| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立成功大學 === 外國語文學系碩博士班 === 99 === Abstract
This thesis explores the theme of education in George Eliot’s novel The Mill on the Floss. It examines the correlation between the Industrial Revolution and education, as suggested in the novel, to illustrate the Revolution as a catalyst for British educational reforms. In the nineteenth century, Britain experienced a great variety of changes consequent to the Industrial Revolution. The most significant change, the nation’s transformation from an agricultural society to an industrial and commercial society, induced an increasing demand for a workforce with vocational trainings in technical and commercial skills. However, Britain at that time had no uniformed system of vocational trainings. As a result, many contemporary education critics began to advocate that the school curriculum should be useful in equipping pupils for their future employment; meanwhile, they also maintained that classical learning, the major component of traditional education, should not dominate the curriculum, for it had limited utility in preparing students for the job market. The Mill on the Floss can be viewed as Eliot’s response to such talks about educational reforms. Eliot expresses her concern for Victorian education system and its practicality through, primarily, Tom’s schooling and job search experiences in the novel. But instead of issuing an unreserved denial of the value of classical education, Eliot emphasizes the importance of the connection between the individual’s schooling and his future path.
Keywords: Industrial Revolution, educational reform, practical education, classical education, The Mill on the Floss
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