The Chorus In George Eliot 's Novels

This thesis mainly studies the aesthetic technique-chorus in George Eliot novels. In her seven novels, Eliot inherits the chorus and employs this technique with the substitute of minor characters. This thesis first makes a brief introduction of the chorus. Then, the thesis analyzes the chorus in Eliot’s seven novels. In the early novels, the main function of the chorus is offering us a social background and creates an atmosphere of idyllic life in the story. In the middle novels, the significant function of the chorus is moving the greatly by some key chorus. In the later novels, the chorus plays important functions in background, comments and plot. A tendency of broader social picture, more complicated social relationships and more complex plot is showed in Eliot’s later novels. Her employment of the chorus becomes mature during creations of seven novels.So far, few scholars have done any interpretation of the chorus in George Eliot’s novels. Therefore, this thesis may to some extent broaden and enrich the scholarship about George Eliot.