George Eliot

Kristeva's philosophy can be applied to nearly every narrative especially in association with the body as a universal source of human language. In every narrative there are traces of description that help the reader understand the universal stance of the body, be it a description of a facial expression or the full description of a character based upon the description of his or her appearance. Eliot makes clear through her character descriptions that the body is the universal symbol of the person as all beings are objects exhibiting behavior within a certain context of their person. One quote from Amos Barton is especially telling of both the conservative context of Eliot's writing and the universal reliance on the abject body as a symbol of the whole being:

No,' said Mr. Hackit, who was fond of soothing the acerbities of the feminine mind with a jocose compliment, 'you held...
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