Adam Bede Themes

Honor
Honor is an ancient theme with special resonance in medieval times, which is fitting in a novel set in a town
that has an almost feudal landlord. There are two types of honor in this novel: that of females, and that of
males. Female honor is fairly passive and relies entirely on chastity. If women lose this chastity, they are
helpless to regain their honor. Male honor is more complicated and more active. Honor is tied up in their
profession, land, and overall identity. When Adam runs away as a young boy because of family unhappiness,
he chooses to return partially in order to maintain the honor of his family by keeping it economically afloat.
He knows that the only way to provoke Arthur to fight is by insulting his honor, so instead of reproaching
him, he calls him a coward.
Love
The novel includes a few examples of true love based on mutual attraction. One positive example of mutual
love is the relationship between Adam and Dinah at the end of the novel. But it takes others around them to
work out their feelings for them, showing that it is not only mutual love that is important, but also a mutual
love that is recognized and supported by both of the families of the lovers. Indeed, society matters for love; in
other relationships, the complicating factor is always socioeconomic class, because the novel is set in a time
period when marriage was more of a contract than a romantic affair. This problem extends to both men and
women. Adam Bede is expected to marry Mary Burge merely because it would be an advantageous business
proposition. Afterwards, he could become partners with her father, a man who had been his boss. What is
more, there are two class-related barriers to a love affair between Arthur and Hetty. The first is obvious: Arthur
cannot easily marry someone so far below his social class. The second is more subtle: it is unclear whether
Hetty would be as attracted to Arthur if it were not for his wealth. When she does dream of their future together,
she imagines the luxuries that he could provide her with, rather than the life that they could have together.
There is even an impediment to Adam's courtship of Hetty, a pair who might seem to be of the same social
stratum. Before his promotion to steward of the forest, some townspeople say that Adam is reaching too high
trying to land the niece of a large dairy farmer.
Nature
Nature is a constant presence in all of Eliot's novels. Unlike many romantic novelists, she does not make the
weather correspond directly with her principal characters' moods or feelings. Rather, she comments on the
sort of injustice that the weather always seems to be at its most beautiful when man is going through a
particular hardship. This disconnection of natural life from human life is part of Eliot's literary doctrine of
painstaking realism. Rather than have the weather reflect her characters' feelings, she quite accurately has her
characters mark their memories and experiences in the context of their actual environment. Adam marks his
movement from happiness to adulthood by the beech tree that he contemplated moments before seeing Hetty
and Arthur kiss under it. Hetty marks her homeward journey not to return to the family farm, but to regain
some scenery that is familiar to her. Dinah and Adam always refer to his interception of her in Snowfield and
their agreement to marry as "the meeting on the hill."
Industry
Eliot wrote Adam Bede at the time that the Industrial Revolution was beginning to change the face of life in
Britain. More and more ingenious inventions meant that farmers were caught up in industry, and many moved
away from their small towns into bigger cities. The village that Eliot portrays is a holdout against this new
lifestyle, but the presence of new industry is indicated by the mill that Dinah works at when she is home. Eliot
comments that Dinah is drawn to this town as well as to the industrial town of Leeds which, along with
Manchester, was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution. Dinah is drawn to such towns because of the
great misery in them. Eliot seems to side with many poets and authors in lamenting the onset of industry
insofar as it alienates people from nature. Eliot personifies the spirit of Leisure in contrast to this new industry,
describing him as a portly old gentleman with excellent digestion.
Motherhood
As a novel which centers on an infanticide by a mother, Adam Bede is necessarily preoccupied with
motherhood. The most obvious example of a strong mother figure is Lisbeth Bede, who loves her son, Adam,
almost too much. She is constantly worried about where he is, what he is doing, and whether he has had
enough to eat. Her constant nagging, which irritates Adam, also ashames him. Lisbeth's relationship with Seth
is a much easier one, perhaps because she loves him just a little less--and therefore nags him just a little less.
It is important to note that neither Hetty nor Dinah has a mother anymore. Both of them were orphaned and
live with their uncle or aunt, respectively. The lack of a mother figure affects each of them profoundly. Dinah
quickly grows into a mother figure herself, looking after and waiting on others before herself. Seth describes
a young boy even climbing into her lap to be held during one of her preaching sessions. Hetty, in contrast,
lacking strong guidance, grows up vain and petty. When she has a child of her own, admittedly under
extremely tough circumstances, she kills it by burying it. She does have some motherly feelings, however,
noting that she could not bear to look at its "little hands or little face" before she buried it. She imagines that
she continues to hear it crying. This is why she returns to the spot where she buried it, and this is why she is
apprehended as a criminal.
Sacrifice
Because religion (in particular, Christianity) is of such importance in this novel, the issue of sacrifice--and its
nobility--comes up quite often. The character most inclined toward sacrifice, Dinah, is also the most religious.
Dinah is content to spend her life serving others if she thinks that she can bring them some comfort. This
notion of sacrifice is parodied by Mrs. Poyser, who thinks that Dinah takes the idea to an extreme. Mrs. Poyser
is upset that Dinah moves back and forth between different parishes, trying to calculate in which one the life
is hardest so that she can choose the one needing the most help. Her aunt says of Dinah that she would only
marry if the man were a Methodist and lame, consistent with her doctrine of help and sacrifice. Dinah must
struggle against her conscience in order to allow herself to marry Adam, because she thinks that she loves him
too much--it would be too little of a sacrifice. Eliot makes it clear that this argument (if not Dinah's whole
perspective on sacrifice) is somewhat ridiculous, and besides, Dinah changes her mind in a short time and
agrees to marry Adam. Eliot suggests that sacrifice is worthwhile for the most part, but not to an extent
whereby it prevents overall personal happiness or other goods such as the creation of a family.
Female Identity and Autonomy
The issue of female identity is often at the forefront of George Eliot's novels, even in one named after a man,
such as Adam Bede. Of course, in the mid-Victorian period Eliot was writing in a male-dominated world; for
instance, she saw a need to assume a male pen-name in order to protect her identity and popularize her writing.
Among the most memorable characters in the novel are women with strong voices who are attached to men.
The most confident female character is Dinah Morris, who asserts her identity to Lisbeth Bede in Chapter Ten,
announcing: "I am Dinah Morris and I work in the cotton-mill when I am at home." Dinah is also a confident
and effective female preacher. Her resistance to marriage because she is worried that it will curtail her religious
teaching is resolved by Eliot in a manner calculated not to upset the male hierarchy. It turns out that Dinah
was not in fact prevented from a traditional marriage by religiosity, but rather by the fact that no man that she
truly loved had yet asked her to marry him. Indeed, she quiets into a typical housewife at the end of the novel,
even consenting to discontinue her preaching because the Methodist men have decided that it is not a good
idea.

Another strong female voice in Adam Bede is Mrs. Poyser. She is much more intelligent than her husband,
and she has much more control over their farm than he does. She inevitably has her "say out," which involves
working up her courage to tell her hated landlord what everyone in the community thinks of him. She prefaces
this opinion with, "Then, sir, if I may speak--as for all I'm a a woman, and there's folks as thinks a woman's
fool enough to stan' by an' look on while the men sign her soul away, I've a right to speak..." Still, Mrs. Poyser's
marriage to Mr. Poyser gives her an added ethos in contrast to that of an outspoken maiden or, in Victorian
fiction, the stock character of a dangerous widow.

Hetty Sorrel, in contrast to these stronger women, lacks the power or the initiative to speak up for herself.
Hetty does not speak very much, and her preferred method of seduction is to burst into tears rather than to
have a conversation. She pays dearly for this quietness, because she is not able to ask for help when she
becomes pregnant. When she finally admits to Dinah in the jail cell that "I did it," this first instance of her
assertion of agency comes far too late.

Inner vs. Outer Beauty

Eliot contrasts inner and outer beauty throughout the novel to express the idea that external and internal
realities do not always correspond. Although Hetty is more physically beautiful than Dinah, she is cold and
ugly inside. Hetty’s outer beauty masks her inner ugliness, especially to Captain Donnithorne and Adam. Even
when Hetty cries or is angry, she still appears lovely to both men. Adam is so blinded by Hetty’s appearance
that he often misinterprets her tears and excitement as love for him. Hetty’s outer beauty also blinds Captain
Donnithorne such that he loses control when she cries and he kisses her. Unlike Hetty, Dinah has an inner
beauty because she helps and cares for those around her. She comforts Lisbeth through the mourning of her
dead husband, and Adam takes notice of this. Adam does not think Dinah is as physically beautiful as Hetty,
but he is drawn to her love and mission to help those around her. His feelings for Dinah change after he
witnesses Dinah consoling Hetty, and Adam begins to see Dinah as outwardly beautiful. Eliot’s description
of the natural beauty of the English countryside also shows the contrast between internal and external beauty.
On the day Hetty wanders off to find Captain Donnithorne, the day is beautiful and the countryside is
magnificent. However, Hetty suffers enormously under the weight of her plight. Eliot uses this contrast to
encourage the reader to look beyond the surface and explore a deeper meaning.
The Value of Hard Work
One of the chief differences between the good characters and the evil characters is their commitment to
working hard. Most of the characters in Adam Bede are hard-working peasants who spend their days laboring
on farms, in mills, or in shops. Those characters are generally characterized by gentle intelligence and simple
habits. They do their best not to harm others, and they produce goods others can use and value. Examples are
Mrs. Poyser, whose dairy supplies the other villagers and whose cream cheese is renowned in the area; Adam,
whose skills in carpentry are unmatched and who is a good and fair manager of people and resources; and
Dinah, who works in a mill. By contrast, those few malingerers in the novel are generally evil as well as lazy.
The strongest example of laziness is Captain Donnithorne, who often complains that he has nothing to do, and
whose boredom may well have contributed significantly to Hetty’s downfall. If Captain Donnithorne had been
busy sowing fields, he might not have engaged in his illicit and unwise affair. Those who work hard take pride
in their work, and they do not harm others because they are careful and meticulous and do not have time for
idle self-indulgence.
Love as a Transformative Force
Love has the power to transform characters in the novel. The characters who love are portrayed as gentle,
kind, and accepting. Dinah, for example, is a preacher but is never preachy. She accepts Hetty as she is, even
when Hetty is peevish and selfish toward her. Dinah’s love transforms Hetty in jail because she comforts and
listens to Hetty and does not judge her. Before, Hetty was selfish and only thought about her own happiness.
After, she is sincerely sorry for the shame she caused her family and even apologizes to Adam. Another
example is Mrs. Poyser, and how she can be harsh toward those she loves. When Hetty’s crime comes to light,
Mrs. Poyser is the only one in her family who does not seem to judge Hetty. Here, Mrs. Poyser transforms
from strict and critical to a loving and accepting woman. The one character that is not transformed by love is
Mrs. Irwine, who is critical and sharp and never manages to help others. She does not feel, and so she is neither
transformed by love nor capable of transforming others. For example, at Captain Donnithorne’s coming-of-
age party, one of her presents to a peasant girl is an ugly gown and a piece of flannel. This gift only aggravates
the girl and makes her reject the present. Mrs. Irwine thinks she is giving the girls only what they deserve, and
therefore she is not transformed by love because she does not care for anyone. Love only transforms the
characters that want to help people other than themselves.
The Consequences of Bad Behavior
Bad behavior and wrongdoing have consequences that extend beyond the wrong-doer, and even relatively
small transgressions can have massive collateral effects. The central lesson from Hetty’s experience with
Captain Donnithorne is that doing the right thing is important because doing the wrong thing might hurt others
in ways that cannot be controlled. Though Captain Donnithorne is not inherently evil, he provokes bad
behavior in Hetty because she cannot go to him for help when she learns that she is pregnant. Hetty is ashamed
and only thinks of herself when she commits her crime. As she awaits the trial, Hetty does not think about
how her bad behavior affected anyone else: she does not consider the shame she has caused the Poysers or the
effect her crime has on Adam. Hetty feels no real remorse for her sins and just wishes to not be reminded of
any wrong she has done. Eventually, she apologizes to Adam and asks God for forgiveness, but the lesson of
the story is that bad behavior, evil, and wrongdoing cannot be undone.
Appearance vs. Reality
Eliot uses the omniscient narrator against which to contrast the limitations of the individual point of view. The
omniscient narrator, knowing everything about the characters, can expose their innermost thoughts to the
reader. The characters, however, do not have this advantage. They deal with their preconceptions of each other
and with their own illusions blindly. Eventually, time and circumstance force the individual out of illusion
into a more mature and realistic evaluation of life.
Adam, Hetty, and Arthur form a romantic triangle that becomes more and more entangled and complicated by
their conflicting fantasies and dreams. Each considers his or her own inner drama as primary and the other
people as supporting actors. Adam assumes because Hetty is pretty she must also be lovable and virtuous. He
has dreamed of her as his wife in their own little cottage, never thinking Hetty is ambitious for material wealth
and station. Arthur thinks of Hetty as a gentleman’s flirtation, which he can conveniently leave off when he
is finished. Hetty thinks Arthur is going to change her world, and suddenly she will have money and power.
The tragedy tears apart these illusions in a painful way. Of the three, Adam alone is able to rise from the ashes
to a better life, for he is an unselfish person and has not been the cause of injury.
Arthur’s birthday party shows the dynamic of the overlapping illusions. Hetty believes Arthur loves her and
is going to acknowledge her. Arthur watches Hetty but pretends not to know her, playing his part as the
gentleman. Adam is excited about dancing with Hetty, who is indifferent to him. The accident with the locket
at the dance begins to give him a clue that all is not as it seems. When Adam actually sees Arthur kissing Hetty
in the wood, he realizes he has been “measuring my work from a false line” and has to begin again (Chpt. 29,
p. 319). He speaks as a carpenter, who, once he sees a mistake, tries to rectify it. But it takes him a long time
to change his perception. Even during the trial, he continues to think the tragedy is only Arthur’s fault. He
cannot believe Hetty is evil. The narrator tells us, “He created the mind he believed in out of his own, which
was large, unselfish, tender” (Chpt. 33, p. 354).
The theme of self-delusion comes out strongly in the metaphoric scene where Hetty is in her room secretly
looking at herself in a mirror at night with all her finery. She has only a little light and a blotched mirror in
which to look; she cannot see her whole self at one time. She goes through great exertions with several mirrors
trying to see herself. Symbolically it describes the characters without self-knowledge, especially Arthur and
Hetty. They are the ones who suffer most.
The Consequences of Actions
Adam suffers when Hetty sins and goes to prison, for he knows “it can never be undone (Chpt. 41, p. 424).”
Arthur only begins to understand “the irrevocableness of his own wrongdoing”(Chpt. 29, p. 313) after Adam
sees him with Hetty and knocks him down. The physical blow makes him see, “Adam could receive no
amends; his suffering could not be cancelled” (Chpt. 29, p. 313). This refers to the fact that Arthur knows he
has already deflowered the bride that Adam had been hoping for. In fact, the consequences have not yet
reached their worst limit. Like a stone thrown in a pond, the ripples move out and out and affect the whole
pond. Mr. Irwine tries to explain to Adam how “The evil consequences that may lie folded in a single act of
selfish indulgence” (Chpt. 41, p. 424) affect more than the single person. Adam’s desire to revenge Hetty’s
wrong on Arthur is part of the evil and could be a seed of further evil.
Where does it start and where does it stop? Eliot is the psychologist who tracks wrongdoing and its
consequences from the innermost thought to the external result. Arthur’s desire for Hetty and the seduction
take place in spring and summer of one year. The results last a lifetime. Arthur creates the tragedy step by
step. His illusion is that he can stop the momentum somewhere in its trajectory.
First, he believes he can control the impulse through good intentions; then by leaving town; then by confession.
When he can’t control the impulse, then he will control the extent of the action: he will just give Hetty a
present; he will just give her a kiss, and so on. His lack of control over himself is always excused with the
thought that if he can’t avoid the wrong, at least he can make up for it. He will give money, favors, something
to make amends. His greatest suffering is that he never can undo the wrong to Hetty, and he can never make
up for it. She dies. Arthur is not bad, but he is a mushy thinker and does not understand what the more scientific
narrator knows about the laws of cause and effect: they operate in the physical realm, and in the moral realm.
Eliot is not exactly a fatalist. She does believe in free will. Adam was able to reject his desire for revenge
before it got out of hand. In Arthur’s case, however, she presents the slippery slope of the weak person’s fall.
Each step makes the person less and less capable of withdrawing: “There is a terrible coercion in our deeds
which may first turn the honest man into a deceiver, and then reconcile him to the change; for this reason—
that the second wrong presents itself to him in the guise of the only practicable right” (Chpt. 29, p. 315).
Higher Human Nature and the Mystery of Love
Although evil cannot be undone, it can be transmuted. Hetty’s sacrifice becomes the means for Adam to rise.
The first five books are like a five-act tragedy, ending with Hetty’s conviction of murder. The sixth book is
anti-climactic but necessary to show Eliot’s full philosophy of human development and how good comes from
evil.
Dinah and Mr. Irwine are the primary agents for helping Adam and the community to heal from the shock of
Hetty’s fall. Both are developed human beings and models for Eliot in that they accept the weakness of others
with sympathy. They do not preach at people; they forgive and show how to forgive. Adam slowly uses his
sorrow to grow into a better person. If there is a slippery slope down, there is also a way upwards: “The growth
of higher feeling within us is like the growth of faculty, bringing with it a sense of added strength: we can no
more wish to return to a narrower sympathy” (Chpt. 54, p. 530). Dinah is the one who gives him the steady
love and trust that frees him to go forward.
Dinah tells Adam we must “learn to see the good in the midst of much that is unlovely” (Chpt. 50, p. 486). Is
this unwarranted optimism? It is, rather, Dinah’s ability to see potential. She does not even give up on Hetty,
but helps her to confess and regain her human nature. Dinah tells Seth in a letter, “Infinite Love is suffering
too. . . . sorrow is then part of love, and love does not seek to throw it off” (Chpt. 30, p. 329). This is the secret
of sympathy and acceptance that allows life to grow. On the other hand, Hetty’s response of pride and fear
shuts her down and turns her to stone. She has already died before the trial.
In an early scene, the narrator explains how Dinah uses her imaginative and intuitive prayer to help others.
She feels, for instance, the “blank in Hetty’s nature” (Chpt. 15, p. 157) but feels it in the context of an
unbounded sympathy and love, moved thus to warn Hetty of her coming danger. She explains her method of
sympathy to Hetty: “I feel their [other people’s] lot as if it was my own, and I take comfort in spreading it
before the Lord and resting in His love, on their behalf” (Chpt. 14, p. 141). Dinah stays with Hetty in this way
up till the moment of execution, trying to bear her spiritual burden and lift her up.
Love is the counter force to evil and selfishness. It is a mystery that one does not need to label as a doctrine
or sect, but it is real. Eliot presents a sort of ladder of love when she speaks of Seth’s love for Dinah. His love
for someone or something greater than his small ego enlarges him in the same way religion or a Beethoven
symphony makes people experience “they are mere waves and ripples in an unfathomable ocean of love and
beauty” (Chpt. 3, p. 39). Thus does Eliot present in Adam Bede her vision of the full range of human tragedy
and human glory. Humans can fall, but they can also rise.
Edenic Preindustrial England
An important theme running through the novel is that, despite the suffering some characters endure, life before
the Industrial Revolution in England was something of a paradise. Although the Industrial Revolution is
already in progress in the world of Adam Bede—Dinah works in a mill, for example—the modern world has
hardly touched the peaceful village of Hayslope. Even the name of the town is reminiscent of nature's beauty
and symmetry, described at length in many chapters. The narrator sums up this nostalgia for pre-modern, rural
England in Chapter 52, after Adam and Dinah declare their love for each other and are walking through a
sunny field after church. The narrator laments real leisure is gone, along with spinning wheels, pack horses,
slow wagons, peddlers, and the like. "Even idleness is eager now—eager for amusement: prone to excursion
trains, art museums, periodical literature and exciting novels: prone even to scientific theorizing, and cursory
peeps through microscopes," says the narrator. Certainly the author remained up to date on advances in science
and culture changes in her own Victorian world, but she sees enough value in bygone days to have written a
novel that commemorates both her father's early life and her own life growing up in the rural and barely spoiled
Midlands of England.

The Limits of Female Autonomy

An important theme in Adam Bede is that women's freedom is far more limited than men's. In fact, during the
time span of the novel, 1799–1807, women and children were the property of men, and a female went from
her father's jurisdiction to her husband's. Women's province was housekeeping and children. However, such
constraints did not prevent women from being strong, as both Rachel Poyser and Dinah
Morris demonstrate. Mrs. Poyser runs the dairy, has considerable authority in running the farm, and makes all
decisions within the household. Mr. Poyser, less opinionated and less vocal, is content to allow her to
dominate. Although Mrs. Poyser is a forceful character who would likely try to rule in whatever situation she
found herself, she is able to be successful only because her husband allows it.
Dinah Morris feels sufficiently confident in her own spiritual gifts to take on preaching, but she gives up her
vocation after her patriarchal church decides it is no longer appropriate for women to preach. When Seth
objects to this ruling, Adam says the Methodists are right, for most of the women "do more harm nor good
with their preaching—they've not got Dinah's gift nor her sperrit—and she's seen that, and she thought it right
to set th' example o' submitting, for she's not held from other sorts o' teaching. And I agree with her, and
approve o' what she did." However, Adam, a man of his time, doesn't stop to consider the same judgment
might apply equally to men.

Once a woman puts herself outside the bounds of the law, as Hetty Sorrel has done, she loses the protection
of both family and society. Although both she and Arthur Donnithorne have transgressed society's norms, the
penalty falls much more heavily on the woman in such instances than on the man. Hetty is well aware she has
destroyed her life by giving birth to an illegitimate child and, therefore, tries to get rid of it. As a child herself,
she sees no way out at all.

The Transformative Power of Compassion

The transformative power of compassion is a theme that runs through not only this first novel of George
Eliot but through all them. Although she herself put aside traditional Christianity and was likely an agnostic
or atheist, she continued to believe in the Christian values of forgiveness and compassion—that human beings
ought to cultivate sympathy for their fellow travelers. Dinah calls Hetty a "poor wanderer," and, indeed, all
human beings are poor wanderers on the earth who must suffer travails and live with the knowledge of their
eventual demise. The more people can develop sympathy or compassion, the wider their understanding will
grow and the more love they will have in their hearts. This is George Eliot's belief. When one human being
understands the sorrows of another, it is difficult to be judgmental.
For example, Adam Bede is a self-righteous man with no patience for people who can't do the right thing. But
he is transformed in his own trial of suffering, especially when he realizes he has been projecting his own
feelings onto Hetty and does not understand her. His broken heart—for himself as well as for her—allows him
to become more forgiving of others. In the end he is able to forgive Arthur and open himself to a more complex
and nuanced love with Dinah.

Deluding Power of Sexual Passion

The deluding power of sexual passion is revealed in the actions of three characters: Adam, Hetty, and Arthur.
Adam believes he loves Hetty, but he is simply attracted to her sexually, as is Arthur Donnithorne. Hetty and
Adam are of the same class and, therefore, could be a sanctioned couple. But if Adam had married Hetty, he
would soon have learned her head is empty and her heart cold. With his initial sexual desires satisfied, he
likely would have found himself in an unhappy, unloving marriage to a self-centered partner with whom he
had nothing long in common.
Arthur, however, has a more realistic understanding of his attraction to Hetty. He claims to have loved her
when he meets Adam in the Grove after Hetty is sent to serve her sentence, but he never intended to marry
her. He knows they are not suited by class, but he probably knows they are unsuited in other ways as well.

Hetty, although not savvy in the ways of the world, knows enough to use the deluding power of sexual
attraction to keep the interest of both men at various points in the story. As a young working-class woman,
she has little power otherwise. Although she doesn't love either of these men, she chooses Arthur first because
she thinks he will bring her riches. She chooses Adam second because she thinks he can get her out of her
aunt's house. Of course, once the results of her sexual dalliance with Arthur land her with a baby, her sexuality
is transformed into a huge life-threatening and destroying liability.

Work as a Reflection of Character

Another important theme in Adam Bede, as well as in Eliot's subsequent novels, is the importance of work in
providing meaning to people's lives. The way people do their work is a reflection of their character. Adam is
not only a master craftsman with a gift but also a conscientious worker who gets angry when workmen throw
their tools down at quitting time. For him, work is never simply a job or a way to make money. Work defines
Adam, giving him pleasure as well as pride and self-worth. For someone like Adam, work is an integral part
of his character and without it he would be unable to live.
Mrs. Poyser is another character who defines herself, at least partially, as a master dairywoman and
housekeeper. Her running of the farm, however, is blended with her motherhood; thus these duties are more
intertwined with human relations than is the case for Adam. However, she too takes pride in what she does
and would never be able to deliver a product that was not first-rate—the absolute best of which she is capable.
Both Adam Bede and Rachel Poyser have a vocation, as does Dinah Morris, of a different sort. She has been
called to preach, but because she does not get paid for preaching, she supports herself by working in the mill.
However, preaching is the center of her life and inextricably linked to her relationship with God. It may seem
Dinah gives her work up too easily after the Methodists decide women should no longer preach. Perhaps this
is because Eliot could not imagine a wife and mother who was also a dedicated public preacher, but, in any
case, Dinah does not seem overly troubled at all as the book ends.

Adam Bede | Symbols

Cherries
Cherries and other soft fruit with pits symbolize Hetty Sorrel. On the outside Hetty is soft, sweet, and beautiful.
But on the inside is a hard, unloving core. The narrator notes, "people who love downy peaches are apt not to
think of the stone, and sometimes jar their teeth terribly against it." When asking Adam, who has an "iron
will," whether he always knows with certainty what is right, Arthur notes weaker men like him "may determine
not to gather any cherries and keep our hands sturdily in our pockets, but we can't prevent our mouths from
watering."
When Adam visits the Hall Farm, he finds Hetty and Totty out in the orchard among the cherry trees. The
cherry metaphor returns in Chapter 31 after Hetty receives the rejection from Arthur Donnithorne and asks
her uncle if she can leave the farm to work elsewhere. Hurt because Hetty wants to leave the family, Mrs.
Poyser tells her husband she is "like a fool ... for thinking aught about [Hetty], as is no better nor a cherry wi'
a hard stone inside it."

The Grove
The Grove, a large stand of beech trees near the Chases' and the Donnithornes' home, is the place where Hetty
and Arthur often meet in secret. The dark, sequestered area is reflective of their hidden affair. On the night
Adam sees Hetty and Arthur together, they are kissing in the Grove. Adam then beats Arthur in the Grove.
After Hetty's trial and sentence, the two men run into each other again in the Grove. Their meeting this time
in this symbolic location could be said to reflect the beginning of their renewed friendship and the beginning
of healing from the earlier events that took place here. It is dark and, in fact, dangerous to human relationships,
which are far more complex than a picturesque grove of trees.

Mirrors
Mirrors in the novel symbolize illusion and the illusory aspect of external appearances. The narrator announces
in the first sentence how a single drop of ink will serve as a mirror to reveal "visions of the past." The ink is
at the end of his pen, of course, and the mirror he will hold up is created with words written in ink. Thus, the
narrator calls attention to his creating a story that mirrors reality. While he claims to represent the past, all he
can do is represent his own vision, and this external appearance is necessarily an illusion that represents a
small corner of the truth.

The characters, too, are reflected in mirrors. The narrator catches Arthur Donnithorne in front of his mirror,
no doubt looking at the man he purports to be while he attempts to talk himself out of the affair on which he
is about to embark. Another man, so to speak, inside him and not accessible to the mirror, carries out his
"crime" against a young dairymaid. The mirror shows the external reflection of the man he would like to think
he is, but he ignores it in favor of his lustful appetites. The novel as a mirror has its limitations in terms of
what the author can accomplish.
Hetty, more obviously, since she lives only for appearance as she both sees and embroiders it, objects to the
mirror in her room, which has blotches and is fixed in an upright position, not allowing her to get multiple
views of herself. In her mind the mirror distorts her appearance. The distorted mirror, however, may be seen
to reflect the distortion of Hetty's mind and spirit. Beautiful on the outside, she would like a smooth mirror to
reflect the pretty surface. However, the distorted mirror may well be a more accurate reflection of Hetty Sorrel,
for the beautiful image she presents to the world is at odds with her calculating and somewhat amoral nature,
which is less than lovely. When Adam sees himself in this mirror, he projects onto Hetty all the qualities that
exist only in himself.