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Adam Bede
Novel by George Eliot

George Eliot Biography

English novelist Mary Ann Evans, known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet,
journalist, translator and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrote seven novels:
Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner, Romola, Felix Holt, the Radical, Middlemarch and
Daniel Deronda.
Born: November 22, 1819, Nuneaton, United Kingdom
Died: December 22, 1880, Chelsea, London, United Kingdom
Nickname: George Eliot
Full name: Mary Ann Cross
Style: The narrative techniques used by George Eliot in Adam Bede are called ironical narrative.

Information About Novel

Adam Bede was the first Long novel by Mary Ann Evans, and was published in 1859. It was published
pseudonymously, even though Evans was a well-published and highly respected scholar of her time.
The novel has remained in print ever since and is regularly used in university studies of 19th-century
English literature.
Originally published: 1859
Genre: Historical, tragedy, romance, realism
Title: Eponymous
Methodism
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of
Protestant Christianity which derive their doctrine of practice and belief from the life and teachings
of John Wesley and Charles Wesley.
Themes
• Realism
• Inner vs. Outer Beauty
• The Value of Hard Work
• Love as a Transformative Force
• The Consequences of Bad Behavior
• Honor
• Love
• Nature

Character List
• Adam Bede
A carpenter and the protagonist of the novel. Adam is strong, intelligent, and fairly well educated for
a peasant. He is industrious and loyal. Throughout the story, Adam’s pride forms the central
movement of the book. Adam believes that working hard is a way of doing God’s work and is at least
as important as religion itself. He hates all evil and does not understand how a man could decide
that something is evil and then do it anyway. Adam is admired by his peers, but he is not motivated
by their admiration. For him, a job well done is its own reward.
• Dinah Morris
A Methodist preacher who seeks to bring God’s love to all those around her. Dinah’s gentle and
selfless attitude bring comfort to the other characters, including Hetty in the hours before she is
scheduled to die. Dinah’s outer beauty matches her inner calm and draws all the other characters to
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her. She feels compelled to help those in greatest need, even when it results in the denial of her own
happiness. Eventually she comes to believe that her own happiness and God’s will are not
necessarily incompatible.
• Hetty Sorrel
A startlingly beautiful young peasant girl. Her downfall is the primary action of the novel. Hetty is
selfish and shallow. Although her humiliation changes her somewhat, even to the end she is more
concerned with her own suffering than anyone else’s. Hetty is also foolish. She has no sense of the
way the world really is and no appreciation for Mr. and Mrs. Poyser for taking her in and raising her
when she was orphaned. Hetty wants everyone to notice her beauty. Hetty is a foil to Dinah’s
character.
• Captain Arthur Donnithorne
A young regimental soldier, heir to the Chase. His arrogant belief in his own good character leads
him to disgrace Hetty. Captain Donnithorne believes that he is fundamentally a good man, no matter
what else happens and even when events show that his evil actions have consequences. He tries to
buy his way out of every situation. Even his desire to do good is really a desire to be seen by others
as one who does good. Captain Donnithorne cares for Adam, although not enough to tell him the
truth about Hetty. Although he loves Hetty, his love is not strong enough to break the class
boundaries that separate them.
• Seth Bede
Adam’s brother, a Methodist carpenter. Seth gives freely of himself, even to the point of giving up
his love of Dinah when he believes it is for the good of others. Although Seth is not as intelligent as
Adam, he is motivated by love and acts well in all things as a result. Both gentle and kind, he is
comparable to Dinah but lacks her education and intelligence. A bit of a dreamer, Seth likes to sit
and think rather than do, although he works very hard at his job as well.
• Rachel Poyser
A country farmwoman. She has a sharp tongue and a deep love for her family and friends. Mrs.
Poyser is an indulgent mother to Totty, her three-year-old daughter. A mother figure to both Hetty
and Dinah, she repeatedly warns Hetty against the dangers of vanity. She believes she knows more
than most people, stands up to authority when she believes it is wrong, and criticizes freely when
she believes others are in error.
• Martin Poyser
A farmer and tenant of the Squire’s. Mr. Poyser is deeply traditional and values his land and good
name above all else. A simple man, he cherishes his wife and believes in her wisdom.
• Bartle Massey
The schoolteacher and Adam’s best friend. Unbeknownst to his friends, not only does Mr. Massey
care deeply for his students, but he exhibits a patience with them that he seldom shows in the
company of friends. Mr. Massey rails against the stupidity of women and says everything twice.
During Hetty’s trial, he is a tactful comfort to Adam because he is able to see when it is best not to
speak.
• Lisbeth Bede
The mother of Adam and Seth, the wife of Thias. Lisbeth shrieks at her children, complains
incessantly about the wrongs the world does to her, and wishes for death when her husband dies.
For all that, she loves Adam and Seth, although she favors Adam over Seth and never spares Seth’s
feelings on the subject. She is the first to remark on Adam and Dinah’s love for each other.
• Thias Bede
A drunkard, the father of Adam and Seth. Thias fell from a straight life sometime before the opening
of the novel. Until his death, he is only a burden to his family.
• Squire Donnithorne
The old, spendthrift landlord of the Chase. He takes no interest in his tenants as people but only as a
source income and therefore his comfort.
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• Mrs. Irwine
An old socialite, mother of Mr. Irwine. Mrs. Irwine’s sense of superiority over the peasants leads her
to bring misery even when she ostensively seeks to bring happiness. A proud and arrogant woman,
she belittles the peasants, believing that they are beneath her because they do not have her wealth.
• Wiry Ben
A carpenter who works with Adam and Seth. Wiry Ben is a simple man, who is uneducated, likes his
ale, and can dance very well.
• Mr. Casson
The proprietor of the village inn. Mr. Casson knows everyone’s business and affects great airs of
nobility, even in the way he speaks.
• Gyp
Adam’s tailless, faithful dog. Gyp follows Adam everywhere. How other characters treat Gyp is often
an indication of how they react to helpless creatures.
• Joshua Rann
The parish clerk who is so proud of his own voice and musical talent that he flaunts them at every
turn. He also takes great offense at the coming of Methodists into the parish.
• Will Maskery
The Methodist wheelwright. Maskery is outspoken and self-righteous.
• Sarah Stone
A Methodist widow from Stoniton. She lets Hetty stay with her when she looks for Captain
Donnithorne. She later testifies at Hetty’s trial.
• John Olding
Farm laborer who lives near Stoniton. At Hetty’s trial, he testifies that he saw Hetty one morning and
heard a baby crying.
• Aldophous Irwine
The rector of Broxton, the confidante of Captain Donnithorne. Mr. Irwine is tolerant and
compassionate. Although he is a religious man, he believes that little good is done by chastising
people for their wrong-doings. Instead, he teaches patience and gentleness. Mr. Irwine has never
married and prefers to live with his mother and two sisters. Although he does not pry into others’
inner lives, he offers sage advice when his advice is sought. He loves Captain Donnithorne like a son
and is deeply wounded by Hetty’s disgrace. Mr. Irwine knows the details of the lives of the people in
the parish and does his best to encourage what he believes will make them happy.

Adam Bede Summary

Adam Bede follows four characters in the rural village of Hayslope in 1799. It opens with the Bede
brothers, Adam and Seth, at work in a carpentry shop. The other men tease Seth about his
Methodism and the fact that he is in love with Dinah, the Methodist preacher. Dinah preaches in
Hayslope that night and captivates even her skeptical audience. Seth walks her home and asks her to
marry him for the second time, but she refuses, saying that it will interfere with her preaching.
Adam returns home to his mother, who is worried that his father is not yet home because he has
promised to make a coffin for the next day. Thias Bede used to be an honorable man who taught his
sons carpentry, but he has become a drunk in the last few years. Angry with his father, Adam stays
up the whole night to complete the work on the coffin. He hears a strange rapping on the door, but
nobody is there.
Captain Arthur Donnithorne visits his mentor, the vicar, and tells him about Dinah's preaching. They
travel together to visit the Poyser farm so that the vicar can meet Dinah. At the Poysers' farm, Mrs.
Poyser's niece, Dinah, and Mr. Poyser's niece are living with their aunt and uncle. Captain Arthur
Donnithorne, whose aristocratic grandfather is the Poysers' landlord, asks to see Mrs. Poyser's dairy,
while Dinah impresses the vicar by explaining to him why she feels called to preach. In the dairy,
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Arthur flirts with Hetty and ascertains that she walks alone to his estate to learn lace-making from
his housekeeper.
In the morning, Adam sets out to the village pub to find his father, but he finds him face-down,
drowned in a stream. The news of the Bedes' misfortune spreads fast around the village, and Dinah
visits Lisbeth Bede to comfort her. Despite the fact that she does not usually like Methodists--or any
young women who she suspects could take her place in her sons' affections--Lisbeth takes to Dinah.
She stays overnight with the Bedes to help Lisbeth.
Arthur intercepts Hetty in the woods on her way to his estate. He flirts with her and kisses her. After
she goes home, he decides that it is not a good idea to lead her on, and he resolves not to see her in
the future. That night, Hetty dreams of marrying Arthur, becoming a gentlewoman, and owning
beautiful women. Dinah surprises and frightens her by knocking on her door and saying that if she is
ever in trouble, she should come to Dinah.
There is a well-attended burial service in the parish for Thias Bede. Adam visits the Poysers
afterward to continue his well-established courtship of Hetty. Hetty's uncle and aunt both approve
highly of the match, but Adam is frustrated because he cannot tell whether Hetty loves him or not.
After this visit, he attends night-school, where he is learning mathematics to improve his skill at
carpentry. Bartle Massey, the schoolmaster, tells him that he would be better off to stay a bachelor.
Arthur's and Hetty's secret affair continues, and he gives her a pair of beautiful earrings and a locket.
At a celebration for Arthur's twenty-first birthday, he announces that he has appointed Adam Bede
the steward for his estate's forest. This appointment will finally make Adam financially viable enough
to ask Hetty to marry him.
Walking through the woods a few days later, Adam is reflecting on how happy he is until he sees
Arthur and Hetty kissing. Hetty runs away, and Adam confronts Arthur. The two get in a fistfight, and
Adam knocks Arthur down. He makes Arthur promise to write a letter to Hetty that will end the
affair. Adam personally delivers this letter to Hetty, who is devastated. The letter says, however, to
call on Arthur if she is in any real trouble. Hetty tries to think of how she can get out of her situation
and decides that her best move would be to marry Adam. Adam thinks that she has learned from her
mistakes. They get engaged.
As the marriage approaches, Hetty grows more and more worried. She gladly accepts as a pretext to
run away her uncle's idea that she should leave to fetch Dinah from where she is preaching in
Snowden. She takes all of her money and follows Arthur to Windsor where he has been stationed as
a soldier. It takes all of her money to arrive there, and when she is informed that Arthur's troops
have been sent to Ireland, she faints away. She remembers her cousin's invitation to look to her if
she is ever in trouble. Hetty sets off in the opposite direction with the resolution that if she is too
cowardly to commit suicide, she will find Dinah.
Hetty's family becomes worried when she does not return after a number of days, and Adam Bede
sets out in search of her. When he arrives in Hayslope, he finds that she has never visited to collect
Dinah at all. Alarmed, he traces her to Stoniton. When he returns back to Hayslope, the vicar informs
him that she has just been arrested for the murder of her own child.
Adam is convinced that she is innocent until he attends her trial and sees the incontrovertible proof
against her. One of the witnesses is a woman in whose house she delivered the baby. Another is a
workingman who saw her near the spot where she partially buried the baby in a field before it died
of exposure. Hetty is sentenced to execution. Dinah visits her in prison, persuades her to confess for
the first time, and gives her spiritual counseling.
Adam has sent for Arthur, who receives word first that his grandfather has died, so Arthur returns to
Hayslope without knowing what has happened to Hetty. When he hears the news, he rushes to get a
special pardon for her. It is delivered in the nick of time. He rides up to where Hetty is riding in the
death cart accompanied by Dinah with the pardon. Hetty is re-sentenced to exile rather than death.
Adam and Arthur meet again and agree to end their old argument. Arthur says that he is joining the
military, and the two shake hands.
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Years later, Adam visits the Poysers as they try to convince Dinah not to leave on her preaching
circuit yet again. She insists that she must go because of personal temptations. When Adam says
that whatever she chooses will be right, she begins to cry. He brings her home to his mother, who is
ill and wanted to see Dinah again. Dinah blushes every time that Adam talks to her, and Seth and
Lisbeth see that she is in love with him. Lisbeth informs her son, who, after asking his brother's
permission, asks her to marry him. She refuses, saying that her first priority is religion. She leaves for
Leeds to preach. After she has been gone for a few days, Adam follows her to where she is
preaching. He meets her on a hill, and she admits that she has been listening to her heart and what
God is trying to tell her--and that it is to marry him. The two marry, and the epilogue depicts them
living happily with their entire family, including two children.

Full Book Summary

Summary Full Book Summary
Dinah Morris, a Methodist preacher, arrives in Hayslope, a small village in England, in 1799. She stays
with her aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Poyser, although she plans to return soon to Snowfield, where
she normally lives. Seth Bede, a local carpenter, loves her and is learning to live with her rejection of
his marriage proposal. Seth’s brother, Adam Bede, also lives in Hayslope and works as the foreman
at the carpentry shop where he and his brother work. Adam loves a seventeen-year-old village
beauty named Hetty Sorrel. Hetty, who is Mr. Poyser’s niece, lives with the Poysers and helps with
the chores.
Thias Bede, the father of Seth and Adam, drowns in the river near their house after a drinking binge.
Their mother, Lisbeth, is distraught. Dinah goes to comfort Lisbeth, and she is able to soothe her
where no one else can. Lisbeth wishes that Dinah could be her daughter-in-law.
The local landlord, Squire Donnithorne, rules the parish with an iron fist. His grandson and heir,
Captain Donnithorne, who is a member of the regimental army, has broken his arm and is living with
the Squire. The villagers all respect and adore Captain Donnithorne, who considers himself a gallant
man. Captain Donnithorne flirts secretively with Hetty after first meeting her at the Poysers. He asks
her when she will next be visiting the Squire’s residence and arranges to meet her alone in the
woods when she passes through.
When Captain Donnithorne meets up with Hetty in the woods, they are alone for the first time and
both are bashful. Captain Donnithorne teases Hetty about her many suitors, and she cries. He puts
his arms around her, but he then immediately panics at the inappropriateness of his advances and
runs off. Later Captain Donnithorne meditates on what he has done and decides he needs to see
Hetty to clear up what happened. He meets her on her way back through the woods, and they kiss.
This encounter begins a summer-long affair, which only ends when Captain Donnithorne leaves to
rejoin his regiment. Hetty believes that Captain Donnithorne will marry her and make her into the
great socialite she dreams of being. Although she does not exactly love him, she loves the wealth
and privilege he represents.
Captain Donnithorne throws a coming-of-age party for himself to which he invites all the members
in the parish. Everyone comes and has a wonderful time with a feast, dancing, and games. Adam
discovers that Hetty is wearing a locket that Captain Donnithorne gave her. He becomes suspicious
that she might have a secret lover but concludes that it would not be possible for her to conceal
such a thing from the Poysers.
On the last night Captain Donnithorne is in town, Adam catches him kissing Hetty in the woods.
Adam and he have a fight, which Adam wins. Captain Donnithorne lies to Adam that the affair was
no more than a little flirtation. At his response, Adam tells him he must write a letter to Hetty letting
her know that the affair is over. Captain Donnithorne does so, and Adam delivers the letter. Hetty is
crushed, but after some time she resolves to marry Adam as a way out of her current life. Adam
proposes, and Hetty accepts. By the time Captain Donnithorne leaves, Hetty is pregnant, although
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neither of them knows it. She resolves to go out to find Captain Donnithorne because she cannot
bear to have those who know her find out about her shame. She believes that Captain Donnithorne
will help her, even though she feels he can never erase her shame.
Hetty sets out to locate Captain Donnithorne. At the end of an arduous journey, she learns that he
has gone to Ireland. She heads in the direction of home, more or less intending to visit Dinah, who
she believes will help her without judging her. Along the way, she gives birth to her child. Distraught,
she takes the child into the woods and buries it under a tree. Hetty goes away, but she cannot
escape the sound of the child’s cry. She returns to where she left the baby. A farm laborer and the
Stoniton constable discover her, and the constable takes her into custody for the murder of her
child.
Adam is distraught when he cannot find Hetty and concludes that Captain Donnithorne must have
lured her away from their upcoming marriage. Before traveling to Ireland to find him, he first goes to
Mr. Irwine to inform him of his plan. Mr. Irwine tells Adam that Hetty is in jail for murder. Adam goes
to her trial, even though the situation troubles him. Dinah arrives and is able to reach Hetty through
her depression and convince her that she must repent to save her soul. Hetty is convicted and
sentenced to die.
At the last possible moment, Captain Donnithorne arrives with a stay of execution. Hetty is
transported, meaning that she is sent away from England for her crimes. She dies just before she is
set to return to Hayslope. Captain Donnithorne goes away for a few years because of the shame he
has brought on the Poysers and Adam. Adam realizes that he is in love with Dinah. He proposes, but
she rejects him until she comes to realize that it is God’s will that she marry Adam. They are married,
and they have two children. Seth lives with them and does not marry. Captain Donnithorne
ultimately returns to Hayslope, and he and Adam meet one last time at the conclusion of the novel.
They are able to stay friends despite all that has come between them.