Perhaps the tragedy of disappointed youth and passion is less piteous than the tragedy of disappointed age and worldliness. Latimer is more miserable as an adult than he was during his youth and childhood. In his youth he was practically shunned by his father, eclipsed by his brother, and unsure of his importance and place in the world. Phrenology was developed by Franz Joseph Gall who believed that the brain could be sectioned off into 27 portions each representing a distinct characteristic or ability in a person.
He believed each person had unique strengths and weaknesses and that a person's skull could be examined in order to assess which attributes were larger and therefore stronger or smaller and therefore weaker in a person's character. Eliot swore off religion at an early age and quickly began making connections in the scientific world and was deeply influenced by popular science. Letherall was a large man in spectacles, who one day took my small head between his large hands, and pressed it here and there in an exploratory, suspicious manner - then placed each of his great thumbs on my temples, and pushed me a little way from him, and stared at me with glittering spectacles" 6.
The first documented successful blood transfusion from one human to another occurred in under the hand of James Blundell. Blundell was an obstetrician who had spent years trying to find a cure for the postpartum hemorrhaging from which many of his patients died.
He would take blood from a husband and using a syringe would inject it into the wife. Many doctors searched for more effective ways to transfuse blood but blood types had not yet been discovered.
Blundell successfully transfused blood several times over the course of his career. These revolutionary medical advancements had a great impact on the literature of the time - most notably Bram Stoker's horror story, Dracula. See a picture of Blundell's invention - the impellor - below in the image gallery.
I could see the wondrous slow return of life; the breast began to heave, the inspiration became strong, the eyelids quivered , and the soul seemed to have returned beneath them" What could Eliot have meant by depicting re-animation in this way? The Victorian Era is known for it's repressive views of sexuality. Masturbation was considered to be extremely dangerous for one's psychological well being and it was believed that engaging in it would lead to monomania, warped perception and severe psychological and physical damage.
Although it is never explicitly alluded to in the text it has been argued that Eliot was making a social statement about the dangers of onanism in this short story. Latimer's singular obsession with Bertha combined with his quickly dissolving health and mental stability could be interpreted as a warning of the curse that comes from engaging in this dangerous act. At one point in the story Latimer falls under the spell of a portrait he views while in Vienna. After staring at this portrait he feels, "a strange poisoned sensation, as if [he] had long been inhaling a fatal odour, and was just beginning to be conscious of its effects" The painting which was then believed to be by 15th century Italian painter Giorgione shares a striking similarity to many other Renaissance depictions of the infamous Lucrezia Borgia.
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Lucrezia was the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI and known for her beauty and sexuality. As a symbol of sexual desire and female seduction in her time, Lucrezia's inclusion in Eliot's story was certainly intentional. Soon after Latimer sees the painting he has a vision of Bertha as his wife in the future and describes her as having "cruel eyes, with green jewels and green leaves on her white ball-dress" 19 - quite similar to the portrait referenced in the story.
This intensifies the themes of sexuality, gender and lust that are so prevalent in this short story. Eliot's views of sexuality and gender can be interpreted in many different ways. See further reading listed below. The woman depicted in the painting is also still unverified.
What is the “Lifted Veil”?
George Eliot was born as Mary Ann e Evans. Born in Chilvers Colton, Warwickshire, on November 22, , Eliot was brought up with a strong evangelical piety, she attended the Holy Trinity Church with her father, but soon rejected her faith, it is said, because of her intellectual mind. When Eliot moved to London later in her life, she got a job as an assistant editor at The Westminster Review, a position given to very few woman at the time.
She was smack dab in the literary circle, where she met her life companion, George Henry Lewis. The two moved to Germany in Their unorthodox partnership caused some scandal; George Lewis was actually married the entire time he was with Eliot, unable to obtain a divorce from his wife. Lewis died in , two years later Eliot married John Cross, an American banker. Before she died, her family finally accepted her back into the family and acknowledged the marriage to Cross.
When she was a little girl she would usually shorten it to Marian Evans and even published a few pieces under this alternative. Although she never married Lewis, her long time partner who was married to another woman, she would often use the title of Mrs. Mary Lewis to avoid public scrutiny. While working for The Westminster Review she often published under the title of George Eliot , her most infamous alias since it was a man's name.
Thus ending her crisis of identity at five names, only two of which were legally acknowledged; Mary Anne Evans, and Mary Anne Cross. Victorian Web This is a great website for all things Victoria.
The site includes information on Victorian literature, gender, science, politics, art and fashion. History of Blood Transfusions An interesting look at the history of blood transfusions. Make sure to check out pages which have some great information on James Blundell and pictures of his inventions. Click the link below to take a practice quiz: Lifted Veil - Quiz.
The Lifted Veil
A t tachments 9 Page History. Created by Singh, Aleeza M , last modified on Dec 16, An Exceptional Piece for Eliot. Extra-Sensory Perception Latimer has two extra-senses. Latimer The main character of the story, Latimer is plagued by his unnatural sight into the minds of others. Bertha An enchanting young woman who is first introduced as the adopted niece of Mrs. Charles Meunier A childhood friend of Latimer's, Charles is arguably the only character with which Latimer is able to foster a close relationship.
Archer The maid that Bertha hires after her marriage to Latimer.
The Lifted Veil
Filmore A neighbor of Latimer's father who first introduces her adoptive niece, Bertha, to Latimer's family. Letherall A man hired by Latimer's father to do phrenological testing on Latimer to see how best to instruct and educate the young man. Medical and Scientific References. Phrenology Phrenology was developed by Franz Joseph Gall who believed that the brain could be sectioned off into 27 portions each representing a distinct characteristic or ability in a person.
Blood Transfusions The first documented successful blood transfusion from one human to another occurred in under the hand of James Blundell. Monomania and Masturbation The Victorian Era is known for it's repressive views of sexuality. A satue of Eliot at Nuneaton. Who is George Eliot? Journal Articles Wood, Jane.
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He was struck with them after a critical childhood illness he suffered while at school in Geneva, Switzerland. Much of what he reads into the motivations of others disgusts him.
Bewildered, he falls under her spell, ignoring his own the warning visions, and finds that her mind is unusually closed to him. After his brother dies, Latimer marries Bertha. But the relationship is doomed as he begins to recognize how manipulative she is. The maid briefly comes back to life to accuse Bertha of attempting to poison Latimer. You might also like: Latimer mirrors some of the beliefs George Eliot, including the repulsion at how selfish and self-interested human nature can be.
Beautiful, narcissistic Bertha has been compared to Rosamund Vincy of Middlemarch. She seems to have poured all of those interests into this slim volume. While a modern reading of this story might render a reanimation by blood transfusion rather simplistic, this plot detail is handled with great skill.
What it does have in common with her other works of fiction is its use of moralizing and psychological insight.
The Lifted Veil by George Eliot (1859)
Romola by George Eliot According to the Penguin Books edition: The time of my end approaches. Unless, then, I am cursed with an exceptional physical constitution, as I am cursed with an exceptional mental character, I shall not much longer groan under the wearisome burthen of this earthly existence. If it were to be otherwise—if I were to live on to the age most men desire and provide for—I should for once have known whether the miseries of delusive expectation can outweigh the miseries of true provision.
For I foresee when I shall die, and everything that will happen in my last moments. Just as I am watching a tongue of blue flame rising in the fire, and my lamp is burning low, the horrible contraction will begin at my chest. I shall only have time to reach the bell, and pull it violently, before the sense of suffocation will come.