Adam Bede : Adam’s growth to maturity through suffering

Adam Bede : Adam’s growth to maturity through
suffering

George Eliot’s Adam Bede is a masterpiece of literature. The novel shows growth of
Adam Bede, a carpenter, to maturity trough sufferings. It may sound strange to people
who are contented with the surface meaning and consequently do not try to read
between the lines.

Adam Bede seems to be a perfect human being having outstanding qualities of mind and
heart. When it is said that Adam Bede grows to maturity during the course of the story,
a common reader feels a sort of shock. He cannot think that a man like Adam Bede can
also have some flaw. Here lies the craftsmanship of the writer as far as presentation of
character is concerned and understanding of human nature as far as life is concerned.
Nevertheless, Adam Bede and growth appear to be opposites. He has been presented as
a successful person, highly admired and loved by everyone who knows him. He is a
favorite of his mother: his mother shows more concern for him than his brother, Seth, in
spite of the fact that the latter is gentler and milder in every aspect of life. His employer,
the carpenter in whose workshop he works, wants to make him his partner. He has high
esteem in the eyes of the young landlord of the area- the landlord treats him as his
friend. With all these things on his side, the concept of Adam’s growth appears to be
extraneous- an outside idea.

George Eliot is a realist writer and her understanding of human nature is comprehensible
that she can easily pick flaws in character which seems to be perfect outwardly. In the
very beginning of the novel, the writer tells us that a beggar could easily ask Seth to
give him some money but Adam’s reputation in the area was established as person who
would not give any beggar anything-rather he would scold them for not working and
earning what they needed to live. This description of Adam’s character is clear indication
that Adam does not know the value of compassion and sympathy. This trait of his
character is highlighted with respect to his relation with his parents. When he returns
from his work and finds that his father has not completed the work which he was
supposed to, he becomes very angry and starts working and when his mother asks him
to eat something; he does not listen to his mother and goes on working.

Pride is yet another flaw in Adam Bede. George Eliot furnished many episodes to show
us pride in his character. When he is given the charge of the management of the woods
of the area, Adam’s speech is criticized by many people for being devoid of gratitude and
reflecting pride. In fact, he is a self-righteous person and this sense of self-righteousness
makes him oblivious of the need of gratitude. We see how he finally comes to realize this
shortcoming in his character.

He sees just one side of every issue. Rather he sees what he wants to see and what he
does not want to see, he either shuts his eyes completely on that or at least does not
think why things are not what he wants to see them. Here is lies the tragedy of his life.
This trait of his character pushes him suffering. Though at times his suffering seems to
be unjustified, he comes to admit this flaw in his personality during his second meeting
with Arthur after Hetty’s trial. This meeting is very crucial as for as Adam’s growth is
concerned. Even here Adam blames Arthur his suffering and Hetty’s punishment. It is
with the passage of time that he sees that Adam Arthur is also a sufferer and Arthur’s
suffering is as painful-perhaps more painful than anyone else-as that of Adam.
Yet another flaw in Arthur is his rashness and this rashness throws him in situations
where he suffers more. His rashness is highlighted again and again throughout the
course of the story through action taken by Adam whenever his character is put to test.
It was his luck and presence of some very kind hearted people around that his rashness
does not throw him in the dungeon of permanent suffering. Suppose he would have
killed Arthur during his encounter with him in the Chase when Adam saw Hetty and
Arthur love making, then what? Or he would have killed him in a fit of anger if Irwine-the
country priest had not stopped him, then what?

If we study Adam’s character carefully by shedding our chauvinism and idealism, we can
easily see many defects in his personality. We find him a grown up child who does not
understand the world and life around him. And because of this lack of understanding he
suffers and his sufferings make him mature and Adam Bede at the end of the novel is
different from the Adam we meet throughout the novel. He is compassionate,
understanding and forgiving in everything now. He tells about his meeting with Arthur
and talks about Hetty’s death with words drenched in sympathy and forgiveness.

Many people say that the last part of the novel is additional and that the story should
have finished with Hetty’ confession. This is not a sound judgment on Adam Bede. Adam
Bede is not about Hetty. Hetty is in the novel because of her relation with Adam. In
other words, Hetty is in the novel as experience to bring about maturity in Adam. Hetty
stands for physical beauty like the one that of Eve who tempted Adam, the father of
mankind, to eat the apple and bring suffering in Adam’s life. Her role is no more than
this in spite of the fact that the writer gives a lot of space and attention to her character.
Nevertheless we can conclude our argument once again reiterating that the novel Adam
Bede is about the growth of Adam Bede to maturity and this maturity comes through
suffering and his rashness, pride and lack of compassion make his suffering inevitable.
Adam’s maturity comes through experience and Adam is guided by his luck and some
very good people on the path of experience. Without these people Adam’s suffering
would have becoming perhaps permanent. Here the writer seems to be showing her faith
in the society. Bartle Messy, Irwine, Dinah and Arthur represent this benevolent aspect
of society.