The theme of quest in Adam Bede

The theme of quest in Adam Bede

                Adam Bede is a Victorian novel written by  the English writer George Eliot  and was published in 1859. Indeed, the Victorian period (1837-1901) was an era of intense and prolific activity in literature, especially by novelists, poets, philosophers and essayists. The period was marked by social unrest. Thus, Adam Bede is a sheer embodiment of reality. Within this framework, light would be shed on one of the most important themes in Adam Bede ; the theme of quest which can be dealt with through the concept of love.

                Without any reservation,  a close scrutiny of the novel reveals that the quest is deeply reinforced via the notion of love. For instance, Hetty’s dreams are all of luxuries. She lusts for marrying someone  well-off who can keep her as a fine and idle lady. Her quest is only to care for her beauty, her marriage to Arthur and her elevation in rank. In her quest, our attention is held to the fact that Hetty’s feelings are shallow and egoistic, having no tenderness for older people and the Poyser children for whom she has to care. Hetty is head over heels in love with Arthur. Her thoughts are, as usual, not about the world around her but about Arthur. She begins to withdraw into her world of fantasy, egoism and day dreaming. She shows sympathy to Arthur but a touch of gloominess and melancholy on her face are revealed when she seems downcast and upset at not seeing him. Yet, Hetty’s quest for marriage and love  for Arthur turns out to be absurd and fruitless. This absurdity of Hetty’s love towards Arthur is stressed via Adam’s speech which brings to light Arthur’s deception and his unfounded promises in his courtship with Hetty. The latter is heartbroken and shocked. She is in a bit of a predicament. This feeling is highlighted in particular after reading Arthur’s letter. Bitterness floods her heart verges on tearing out  the letter and hating Arthur. However, in her quest, Hetty does not give way to frustration and submission. She is rather bristled with an iron will. She still has a glimmer of hope  that her efforts are not doomed to fail. They must not go the way of wind. Thus, she decides to set off on a journey in quest of finding Arthur who is seen as the only source of help. The journey was so traumatic marked by her awareness  of her dwindling of money and wrong path in finding the route to Windsor. She is anxious and worn-out  being subject to people’s rudeness and stare. She is in a rundown state  after being told that Arthur is no longer in Windsor, his regiment  having left for Ireland two weeks before. Hetty’s quest, in this respect, is finally marked by despondency and failure. Her dreams are shattered and her last rays of hope are dashed. She doesn’t find a way out but to give into self deception about reality that verges on indignation and self punishment by trying to commit suicide  and eventually by being under sentence of death for being charged with child murder.

               The theme of quest is further incarnated through Adam’s love towards  Hetty and Dianah Morris second. Adam is deeply struck by Hetty’s beauty. His quest is stressed in his unremitting efforts to attain his end ; marrying Hetty. By all means, Adam’s quest for love is not as powerful as it is with Dianah because Hetty seems to be more attached  to Arthur than Adam. Yet, Adam’s quest is broadly reinforced and doubled mainly after his discovery of the love affair between Hetty and Arthur. Inspite of his deception in love, he was strong willed to keep on his courtship with Hetty.  Adam’s ultimate goal  is to attain marriage and happiness with Hetty Sorrel. As far as Hetty is condemned to death for being charged with child murder, Adam’s quest shifts from love towarsd Hetty to indignation and vengeance  towards Arthur who is thaught , according to Adam, to be beyond the misery and the sin brought to Hetty. His speech leveled against his friend Arthur is lavishly marked by venom, fury and indictment for Arthur is believed to bring trouble and annoyance to Hetty. Adam feels he has been robbed of Hetty, robbed treacherously by the man who has trusted. He indicts Arthur for robbing his happiness  while he considers him as his best friend and noble-minded man he is proud to work for. He deems Arthur as a foe to fight against. Adam’s wrath and indignation verges on revenge against Arthur who is accused of being a double-faced man,a coward and a scoundrel for he has made Hetty loves him.

              The quest is also stressed, after Hetty’s death, via Adam’s love for Dianah. Hetty’s death does not put an end to Adam’s quest but it rather functions as a stimulus for Adam to go through another psychological and social experience that would bear fruit. Adam’s love for Dianah is initially characterized by difficulties and affection for Dianah turns down the proposal of marriage on the ground that she fully wants to devote herself to preaching and serving people. Yet, this confession does not encumber Adam’s quest because he shows great respect to his work and sympathy towards Dianah.He refuses to see his quest end in smoke, but he is rather determined not to split up with Dianah. He has a lust for soothing away Dianah’s weariness and trouble  about the concept of marriage and love. He is attempting to convince Dianah that love could not, by any stretch of the imagination,  make her callous and unfeeling. He is trying to wipe off doubts out of her mind  by telling her that he would never meddle in her private affair and preaching. In fact, it is not an easy quest for Adam to bring round Dianah to the indispensability of love and marriage as a social institution whose paramount end is not to bridge the gap but also to strengthen the ties between humans. Adam’s quest in his courtship with Dianah, unlike Hetty, is crowned with success and marriage.

              It does not go without saying that through the theme of quest  some of Geroge Eliot’s thoughts are highlighted as far as humans are concerned. Elliot throws into relief his philosophy that human relations are a dichotomy between good and evil, love and hatred, sin and redemption, life and death, visibility and invisibility , etc…  Nothing is superfluous. Such a dichotomy is crucial and requisite for the universe to progress and humans to find their ways in the labyrinthine complexities of the universe.