Adam Bede by George Eliot (1819-1880)

Adam Bede is an unusual book in many respects, which shouldn't be surprising, as George Eliot was an unusual woman.

*  George Eliot was the non de plume of Mary Ann Evans

*  Eliot was a fervent Evangelical up until her early twenties, when she rejected her Christian beliefs

*  Although she rejected her faith, she believed Christian ethics to be valuable

*  She is regarded as one of the greatest novelists of the nineteenth century

*  Adam Bede was first published in 1859, the same year as Darwin's Origins of the Species; Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities and Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White

For a woman living in the Victorian Era, George Eliot had some radical ideas and she openly defied the social customs of that time. I expected this to colour her writing to a large extent, but instead, the strong Christian ethic which formed her younger years permeated the whole story. It is perplexing to read Adam Bede, with its strong Christian undertones and commendable Christian characters, knowing that the author did not share the beliefs of the characters she wrote about so sympathetically.

Invitation to the Classics, edited by Louise Cowan & Os Guinness sheds some light on this puzzle:

Eliot's fiction...employs Christian ethics - as a form of goodness without God - to create a model in which morality evolves through suffering, sympathy, and duty.

Eliot...believes in a radically nontraditional world that is evolutionary and unpredictable. She still relies, however, on such traditional values as kindness, sympathy, a fellowship of suffering, self-sacrifice, and duty as guides for living in that world.

I'm not going to say anything about the actual story - except that I loved it. For the first couple of chapters the colloquial language slows the story down as it takes a little getting used to, but before long it becomes an engrossing tale, peopled with believable and loveable characters.

I had a pencil in hand most of the time I read, underlining regularly. Eliot's skill with words is wonderful and her characters come alive beautifully. She also has a biting sense of humour, as her portrayal of Mrs Poyser, one of my favourite characters, highlights when she stands up to the conniving old Squire:

"Thee'st  done it now," said Mr Poyser, a little alarmed and uneasy, but not without some triumphant amusement at his wife's outbreak.

"Yes, I know I've done it," said Mrs Poyser; "but I've had my say out, and I shall be th' easier for 't all my life. There's no pleasure i' living, if you're to be corked up forever, and only dribble your mind out by the sly, like a leaky barrel. I shan't repent saying what I think, if I live to be as old as th' old Squire; and there's little likelihoods - for it seems as if them as aren't wanted here are th' only folks as aren't wanted I' the other world."

An interesting historical aspect of the book is its portrayal of early Methodism. One of Eliot's characters is a greatly respected young female preacher who plays a very important role in the story.

I think it was Virginia Wolfe that said George Eliot was for grown ups - not because the content of her books is unsuitable  - but perhaps because her probing into human behaviour, character and the role suffering plays in its development, may require some maturity to appreciate.

Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds; and until we know what has been or will be the peculiar combination of outward with inward facts, which constitutes a man's critical actions, it will be better not to think ourselves wise about his character.

 

When I told my 22 yr old daughter I was going to read George Eliot she mentioned she really didn't like Middlemarch when she read it (in her mid-teens, I think) but thinking of Wolfe's comment, and another similar comment I read by another author somewhere else, I suggested she try again. I also think Adam Bede would be a better book to start with than Middlemarch.

It was a still afternoon - the golden light was lingering languidly among the upper boughs, only glancing down here and there on the purple pathway and its edge of faintly-sprinkled moss: an afternoon in which destiny disguises her cold awful face behind a hazy radiant veil, encloses us in warm downy wings, and poisons us with violet-scented breath.

(He) would so gladly have persuaded himself that he had done no harm! And if no one had told him the contrary, he could have persuaded himself so much better. Nemesis can seldom forge a sword for herself out of our consciences - out of the suffering we feel in the suffering we may have caused: there is rarely metal enough there to make an effective weapon.

When death, the great Reconciler, has come, it is never our tenderness that we repent of, but our severity.

This post is linked to the Back to the Classics Challenge under Classic With a Name in the Title

Teaching Children to Wonder & Admire: The Story Book of Science by Jean Henri Fabre

Ambleside Online uses The Story Book of Science by Jean Henri Fabre (1823-1915) in Year 4 and along with another Year 4 science title, Madame How & Lady Why (MHLW) the book generates many questions and discussions on the AO forum. 

Fabre wrote this book in 1917, and many of the forum questions are related to either the wisdom of using a science book of that age, or the style of the author's writing. My reasons for using MHLW are here and are similar to those that helped me decide to use The Story Book of Science.

Charlotte Mason believed that there was poetry in science and that the literary treatment of science enabled children to learn how to wonder and admire. This idea has been cemented even further for me as I've been using The Story Book of Science with Moozle. We started this book last year when she was nine years old (she turned ten a couple of months ago) and it has been one of her favourite books from Year 4.

We read recently in Chapter XLVI about the volcanic eruption of Mt. Etna in Sicily which threatened to wipe out the town of Catania:

"Without those brave men who did not hesitate, at the risk of being burnt alive, to go and open a new passage for the stream of fire, Catania would certainly have been lost," remarked Jules.

"Catania would have been all burnt down, there is no doubt. To-day its calcined ruins would be buried under a bed of cold lava, and there would be nothing left but the name of the large town that had disappeared. Three or four stout-hearted men revive the courage of the terrified population; they hope that heaven will aid them in their devotion, and, ready to sacrifice their lives, they prevent the frightful disaster. Ah! may God give you grace, my dear child, to imitate them in the time of danger; for, you see, if man is great through his intelligence, he is still greater through his heart. In my old age, when I hear you spoken of, I shall be more gladdened by the good you may have done than by the knowledge you may have acquired. Knowledge, my little friend, is only a better means of aiding others. Remember that well, and when you are a man bear yourself in danger as did those of Catania. I ask it of you in return for my love and my stories."

Jules furtively wiped away a tear. His uncle perceived that he had sown his word in good ground.

Fabre has been called the 'Homer of insects.' He was also a poet and spent his long life observing, wondering, admiring. He wrote volumes on just insects alone. Mostly self-taught, he quietly pursued his study of the natural world and it was not until he reached his mid-eighties that his wonderful achievements were recognised.

Fabre was very critical of the theory of evolution but was kind and respectful to fellow scientists who promoted the theory, such as Charles Darwin, who in turn respected Fabre and called him the "inimitable observer." When Fabre was in his nineties he was asked if he believed in God. He replied emphatically:

"I can't say I believe in God. I see Him. Without Him I understand nothing. Without Him all is darkness...

Every period has its manias. I regard Atheism as a mania. It is the malady of the age. You could take my skin from me more easily than my faith in God."

The Life of Jean Henri Fabre by Augustin Fabre

His writing has a story-telling quality, revealing the secrets of nature in a literary fashion whilst also adding the 'padding' that Charlotte Mason speaks of. Children are required 'to dig' for their knowledge when they read this book or have it read to them. They don't read through a list of facts or pieces of random information and look at glossy pictures.

I don't give my children a vocabulary list and tell them to find out the meaning of the words by using a dictionary, but if a word they don't know comes up in a book they are often able to figure it out by context. If not, they can look it up in the dictionary if they need to, but they have first enountered the word in a literary medium & not in a fragmented, unconnected form. In the same time way, I often add a video or photograph or some other resource related to the chapter after we've read it. The story itself creates a sense of wonder and the other added resources relate to what has already been assimilated.

I've been adding ideas to a Pinterest board as we use them throughout The Story Book of Science.

'Knowledge should be communicated in well-chosen language, because (a child's) attention responds naturally to what is conveyed in literary form.' 

A Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason, pg xxx

Weekly Review - with a Miserable detour

Last Christmas my friend & I were given tickets to Les Miserables by my friend's daughter. She checked with my husband before buying the tickets to see if he could work from home on the day, which he could do, and so the day came for us to go during the week. Miserable was the weather, bleak & grimy, a fitting sort of day for a tale such as this. My dear friend drove through torrential rain for about an hour to pick me up so we could drive into the city together. So I said goodbye to everyone & Dad did the maths and running around later in the day to this that and the next thing. I felt quite lazy. Need I say we had a wonderful day?

This week we completed week 20 of the 36 weeks of Ambleside Online's Years 4 & 8. Two of the boys have done AO Year 8 in the past, so it's familiar territory - to me, at least. This is the first year I've had a child following AO's Year 4, although the Australian substitutions are books we've mostly used before.

I print out a schedule at the beginning of each week for each child and each morning they get on with their individual work after they've done a couple of morning jobs:

Maths

Copy work

Music Practice

Reading - as per schedule. Benj organises his own time with this and the other work he does independently. We fit in oral narration (for both of them) in between Moozle's reading - some of which she does on her own and some I read to her.

I aim to do dictation twice a week with each of them and slot it in sometime during the morning.

Benj (15yrs) always starts with maths (Saxon Algebra 2). Moozle (10 yrs) either practices her cello or does her maths with me (Singapore 4A).

We do the following together and I space them out over the week.

Devotions, Shakespeare, Poetry, Plutarch, Read Aloud, Natural History, Nature Study, Picture Study, Folksong, Hymn Study.

Once a week we have a piano lesson for Benj (Friday afternoon) and a cello lesson for Moozle (Tuesday morning) which go for an hour each.

Devotions

We generally read through a chapter of a Bible book most days, taking turns reading a few verses out loud, followed by a narration of the chapter. Sometimes we talk about how a passage relates to us today, compare something in the passage with another elsewhere, or look up a map if appropriate. Last week we read in 1 Samuel 15 about Saul's disobedience regarding the Amalekites and discussed its relation to the events in the book of Esther, in which Haman, a descendant of the Amalekite king, tried to annihilate God's people.

Then we do memory work - new & review of verses we've already done and then we all take a turn praying.

Shakespeare

All's Well That Ends Well is our current play. Many people baulk at exposing younger children to Shakespeare but starting at a young age with such adaptions as those written by Edith Nesbit and Charles & Mary Lamb or listening to a retelling by Jim Weiss makes it easy. Moozle already knows the gist of the stories and the bawdy bits go over her head. (They often go over my head too unless I read a modern version of a play). As Charlotte Mason wisely said, a child will take what he needs at the time.

Shakespeare is not to be studied in a year; he is to be read continuously throughout life, from ten years old and onwards. But a child of ten cannot understand Shakespeare. No; but can a man of fifty? Is not our great poet rather an ample feast of which every one takes according to his needs, and leaves what he has no stomach for?

Formation of Character by Charlotte Mason, Pg 226

We're using the BBC Arkangel recording. Benj reads this free copy of the play (no commentary) and I use a Cambridge or Oxford School guide with the text on the right hand page & commentary on the left - mostly because I can find them for a dollar or two secondhand.

We read and follow along with the CD for about 15 minutes, or when a scene ends, and then each of them narrate or think of an idea for a composition.

Poetry

I like to read poetry aloud but they also focus separately on a poet each term, usually the AO selection from their year.

Picture Study

We've been studying the work of John William Waterhouse as many of his paintings are based on Greek & Roman mythology which is interesting when you've been reading books like Age of Fable or Marshall's History of English Literature. 

 Jason & Medea, 1907

Plutarch

The Life of Timoleon this term using Anne White's Guide. This takes us about 20 to 30 minutes a week and often provides a springboard for discussion & narration.

Read Aloud

We're still reading 'I Can Jump Puddles,' an Australian classic which I picked up years ago without really knowing too much about it. It's a great book based on a true story of the courage and  determination of a young boy with a disability. Highly recommended - may need some slight editing as you go.

Natural History/Nature Study

Once a week we concentrate on an area of nature study and I read from various books on natural history and they draw & write in their notebooks. Our focus at present is on Insects. We try to have a bush walk regularly but it doesn't always happen but having this weekly focus gives some continuity plus background knowledge for things we come across when we are out. I've noticed it also helps spark an interest to observe more closely.

We read about ants this week from First Studies in Insect Life in Australasia by William Gillies. We decided they must be Communists:

Among the bees and ants the individual is nothing; the community is everything. You cannot frighten ants with danger or death. One thing only frightens them: danger to the community. hence the recklessness of an ant in throwing herself on an enemy. Nothing is of value that cannot serve the community: and so the ants that are hopelessly ill are cast out.

Folksong

Whisky in the Jar is our folksong for the month. My eldest son jokes to his friends that he had to learn Scottish drinking songs during his education at home. It's been my little project to pass on the culture I grew up with and folksongs were a big part of that. But it is a little embarrassing when your ten year old starts to sing, 'Oh Campelltown Loch, I wish ye were whisky!' 
This one is Irish.

What they're reading:

These are some of their own choices, not part of their scheduled books - they often read over lunch and in the evenings.

Benj

Yes, Prime Minister: The Diaries of the Right Hon. James Hacker

  

Former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, wrote of the book, 'Its closely observed portrayal of what goes on in the corridors of power has given me hours of pure joy.'

Captain Hornblower R.N. by C.S. Forester 

Simon Black in Peril, Simon Black in Space & Simon Black in China were written in the 1950's by Ivan Southall. Out of print and hard to find but I found these three at a used book sale recently. Fast paced and exciting, so my son told me, and an easy read for him. I'll give them a quick flick through before I give them to Moozle but I think they should be fine for her age and up.

Moozle

Lately she's been reading through a whole swag of G.A. Henty books - With Frederick the Great (she'd just read about him in George Washington's World by Genevieve Foster) is one she's re-read recently.

Her beloved Biggles books by W.E.Johns are an ongoing re-read.

We had Benj's visit to the orthodontist the other week and Moozle took one of her Biggles books with her. The orthodontist, an older man, was surprised when he saw her with the book and commented on how much he used to enjoy the Biggles' books. He asked her a couple of questions and she floored him when she rattled off the names of all the different types of planes, their 'gravity tanks' and other bits of information she's garnered through reading the books. He then told her that he's a member of  a club that restores old planes ('Moths' etc) so she was treated to some photos of their projects.

The Biggles' experts in the house don't agree about the best book to start with but here are a couple of suggestions:

Science

Making an electroscope:

This is Moozle's write up of an experiment she did after reading Chapter XLIII of The Story Book of Science by Jean Henri Fabre. She really enjoys this book & I add extra supplements to a Pinterest board as we use them to update some of the outdated ideas - how to treat snakebite, for example.

Linking up with Weekly Wrap Up and Finishing Strong