CLIFFORD
j.
MARKS
455
External appearances and deeply held superficial cultural values can be
challenged through the minority positions available to the characters.
Eliot stresses the term "naive" when it comes to describing Gwen–
dolyn's narcissism and points to the direction the novel will take regard–
ing relationships, community, and spirituality. At all times, any view
that enshrines the individual as the center of existence is spiritually
"naive" because Eliot reveals individuals as far too tragic to exist alone
in their exposed vulnerabilities. The narrative's spiritual perspective, in
fact, demands that one's vulnerabilities be the place where transcendent
contemplation can occur. When Henleigh Grandcourt woos Gwen–
dolyn, although she feels generally repulsed, she comes to consider the
prospect of marriage in terms of how it might affect her freedom: "This
subjection to a possible self, a self not to be absolutely predicted about,
caused her some astonishment and terror: her favourite key of life–
doing as she liked-seemed to fail her, and she could not foresee what
at a given moment she might like to do."
She then calculates the positive and negative aspects of marrying
Grandcourt, using only self-benefit to assess her fortunes. Ironically, the
novel opens with a scene of Gwendolyn at the roulette wheel, gambling
her money away; now she looks at marriage in terror, as if making this
gamble would completely and forever disrupt her idea of personal auton–
omy. Both in gambling and marriage, Gwendolyn loses control, yet in
gambling she chooses to lose control because of her sense of personal
freedom. However, the idea that individuals can completely control
themselves is, as Eliot implies, a time-honored illusion. The very first
words of the novel, "Men can do nothing without the make-believe of a
beginning," suggest how individuals try to control their histories and
define their origins. But Eliot knows that life is much more like Gwen–
dolyn at the roulette wheel than Gwendolyn controlling her destiny.
Lacking a sustained critique of her smug individualism, she eventually
accepts Grandcourt's proposal and orients herself, through marriage,
toward unhappiness. All her calculations of earthly satisfaction lack any
consideration of spiritual fulfillment. The novel does not want Gwen–
dolyn to embrace an institutionalized religion that would stifle her
awareness, but it does portray a character whose lack of spiritual insight,
in part, results in her earthly fall.
If
Gwendolyn is spiritually undeveloped, how does the novel suggest
nurturing her gradual evolution? She does have positive attributes. In a
world where women are viewed as commodities, she sticks fiercely to her
opinions and endeavors not to accept any situation she finds untenable.
To a certain extent, the quotation about her hating people demonstrates
