Introduction

The Introduction describes the aims of the book. It reviews and evaluates the main critical approaches to ‘The Lifted Veil’ in existence today, according to where its emphasis and focus are placed (genetic, feminist, stylistic and narratological, deconstructive and aporetic, medical and clinical, comparative, etc.). It points to the advantages of a sequential and contextual reading; it underlines the compact nature of Eliot’s fiction and argues for the pivotal position of the story in her oeuvre, and for the necessity of reinterpreting crucial aspects and events of the plot that have been overlooked by previous critics.