The Lifted Veil is a novella by George Eliot. At the center of the story is Latimer, who is a dying man with an assumed ability to see the future. However, the text allows different interpretations, which imply that he is not a reliable narrator. Understanding how Eliot portrays the narrator is essential in ascertaining her anxieties and what truth she seeks in the story.
The sense of impending cessation of life makes a person share their thoughts honestly. It is evident when Latimer confesses his desire to use his “last hours of ease and strength in telling the strange story” (Eliot 2). He then proceeds to state that he wants to “unbosom” himself to somebody, which means that the sense of fleeting time liberates his closed nature (Eliot 2). Latimer knows he is going to die but his actions and unwavering belief in his premonition abilities precipitate his death more than the illness does. This is supported by the fact that there are moments when Latimer admits he becomes “free from insight, from my abnormal cognizance of any other consciousness than my own” (Eliot 39). At the same time, the illness does not subside, thus proving to be a more reliable source.
The story has examples of stereotypical predisposition to women, causing social anxieties in the narrator as well as the author. For instance, when the maid of Latimer’s wife dies, he agrees with the physician that “there are always insuperable difficulties with women in these matters” (Eliot 42). Another example includes Latimer thinking of men’s overly simplistic judgment of life, which makes him feel uncomfortable (Eliot 45). Therefore, the truth that Eliot seeks is what men really represent. It is expressed through Latimer’s thoughts about how they show their true nature when they are about to lose something valuable (Eliot 2). Latimer also contemplates how little value men attach to life-long commitments (Eliot 21). Overall, the author’s anxieties manifest themselves in Latimer’s reflections on male nature, which are her way of ascertaining the truth.
Altogether, Eliot’s goal is to showcase the nature of men. She projects her anxieties on the narrator, who is terminally ill. Anticipation of death makes him willing to question male behavior. He believes that he can foresee his death, yet he himself precipitates it. Men conceal their vulnerability by upholding stereotypes about women’s weaknesses. Ultimately, Elliot’s truth is that men become honest with the world only when they feel a loss.
Work Cited
Eliot, George. The Lifted Veil and Brother Jacob. Tauchnitz, 1878.