Assumptions Quote by George Eliot
““It had never occurred to him that he should live in any other than what he would have called an ordinary way, with green glasses for hock, and excellent waiting at table. In warming himself at French social theories he had brought away no smell of scorching. We may handle even extreme opinions with impunity while our furniture, our dinner-giving, and preference for armorial bearings in our own ease, link us indissolubly with the established order.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Middlemarch by George Eliot, 1871
The narrator observes a character’s complacent acceptance of ordinary life, noting how social theories fail to change his habits or status, keeping him tied to the established order.
In simple terms: He is content with a conventional, unremarkable life, untouched by radical ideas.
Key Takeaway
Recognize how comfort can mask deeper conformity.
Themes
conformity
social critique
comfort zones
Mood
reflective
critical
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- personal reflection
- social analysis
- literary study
Key Concepts
class
identity
status quo
Questions to Reflect On
- Do you accept comfort over change?
- How do social theories affect personal habits?
A Different Perspective
The passage romanticizes ordinary life, overlooking systemic oppression.
![“[W]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range of music, and will not vibrate in the least under a touch that fills others with tremulous rapture or quivering agony.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9be/george-eliot-84_agony_w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves_12409.jpg)
