In Which The Story Pauses A Little, By George Eliot

“Do you solemnly swear that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God, under pains and penalties of perjury?” The narrator stops the novel to assure the reader that she is telling the truth about the characters being described. Almost as if she is wants the audience to not be mistaken of what has been read, and what the reader will experience throughout the rest of the novel. The title of this chapter is In Which the Story Pauses a Little, Eliot goes on to write from nature, and fact. She gives the sense of being in a courtroom, and being under oath to tell the truth. The tone of this chapter is very blunt, and straight to the point. An analysis of Eliot’s chapter seventeen reveals the truth, the beauty, and more insight on Mr. Irwine. …show more content…
She goes on to tell us “Falsehood is so easy, the truth is so difficult.” Eliot talks as if she is on a witness stand, and can only tell the truth. In the notes section of the novel she precede to tell us “ …but I feel as much bound to tell you, as precisely as I can, what the reflection is, as if I were in the witness-box narrating my experience on oath.” This section of the chapter demonstrates how important it is that the narrator is being completely honest. We are not to be lead astray from our own transgressions. She gives us real world examples, and hits us with the realities on the way we are discerning some of the characters. One of those characters in particular is Hetty. Before the novel