George Eliot Wasn't A Fan Of Most Women Writers Of Her Day

One of the interesting facts about George Eliot mentioned in this article is that he wasn't a fan of most women writers of her day. Eliot had some harsh comments for other female writers, but she was by no means a sexist. Eliot bemoaned the frivolous characters and unrealistic plots that, in her opinion, were a near-universal feature of books produced by women at the period in an anonymous essay titled "Silly Novels by Lady Novelists." Eliot's piece, which was published in The Westminster Review in 1856, said that these writings, which were rife with clichés and impossible romantic conclusions, made educated women appear dumb.

The literary style of other women of her day was also critiqued by her, who said that they "mistook affectation for originality, ambiguity for depth, and bombast for eloquence." She acknowledged, nevertheless, that not all works by women authors fell into this trap, praising authors like Currer Bell (Charlotte Bronte),and Elizabeth Gaskell.