The problem of otherness in George Eliot's The Mill on The Floss, Silas Marner, and Middlemarch

This thesis examines how societal contradictions shape identity and otherness in the Victorian era, focusing on George Eliot's The Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner, and Middlemarch. Drawing on Julia Kristeva's feminist theoretical framework, especially her concepts of abjection and melancholia, the study explores the profound impact of the Industrial Revolution and urbanization on identity construction. Mikhail Bakhtin's theories of heteroglossia, dialogism, and the carnivalesque provide a complementary social and linguistic perspective to Kristeva's psychoanalytic approach, offering insights into identity and marginalization. In The Mill on the Floss, Maggie Tulliver's family dynamics, gender dilemmas, and societal expectations are analyzed through Kristeva's semiotic and symbolic theories, Bakhtin's dialogism, and the carnivalesque. In Silas Marner, strangeness is explored through the application of Kristeva's theory of abjection to Silas's alienation and identity transformation, framed by Bakhtin's concepts of dialogism and heteroglossia. Finally, Dorothea Brooke's identity formation, desires, and rebellion are explored in Middlemarch, within the social constraints of her time, highlighting Kristeva's melancholia, abjection, and strangeness theories. Bakhtin's theories of dialogism and heteroglossia are employed to examine Dorothea's struggle with established gender roles. This thesis underscores how Eliot's narratives mirror societal conflicts, providing a critical framework for analyzing identity, gender, and otherness. By integrating Kristevan psychoanalysis with Bakhtinian dialogism, it offers insight into Eliot's contributions to the discourse on societal change and individual formation.