Abstract

This essay explores the connections between Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan and George Eliot’s early essay “Hints on Snubbing” and her short novella “Janet’s Repentance.” Eliot quotes Hobbes in “Hints on Snubbing” and obliquely references him in the opening moments of “Janet’s Repentance,” initiating an important discussion about the influence Hobbesian philosophy had on Eliot’s own philosophies. Specifically, this essay addresses Eliot’s development of her imperative of sympathy as tied directly to Hobbes’ moral system as explained in Leviathan. In doing so, this essay re-inserts Hobbes into nineteenth century discourse, expanding the critical evaluation of Eliot’s approach to sympathy as a philosophical imperative and community building block.

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