The Lifted Veil
Encyclopedia
The Lifted Veil is a novella
by George Eliot
, first published in 1859. Quite unlike the realistic
fiction
for which Eliot is best known, The Lifted Veil explores themes of extrasensory perception, the essence of physical life, possible life after death
, and the power of fate
. The novella is a significant part of the Victorian
tradition of horror fiction
, which includes such other examples as Mary Shelley's
Frankenstein
(1818), Robert Louis Stevenson's
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), and Bram Stoker's
Dracula
(1897).
, Latimer (no last name is given), is gifted or cursed with an otherworldly ability to see into the future
and the thoughts of other people. Tragically, Latimer is revolted by much of what he discerns about others' motivation
s. His unwanted "gift" seems to stem from a severe childhood illness he suffered while attending school in Geneva
. It is, however, possible to read the text where Latimer does not have a sixth-sense but a mental illness in which he believes he sees the future or the internal motivations of others. Latimer is convinced of his power, and his two initial predictions do come true the way he has envisioned them: a peculiar "patch of rainbow light on the pavement" and a few words of dialogue appear to him exactly as expected. But, since the objective reality of a fictional character is at least debatable, we may have little space to debate
about the correctness of his beliefs.
Latimer becomes fascinated with Bertha, his brother's cold and coquettish fiancée, because her mind and motives remain atypically closed to him. After his brother's death Latimer marries Bertha, only to see the marriage disintegrate as he begins to recognize Bertha's manipulative and untrustworthy nature. Latimer's friend, scientist Charles Meunier, performs a blood transfusion
between himself and Bertha's just-dead maid in a memorable scene of gothic horror. For a few moments the maid comes back to life and accuses Bertha of a plot to poison Latimer. Bertha flees and Latimer soon dies as he had himself foretold at the start of the narrative.
--both are beautiful, narcissistic women who hold a fascination for certain men, to the great regret of these men later.
The story demonstrates Eliot's interest in contemporary science and pseudoscience
, including physiology
, phrenology
, mesmerism and clairvoyance
. While today's readers might smile at the idea of a simple blood transfusion bringing the dead back to life, Eliot manages this scene with impressive style and force. She handles Latimer's vision sequences with a similar drive and attention to detail.
, a lone example in the Eliot canon, allows the novelist to play with causality
and chronology
in the story, with the narrative ending where it freakishly begins.
As Eliot's only venture into what would nowadays be called science fiction
, the story might look rusty and even laughable in some of its supposedly scientific details. But the sharply drawn portrait of Latimer, gifted and cursed and at last hunted down by inescapable fate, gives the tale enduring appeal.
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
by George Eliot
George Eliot
Mary Anne Evans , better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, journalist and translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era...
, first published in 1859. Quite unlike the realistic
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
for which Eliot is best known, The Lifted Veil explores themes of extrasensory perception, the essence of physical life, possible life after death
Life After Death
Life After Death is the second and final studio album by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released March 25, 1997 on Bad Boy Records. A double album, it was released posthumously following his death on March 9, 1997 and serves as his final studio album...
, and the power of fate
Destiny
Destiny or fate refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual...
. The novella is a significant part of the Victorian
Victorian literature
Victorian literature is the literature produced during the reign of Queen Victoria . It forms a link and transition between the writers of the romantic period and the very different literature of the 20th century....
tradition of horror fiction
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
, which includes such other examples as Mary Shelley's
Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus . She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley...
Frankenstein
Frankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
(1818), Robert Louis Stevenson's
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), and Bram Stoker's
Bram Stoker
Abraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula...
Dracula
Dracula
Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
(1897).
Plot summary
The narratorNarrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
, Latimer (no last name is given), is gifted or cursed with an otherworldly ability to see into the future
Future
The future is the indefinite time period after the present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the nature of the reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently exists and will exist is temporary and will come...
and the thoughts of other people. Tragically, Latimer is revolted by much of what he discerns about others' motivation
Motivation
Motivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation...
s. His unwanted "gift" seems to stem from a severe childhood illness he suffered while attending school in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. It is, however, possible to read the text where Latimer does not have a sixth-sense but a mental illness in which he believes he sees the future or the internal motivations of others. Latimer is convinced of his power, and his two initial predictions do come true the way he has envisioned them: a peculiar "patch of rainbow light on the pavement" and a few words of dialogue appear to him exactly as expected. But, since the objective reality of a fictional character is at least debatable, we may have little space to debate
about the correctness of his beliefs.
Latimer becomes fascinated with Bertha, his brother's cold and coquettish fiancée, because her mind and motives remain atypically closed to him. After his brother's death Latimer marries Bertha, only to see the marriage disintegrate as he begins to recognize Bertha's manipulative and untrustworthy nature. Latimer's friend, scientist Charles Meunier, performs a blood transfusion
Blood transfusion
Blood transfusion is the process of receiving blood products into one's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used in a variety of medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood...
between himself and Bertha's just-dead maid in a memorable scene of gothic horror. For a few moments the maid comes back to life and accuses Bertha of a plot to poison Latimer. Bertha flees and Latimer soon dies as he had himself foretold at the start of the narrative.
Major themes
Latimer, the strangely gifted narrator, might seem completely unlike almost all of George Eliot's other characters in his unrealistic ability to discern the secrets of the future and of other people's minds. Still, he reflects Eliot's continual interest in the frequent failure of human sympathy and communication. His repulsion at the self-interested natures of other people may appear overdone and somewhat naive, and he has impressed some critics as one of Eliot's least likeable creations. Bertha is similar to some other Eliot creations, such as Rosamund Vincy in MiddlemarchMiddlemarch
Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life is a novel by George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Anne Evans, later Marian Evans. It is her seventh novel, begun in 1869 and then put aside during the final illness of Thornton Lewes, the son of her companion George Henry Lewes...
--both are beautiful, narcissistic women who hold a fascination for certain men, to the great regret of these men later.
The story demonstrates Eliot's interest in contemporary science and pseudoscience
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...
, including physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
, phrenology
Phrenology
Phrenology is a pseudoscience primarily focused on measurements of the human skull, based on the concept that the brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific functions or modules...
, mesmerism and clairvoyance
Clairvoyance
The term clairvoyance is used to refer to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a form of extra-sensory perception...
. While today's readers might smile at the idea of a simple blood transfusion bringing the dead back to life, Eliot manages this scene with impressive style and force. She handles Latimer's vision sequences with a similar drive and attention to detail.
Literary significance & criticism
This odd tale (by Eliot's normal standards) has fascinated some critics exactly because it departs so far from her usual hyper-realistic technique. Latimer's first-person narrativeFirst-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
, a lone example in the Eliot canon, allows the novelist to play with causality
Causality
Causality is the relationship between an event and a second event , where the second event is understood as a consequence of the first....
and chronology
Chronology
Chronology is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time, such as the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It is also "the determination of the actual temporal sequence of past events".Chronology is part of periodization...
in the story, with the narrative ending where it freakishly begins.
As Eliot's only venture into what would nowadays be called science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, the story might look rusty and even laughable in some of its supposedly scientific details. But the sharply drawn portrait of Latimer, gifted and cursed and at last hunted down by inescapable fate, gives the tale enduring appeal.
Adaptations in other media
In 1948 the story was adapted on the syndicated radio program The Weird Circle.External links
- Text of The Lifted Veil (Oxford University Press edition, 1921) at Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
- Summary and criticism of The Lifted Veil