Evil and repentance in George Eliot's novels

This dissertation focuses on the three works of George Eliot, that reflect her understanding and treatment of the theological themes of evil and repentance.;The dissertation is divided into two parts.;Part I sets the background for later analysis and is sub-divided into chapters. It describes the influence of theology and philosophy on George Eliot's life, a process that develops through a number of stages in response to contemporary theological, and philosophical, and scientific developments. It also analyzes a selection of critical responses to Eliot's works. Critics' chosen for their interpretation of Eliot's works are significant for their work in both, resurrecting and serving as reference for Eliot scholars. Wesley Kort's book, Narrative Elements and Religious Meanings serves as methodology for the analyses of the theological content in Eliot's works. Kort analyzes atmosphere, character, and tone to show how they contain and-reveal theological content in narratives.;Part II is the essence of the dissertation. In it I analyze Janet's Repentance, Adam Bede and Middlemarch using Kort's methodology to study the theological themes of evil and repentance. The analyses of evil and repentance is done through: (1) The actions and comments by the characters who are responsible for evil choices. (2) Comments by other characters. (3) Eliot's comments as narrator. (4) Remarks and analyses of critics.;This dissertation successfully argues that the themes of evil and repentance are at the heart of Janet's Repentance, Adam Bede, and Middlemarch and that they are theological in nature.