George Eliot's Humans and Animals
Title
George Eliot's Humans and Animals
Description
In the first paragraph of Silas Marner (1861) the shepherd’s dog barks fiercely when
a linen weaver appears ‘on the upland, dark against the early winter sunset’ (3). The
scene encapsulates aspects of the animal/human relationship: the shepherd has his
trusted working dog; that dog barks at unfamiliar figures in the dusk; the narrator
brings the reader into a community that knows about dogs by asking: ‘for what dog
likes a figure bent under a heavy bag?’ (3).
a linen weaver appears ‘on the upland, dark against the early winter sunset’ (3). The
scene encapsulates aspects of the animal/human relationship: the shepherd has his
trusted working dog; that dog barks at unfamiliar figures in the dusk; the narrator
brings the reader into a community that knows about dogs by asking: ‘for what dog
likes a figure bent under a heavy bag?’ (3).
Creator
Nancy Henry
Source
Henry, Nancy. "George Eliot's Humans and Animals." George Eliot Review, vol. 51, 2020, pp. 41-54. George Eliot Review Online, https://GeorgeEliotReview.org
Publisher
George Eliot Review Online, https://GeorgeEliotReview.org
Date
2020
Rights
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Document Viewer
Collection
Citation
Nancy Henry, “George Eliot's Humans and Animals,” George Eliot Review Online, accessed May 13, 2021, https://georgeeliotreview.org/items/show/946.