Riassunto
Riassunto di Il velo sollevato
A chi è rivolto
For readers who love short, dark stories with a psychological edge, Gothic confessions, and supernatural gifts that become curses.
Che cos’è questo libro
The Lifted Veil is a short novel by George Eliot, first printed in 1859. It is a strange book in her career. She is known for calm, wide pictures of English village life, such as Adam Bede and Middlemarch. Here she writes a dark first-person confession in the style of a Gothic tale, with a sickly narrator, a foreseen death and a gift that turns into a punishment.
The story is told by Latimer, a man who begins by saying that he knows the hour of his own death, which is close. He writes to set down the truth of his life before it ends. You get a haunting voice, a plot with a cold sense of fate, and a question that Eliot cares about all through her work: what happens to a person who cannot feel real sympathy for others? Let us begin where Latimer begins, in a childhood of poor health, quick feelings and loneliness.
In questo riassunto
- 1A man announces the hour of his deathFree
- 2A frail boy among stronger people
- 3A vision of Prague comes true
- 4The curse of hearing every mind
- 5Bertha Grant, the one mind he cannot read
- 6What the tale means and how it is told
Punto chiave 1 di 6
A man announces the hour of his death
The story opens with Latimer's own statement that the time of his end is near. He says he knows the month and almost the minute, and he claims he does not fear the thought. He writes, he says, because he wants one person to see him as he truly was, since no one else ever has.
This opening sets the tone for everything that follows. Latimer is not a hero, and he does not ask us to like him. He is an educated, sensitive and proud man, and he tells his story with a mix of self-pity and sharp honesty. From the first page the reader must decide how far to trust him.
He says that his gift has left him with a strange knowledge of the future, but also a weary hatred of it. Some of his foresight is clear and some is blurred. He treats it as a curse, because it takes away surprise, hope and the ordinary sense of living day by day.
He then turns back to his youth, to explain how he came to be this way. He comes from a well-off English family, and his mother died when he was young.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- Latimer
- Latimer is the sensitive, lonely narrator, whose visions and access to others’ thoughts separate him from his family.
- Bertha Grant
- Bertha Grant is Alfred’s intended bride, whose unreadable thoughts make her especially fascinating to Latimer.
- Alfred
- Alfred is Latimer’s strong, cheerful older brother, favoured by their father and expected to marry Bertha.
- Latimer's father
- Latimer's father is a stern, practical banker who favours Alfred and encourages his younger son toward science.
- Charles Meunier
- Charles Meunier is Latimer’s school friend from Geneva, distinguished by his enthusiasm for science and medicine.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 18,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 1 h 10 min
- Listening time2 h
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 11 other languages
Questions about Il velo sollevato
What is The Lifted Veil about?
It is a short confession by Latimer, a sensitive man who foresees his own death. He gains visions of the future and the power to hear others' thoughts, and his love for Bertha Grant tests what such sight is worth.
What does the title The Lifted Veil mean?
The veil stands for what normally hides the future and other people's thoughts from us. Latimer's gift lifts it, and the story asks whether seeing everything is a blessing or a burden.
When was The Lifted Veil written?
George Eliot published it in 1859, in Blackwood's Magazine, in the same period as her early novels. It is not a true story but a work of fiction with Gothic and supernatural elements.
Is The Lifted Veil hard to read?
No. It is short and told in a clear voice. The plot is simple, and most readers can finish it in a single sitting.
Why is The Lifted Veil different from other George Eliot books?
Most of her work is realist and set in English country life. This one is a dark first-person tale with clairvoyance and a doomed narrator, yet it keeps her interest in sympathy and moral blindness.