31 pages 1 hour read

George Eliot

The Lifted Veil

Fiction | Novella | Adult | Published in 1859

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Further Reading & Resources

Further Reading: Literature

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)

This novel explores reanimation and scientific experimentation. Like Meunier’s experiment on Mrs. Archer, Dr. Frankenstein successfully animates the dead. The subsequent interactions between Dr. Frankenstein and Frankenstein’s monster further explore themes of a second self and the dangers of scientific pursuit.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886)

Stevenson’s 1886 novella deals with similar themes of death, reanimation, experimentation, and science within a Victorian context. Dr. Jekyll’s struggle to reconcile his second self, Mr. Hyde, corresponds to The Lifted Veil’s themes of double consciousness and the discrepancies between public personas and private selves.

Further Reading: Beyond Literature (Nonfiction)

The Madwoman in the Attic by Sarah Gilbert and Susan Gubar (1979)

As a seminal work in feminist critical theory, The Madwoman in the Attic addresses the Gothic tradition in Victorian literature, its feminist implications, and relevant social analysis. Of interest is their chapter on Eliot’s The Lifted Veil entitled “Made Keen by Loss: George Eliot’s Veiled Vision.”

George Eliot: Voice of a Century by Frederick Karl (1995)

Karl’s biography of George Eliot provides historical and social context for the author’s work, including Eliot’s relationship with Lewes, her literary influences, and her interest in mesmerism, reanimation, and clairvoyance.

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