Publication Date
2020
Document Type
Dissertation/Thesis
First Advisor
May, Brian
Degree Name
M.A. (Master of Arts)
Legacy Department
Department of English
Abstract
This study explores George Eliot’s The Mill on the Floss and Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist, specifically in terms of how these Victorian authors portray childhood. I focus on the Romantic influences of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and William Wordsworth to analyze this portrayal. I examine how Eliot and Dickens use Wordsworth’s Romantic images of nature, gates, and windows to portray Victorian adults as corruptors of childhood innocence. Further, I analyze how these authors use Rousseau’s teaching philosophies to criticize Victorian educational policies. By comparing Dickens’s Oliver Twist to Eliot’s The Mill on the Floss, I trace how both authors depend on Romanticism where Victorian tropes fall short. By focusing on childhood perceptions and portrayals, I examine the way they critique issues of class and gender associated with Victorian social roles and responsibilities. Their use of Romantic language and images culminates in a departure from Victorian ideals that leads them to different conclusions.
Recommended Citation
Rosenzweig, Tara, "The Golden Gates of Childhood: Romantic influences on Childhood Perspective in George Eliot's The Mill on the Floss and Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist" (2020). Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations. 7609.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-thesesdissertations/7609
Extent
80 pages
Language
eng
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.
Media Type
Text
