The Lifted Veil [short fiction]

This novella is two things in hindsight: it is gothic-ish science fiction avant la lettre, and it is Twilight-from-Edward’s-perspective

Latimer is a sensitive young lad growing up in the shadow of his older brother, who is more successful, handsomer, with a better sense for business and who is groomed by their father to take over the family estate. Latimer, indifferent to society’s expectations of a gentleman, is sent to a Swiss boarding school and expects to spend the rest of his life on the sufferance of his elders and betters. Until, after a sudden illness, he finds he has become sensitive to the future: he has visions of cities he has not yet visited, and discovers he can see into people’s minds, too. When he falls in love, it show more is with a girl who is unique in that her mind is closed to him; he cannot read her thoughts. As it turns out, she’s his brother’s fiancée, too.

There’s a nice, moody sense of gloom hanging over this tale, and the portions that could be called gothicky and (in hindsight) “science fiction” are nicely balanced by some well-written 19th century musings on introspective angst. I liked this one, and am disappointed to find out this is the only speculative fiction thing Eliot ever wrote. show less

For such a short story (especially by Eliot’s standards), there is a lot packed in here—Gothic atmosphere, psychological confession, Victorian science, social satire, and a theory of human relations stretched to the point of breaking. Our protagonist, Latimer, ought to be fascinating—his “gift” should be the kind of trait that makes for an interesting inner struggle. But like a Gothic novel turned inward, we seem to spend our time wandering around the cavernous rooms & passageways of his mind. I found him entirely unrelatable, and his passive aloofness from his own life more than a bit frustrating. He has the artist’s sense of beautiful suffering, but never actually turns that suffering into anything of much value.

But I love show more Eliot’s writing, beyond the bounds of the structure that she applies it to. Even in a tale this sensational, Eliot’s irony and insight are what I’m here for—the frailty of reason when challenged by emotion and impulse; the counterintuitive imagery of convalescence as “the days gradually breaking into variety and distinctness”; the “keys to happiness”—“ready dulness, healthy selfishness, good-tempered conceit”; the tragedy of disappointed age and worldliness; etc. I’m not sure the story or characters live up—the melodrama is pretty thick, Latimer isn’t much to cling to, and the rest of the cast are flatter still—but I enjoyed reading it regardless. show less

And what do I think of The Lifted Veil? Apparently it was GE's second literary effort, Adam Bede being the first and the publisher did not like it at all and wouldn't publish it. It is a very odd tale in every regard; the narrator, has visions of future events and can, in a certain way, read minds -- at least -- he can read character in all but one person, the woman he falls in love with but who is engaged to his brother. It's in the first person and Latimer is not sympathetic and not meant to be. The plot, such as it has...... is very uneven and seems to waver between being a psychological thriller and an out and out zombie horror story..... On the other hand, it is very very interesting that such a close observer of social life, a show more novelist of so much ability in that regard, would try her hand at something else. Perhaps she had been reading Poe, and thought, "Maybe that would be fun to try?" Or maybe someone at the dinner table raised the question of whether, if you could read minds and know the future, what effect would that have on someone and GE decided to see what sort of story would emerge from that. Not a very good story as it turns out. I don't feel equal to rating it since GE is a ***** star author normally. I think it was an experiment and should be treated as such. A curiousity. show less

This is the only book I read on the train that I actually brought with me to read on the train. One of Melville House Books' Art of the Novella series, I was drawn to it as soon as I saw the author. I read Middlemarch a year or so back and absolutely loved it, but I hadn't yet read anything else by Eliot. As I am given to understand, this work both is and is not representative of her novel writing. It of course features her empathetic characterizations and high-minded idealism, but in this novella these traits are interwoven with supernatural suspense.

A pleasing, old-fashioned yet somehow modern page-turner, this story seems both to praise and condemn the veils of privacy that shield each person's heart and mind from any other. How much show more misery could be avoided if each couple perhaps knew each other a little better before committing to spend their entire lives together? And yet how much misery to know everything -- every thought and judgement and disappointment in another's mind?

Highly recommended. In fact, I have a friend who I may have to buy a copy for. show less

A deep dark psycho-depressive Victorian horror novella from Eliot, with a good ambiguous touch--we never know if Latimer really has the clairvoyant sight he claims, and therefore if the veil that lifts is the one between man and true sight, or madness. It's psychologically skilled on a more mundane level as well, with the treatment of a loveless cold war of a relationship between a narcissist and a histrionic--the fear of others and yet the fear of isolation. It's minor Eliot, but it's Eliot, and that means quality.

Eliot is one of my favorite authors (along with Hardy) and this small novella did not disappoint. Unlike Eliot's other works that I have read, this novella was told by a first person unreliable narrator. It had almost a gothic feel. The narrator had the "gift" of premonitions and could read other's thoughts. Marriage is addressed in this novel very bleakly. A lot going on in this novella, but I liked it! 101 pages

This short Gothic story is very unlike Eliot's other work. It is a horror and paranormal novella. The central character Latimer, after falling ill, acquires an unwelcome inability to see into people's minds and see their real unmediated thoughts and feelings, and also anticipate some future actions they will take. This "gift" rapidly makes his life hell. The writing here is dense and doomladen, and quite horrific in places, with an atmosphere redolent in places of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and even in my view the less well known very early American author Charles Brockden Brown's novel Wieland. This novella showcases the diversity of Eliot's writing.