Context

Question 1

When was the novel published but set?

Answer 1

1861 (height of the Victorian era) but set in the c.1800

Question 2

How is when the novel was published but set relate to the novel?

Answer 2

• could be argued that the tone of the novel is deeply nostalgic: Eliot is looking back to a simple, happier time before all the upheaval that characterised the 19th century
• does gently critique the small-mindedness and complacency of the Raveloe villagers. In the second part of the novel, only 16 years after the first, the decline of the Cass family (don’t give Godfrey the title ‘Squire’) and the fact Lantern Yard is replaced by a factory, demonstrate the speed with which the world is changing