Carlyle, Thomas (1795-1881)

Thomas Carlyle authored many historical and philosophical texts, many of which George Eliot read. As Eliot began to publish, her ideologies created disagreements with Carlyle. While he was originally a mentor to George Henry Lewes, and the person to whom Lewes dedicated his Goethe biography, Carlyle strongly disagreed with Lewes' relationship with Eliot. Lewes wrote him a long letter of explanation after the scandal broke in England that he was living abroad with the unmarried George Eliot, which seemed to partially but incompletely heal their wounded friendship. Carlyle married Jane Welsh Carlyle in 1826. Their marriage was notoriously unhappy, and Carlyle never brought his wife to visit Eliot and Lewes, yet Jane valued Eliot's works and was a supporter of her nonetheless.

George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett, https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org

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