The Nibbling of a Mouse: Eliot’s Saccharissa Letters in the Context of Bodichon’s Call for Political Engagement

Abstract

Claims George Eliot’s Saccharissa Letters, previously read as an approving comment on mediocre writing by women, are actually ironic; the publications on political economy by Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon, Eliot’s best friend, provide a context for reading Eliot’s criticism of a simplistic and self-interested approach to political economy. Believes these letters are important because they show Eliot’s concern with political involvement and her frustration with women who abdicate social and political responsibility through adherence to the doctrine of separate spheres; they also emphasize Eliot’s distance from her characters, even in works with a single speaker.