EN 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: The Strongest, Cream Cheese
Document Summary
Eliot contrasts inner and outer beauty throughout the novel to express the idea that external and internal realities do not always correspond. Although hetty is more physically beautiful than dinah, she is cold and ugly inside. Hetty"s outer beauty masks her inner ugliness, especially to captain. Even when hetty cries or is angry, she still appears lovely to both men. Adam is so blinded by hetty"s appearance that he often misinterprets her tears and excitement as love for him. Hetty"s outer beauty also blinds captain donnithorne such that he loses control when she cries and he kisses her. Unlike hetty, dinah has an inner beauty because she helps and cares for those around her. She comforts lisbeth through the mourning of her dead husband, and adam takes notice of this. Adam does not think dinah is as physically beautiful as hetty, but he is drawn to her love and mission to help those around her.
