In the Prelude to Middlemarch, Eliot tells a story about Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-82), a Spanish mystic and founder of religious communities. In the story, the child Teresa and her little brother leave their village in search of martyrdom, but their uncles intercept them and turn them back. This story introduces one central idea in the novel: young people may envision lofty goals that later circumstances or forces beyond their control prevent them from reaching. Eliot writes: “Many Theresas have been born who found for themselves no epic life ... perhaps only a life of mistakes, the offspring of a certain spiritual grandeur ill-matched with the meanness of opportunity.” Eliot explores this conjunction between character and context. The Prelude introduces the “foundress of nothing” who cries after “an unattained goodness,” her high intentions.....
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