MORAL CONFLICT IN GEORGE ELIOT’S THE MILL ON THE FLOSS

Abstract

Conflict is defined in the Longman Dictionary of Psychology and Psychiatry as the ‘‘clash of opposing or incompatible emotional or motivational forces such as drives, impulses, or wishes”. In psychoanalytic terms, conflict is a “struggle taking place between conscious and unconscious forces especially, id, ego and superego” (170). In literature and in real life humans encounter many kinds of internal and external conflicts. Conflict is considered to be the essence of a drama, as it gives depth and intensity to the plot, which according to Aristotle, is the soul of the drama. It may be internal, within the heart of a person, as in Hamlet, (“to be or not to be”) or external, between people -emotional, physical or ideological conflict. An internal conflict is a good test of a character’s values. Does the character give in to temptation or rise above it?  Does the character even bother to struggle? The internal conflicts of a character and how they are resolved are good clues to the character’s inner strength. Internal conflict adds meaning and complexity to the external conflict, but it’s the external conflict that forces a character to make, internal choices and changes.