الفهرس 
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Abstract
The thesis examines the concept of the quest in relation
to the novels of George Eliot (1819-1880), Mary Anne Evans
at birth. The quest is an attempt to change the status quo and
achieve an aim, which entails a challenge of the prevailing
norms.
The thesis consists of a preface, an introduction, three
chapters, and a conclusion.
The “preface” presents George Eliot’s background in
the English Midlands, the influence of the different religious
and philosophical debates on her, her own quest to pursue an
independent career, her journalistic success as a reviewer and
an editor in London, her defiance of the codes of the Victorian
society, and her intellectual and literary accomplishments.
The introduction “Victorian England” studies the main
conflicts and changes that prevailed during the Victorian age;
mainly the change from an agricultural to an industrial
country, the conflict between science and faith, the religious
dispute of the conforming and non-conforming sects, political
reform, and the women’s movement. At that time the novel
was the dominant literary genre. The introduction also places
George Eliot among her contemporaries, namely the two
female novelists, Elizabeth Gaskell and Charlotte Bronte.
Chapter I, “Quest for Self-Autonomy” deals with
different female characters’ quest for emancipation. In Scenes
of Clerical Life (1858), a collection of three spacially related
tales, Eliot portrays the religious life at that time. In “Janet’s
Repentance” she depicts Janet Dempster who could once more
regain control over her life. In Adam Bede (1859) Dinah
Morris defies traditional society in her vocation as a Methodist
preacher, Mrs. Poyser defends her family and farm against the
landlord’s exploitation, in contrast to Hetty Sorrell, the selfseeking
woman who aspires for personal benefit. whereas
Adam Bede and Silas Marner (1861) represent the preindustrial
country life, The Mill on The Floss (1860) is located
in an urban setting. Maggie Tulliver, as a town girl, seeks
education and independence and faces the obstacles that
society imposes on her in order to assert her self in a genderbiased
society.
Chapter II, “Quest for Perfection”, tackles the quest of
both idealistic and egoistic females for perfection in the other
three novels Romola (1863), Middlemarch (1872), and Daniel
Deronda (1876). In her quest for perfection, Romola faces two
disillusionments in her husband, Tito, and the trusted guide,
friar Savonarola. In Middlemarch, (1872) Dorothea is another
idealist who aims at being a social reformer and a learned
woman, but is restricted by her society. In Daniel Deronda,
Gwendolen Harleth is self-centered and over-conscious of her
beauty. Thus, she is often likened to Rosamond Vincy in
Middlemarch, but whereas Rosamond remains the same until
the end Gwendolen is capable of moral development.
Chapter III, “Male Characters’ Quest” examines the
male characters in the seven novels. In the patriarchal
Victorian society whereas women were fettered by strict social
codes, men had the freedom to act. Therefore men’s quests
were mainly materialistic, political, and in rare cases scientific.
Whether village labourers, country gentlemen, town citizens
including doctors, fake thinkers, lovers, and husbands are all
examined along with the different stages of these characters’
lives and quests. The chapter also explores the male/female
relationship from the male standpoint to represent the other
point of view.
The “Conclusion”, is an account of the issues raised and
discussed in the thesis assessing George Eliot’s ideas.