexities of the human psyche.
What events and life experiences shape who someone is, and what they become?
How do we make meaning in a seemingly vast and chaotic world?
How do our relationships with others shape our character?
Let’s look at some of the key themes of the book.
Human Subjectivity
‘I see a ring,’ said Bernard, ‘hanging above me. It quivers and hangs in a loop of light.’ ‘I see a slab of pale yellow,’ said Susan, ‘spreading away until it meets a purple stripe.’ ‘I hear a sound,’ said Rhoda, ‘cheep, chirp; cheep chirp; going up and down. ’‘I see a globe,’ said Neville, ‘hanging down in a drop against the enormous flanks of some hill.’
In The Waves events are distilled through the thoughts and inner perceptions of each of the six characters. They each see and interpret the world through their own unique lenses. For instance, each of the characters responds to grief differently as we see in the aftermath of death of their friend Percival.
The reader is exposed to the constant tension between the differences between our perceptions and reality. We see the disconnect in how we want to be perceived in the world, and how we are actually viewed by others. In our day-to-day life we may be quick to judge others, but rarely have a window into the internal struggles each individual is facing.
Through her breathtaking prose and poetic passages scattered throughout the book, Virginia Woolf provides us with a microscope into the mind of the other.
The Self
And now I ask, ‘Who am I?’ I have been talking of Bernard, Neville, Jinny, Susan, Rhoda, and Louis. Am I all of them? Am I one and distinct? I do not know. We sat here together. But now Percival is dead and Rhoda is dead; we are divided; we are not here. Yet I cannot find any obstacle separating us. There is no division between me and them. As I talked I felt, ‘I am you.’ This difference we make so much of, this identity we so feverishly cherish, was overcome
Throughout the book we see several of the characters acknowledge the fluidity of the self. Each character leaves an imprint, a mark, on the other.
The individual doesn’t exist independently, but rather is the sum of their collective experiences with the other characters. Like branches stemming from a tree, each of the six friends exhibit their own unique personality types, but are joined by a common root. The shared events and circumstances which shape their lives determines who they are, and who they will become.
Time
The waves broke and spread their waters swiftly over the shore. One after another they massed themselves and fell; the spray tossed itself back with the energy of their fall. The waves were steeped deep-blue save for a pattern of diamond-pointed light on their backs which rippled as the backs of great horses ripple with muscles as they move. The waves fell; withdrew and fell again, like the thud of a great beast stamping
Each chapter begins with a poetic description of the sun as it shifts from sunrise to sunset throughout the course of the book. These interludes symbolize the passing of time and the degree of impermanence which we are bound to as human beings. The motif of the waves crashing against the seashore points to this tension of death and renewal, between permanence and impermanence. As each wave moves towards the shore it will reach its end of the cycle, whereas others will begin anew.
We know intuitively that we are finite beings whose days living on this planet are numbered, however we rarely confront this fact directly in our day to day lives. We see each of the characters deal with the fleeting nature of time in their own unique ways. Some characters embody the attitude of embracing each moment, while others try to achieve a degree of permanence and legacy through the creation of art.
All of these life projects are an attempt to forge order out of chaos, to find meaning in an indifferent universe.
Final Thoughts
Although it did take me some time to get used to Woolf’s style of writing, I was taken in by the beauty and elegance of her prose. The Waves reads almost like an extended poem rather than a novel. Woolf gives us a preview of something we are not exposed to in our day to day lives. That is, the inner dialogues, perceptions and internal thoughts that run through our minds.
Exposing the reader to the dynamics of human subjectivity, The Waves compels us towards greater empathy and compassion for our fellow human beings. If only we knew what others were feeling and thinking, perhaps we would treat them differently, with more kindness and with less judgement.
The Waves is one of those books that you can turn to at different stages in life and each time you pick it up will evoke a different emotional response.
Its presence in my room reminds me of the transitory nature of my life calling me to cherish each and every moment as I briefly remember the ephemerality of my time here on earth.
A Life of Virtue: Philosophy as a Way of Life 