Hi! Join me if you like discussing classic literature and reflecting on life in general or just want to learn more about classic books and authors.
My name is Sofia and I discuss classic books and always find themes that are relevant today.
Visit the podcast's instagram @no_inkling for additional content to every episode and share your thoughts and opinions with me!
Why is this book freeing and empowering? We learn to grow up and leave the past behind with "The Mill on the Floss".
How can this book be a therapeutic experience?
What does being true to oneself really mean?
"The Mill on the Floss" is the most autobiographical novel of George Eliot that frustrated readers of all times. I found an interpretation that makes even the ending make sense and moreover be inspiring.
We look at the book from different perspectives:
the autobiographical and psychological angle
the tradition of classical tragedy
the symbolism that makes us reflect on the common human experience
Visit the podcast's instagram @no_inkling for additional fun visual materials and to share your own opinions. You can DM me there too – I really want to hear from you!
15:56 should be: "a year before her own death," of course...
00:00 Immersive opening chapter
03:47 Subtle introduction of characters and themes
09:35 Autobiographical sibling relationship
16:21 Social criticism of gender stereotypes
19:47 Maggie's tragic position
27:03 The problem of every generation
28:39 Growing up and finding one's true will
32:20 Classical tragedy and the flood
36:58 Eliot's therapeutic experience and leaving the past behind
43:01 The power of random circumstances
44:54 The symbolism of the river
You can also direct your opinions, corrections and indignant remarks to sofiya1721@gmail.com.
Huge thanks to Music for Makers for the music!
17 Mar 2025
3. George Eliot: positivism, Darwin, Spinoza
We continue looking at George Eliot's philosophy and learn how to live in a way that empowers us.
What do positivism, Darwin, Feuerbach and Spinoza have in common?
And how can they teach us to see the bigger picture and navigate reality in a way that promotes our happiness?
This time we encounter:
the father of sociology Auguste Comte and his positive thinking;
Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution;
and Baruch or Benedict de Spinoza and his interconnectedness of everything.
And we will see how all of them and the thinkers from the previous episode come together in the philosophy of George Eliot and then in her novels.
This is the second part of my research into George Eliot's philosophy and it's definitely better to listen to the first part first.
Visit the podcast's instagram @no_inkling for additional fun visual materials and to share your own opinions. You can DM me there too – I really want to hear from you!
00:00 Auguste Comte's positivism and alternative religion
08:51 The theory of evolution and science influence literature
12:55 Darwin's theory as a call for universal community
16:27 Baruch Spinoza's similarities to George Eliot
18:22 Translating Spinoza into English and into fiction
22:29 Spinoza: how emotional intelligence increases our inner power
26:51 The freedom of knowledge and the interconnectedness of all
29:17 Learning to navigate reality and live in a way that empowers us
37:23 How Eliot practiced what she preached
Find edited transcripts at https://noinkling.wixsite.com/home.
You can also direct your opinions, corrections and indignant remarks to sofiya1721@gmail.com.
Huge thanks to Music for Makers for the music!
17 Mar 2025
2. George Eliot: education, utilitarianism, Feuerbach
How did George Eliot become one of the greatest English writers and thinkers of her time? We look at her education and further development of her worldview while learning more about the philosophical scene of the time.
Why did she prefer John Stuart Mill to Jeremy Bentham?
How did John Stuart Mill prove that gender equality is for the greater good in the 19th century?
Why did Feuerbach disagree with Jeremy Bentham about pain?
Why did Nietzshe hated them all and what does it tell us about public opinion?
George Eliot's philosophy was influenced by multiple thinkers of her time. This time we will see how she:
got acquainted with utilitarianism while working as an editor of a famous utilitarian journal, The Westminster Review;
translated Feuerbach and absorbed his ideas on pain, religion and love.
This is the first part of the story of George Eliot's philosophical development. Join me next time to listen to the end of this story that gets even more fascinating and eye-opening.
Visit the podcast's instagram @no_inkling for additional fun visual materials and to share your own opinions. You can DM me there too – I really want to hear from you!
05:27 it goes: "uniform harmony and clearness of style which impart to the volumes before us" – don't know why I said "impact"...
00:00 George Eliot's education
03:56 How young Eliot gives up religion
07:07 Eliot's relationship with utilitarianism
09:38 John Stuart Mill for gender equality
11:38 Pain or pleasure: utilitarianism vs. Feuerbach
14:47 Individuality and societal pressure (and why Nietzshe hated the English)
18:59 Divine human qualities: why personal relationships are the greatest achievement
Find edited transcripts at https://noinkling.wixsite.com/home.
You can also direct your opinions, corrections and indignant remarks to sofiya1721@gmail.com.
Huge thanks to Music for Makers for the music!
16 Mar 2025
1. George Eliot and deceptive appearances
We are looking at how being smart and unattractive influenced George Eliot's life and what it can teach us now.
how did she subvert societal expectations throughout her life?
and why did unattractive appearance never prevent her from making people fall in love with her?
George Eliot is one the most important English writers of the 19th century. Her novels are classics of Victorian literature. She is considered to be a genius and her primary masterpiece "Middlemarch" is often called the greatest English novel. Virginia Woolf famously called it "one of the few English novels written for grown-up people".
This time we will look at the story of George Eliot's personal life.
Visit the podcast's instagram @no_inkling for additional fun visual materials and to share your own opinions. You can DM me there too – I really want to hear from you!
00:00 Introduction: what is appearance?
01:01 George Eliot: being smart
05:10 Being unattractive and subverting expectations
07:57 Substance over appearances in relationships
14:37 Overestimation of physical appearance in romantic relationships
18:51 George Eliot and Charlotte Brontë
20:39 George Eliot's legacy
Please direct your corrections and indignant remarks to sofiya1721@gmail.com.
You can find the transcripts at https://noinkling.wixsite.com/home.
Huge thanks to Music for Makers for the music!
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