A Theology of Suffering Love

The unorthodox theology of nineteenth century British novelist George Eliot resulted not in a dispassionate avoidance of Christianity in her narratives but in an existential engagement with the faith she had once embraced. Prior to writing her first novel, Eliot, already recognized as a leading literary critic and translator, had adopted the empiricist and positivist philosophies of the elite intellectual circles of British society. Like many of her contemporaries, Eliot adhered to a liberal Christology advocating Jesus Christ as a moral exemplar whom humanity should imitate. A change in Eliot''s religious viewpoints, however, emerged as she began writing fiction. Although she never returned to an orthodox form of Christianity, her novels reveal that she continued to struggle with Christianity''s radical proclamation of Good News.