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George MacDonald

George MacDonald. Life and Works. George MacDonald: Life. Born in West Aberdeenshire , Scotland, in 1824. His mother died in 1832; George MacDonald Sr. died in 1858. He went to Aberdeen University from 1840-1841 and 1844-1845.

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George MacDonald

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  1. George MacDonald Life and Works

  2. George MacDonald: Life • Born in West Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in 1824. • His mother died in 1832; George MacDonald Sr. died in 1858. • He went to Aberdeen University from 1840-1841 and 1844-1845. • From 1848-1850, he studied to be a Congregationalist pastor at Independent University in Highbury. http://www.macdonaldphillips.com/images/george1.jpg

  3. Work and Family Life • In 1850 he became a pastor at the Congregational Church in Arundel. • He married Louisa Powell in 1852. • They had eleven kids in all. - six sons and five daughters! • In 1853, he was forced to resign by his congregation because he was too gentle in his doctrine.

  4. The MacDonald Family, 1876 Edward Hughes, Mary’s fiancee, is pictured as well (he is standing above Mary, who is wearing a shawl on her head—she was very ill). http://georgemacdonald.info/gmd_family_1876.jpg

  5. Lewis Carroll with Louisa MacDonald and four young MacDonalds, 1862 http://georgemacdonald.info/louisa_4_children_w_lewis_carroll_1862.jpg

  6. From Preacher to Writer • After the move to Manchester, MacDonald began his literary career in 1855, with his poem With and Without. • In 1858 he wrote Phantastes. • In 1860 he converted to the Church of England. • In 1877 he received a pension from the Queen of England. http://www.george-macdonald.com/photos/manuscripts_files/NW%20manuscript.html

  7. Illness and Death • His daughter died on a trip to Italy in 1877. • In 1895, he wrote Lilith. • His writing life extended over a period of 40 years • Mrs. MacDonald died in 1902. • George MacDonald died in 1905 following a long illness.

  8. MacDonald’s Spiritual Views • MacDonald studied to become a Congregationalist minister, and became pastor at Arundel in 1950. • He was a very bold preacher, and said whatever he thought he needed to say. • Many characters in his works of fiction seem to correlate with people in his congregation. • He spoke against pride and false priorities from the pulpit, and estranged many members of his congregation (Phillips 195).

  9. Struggles with Calvinism Jonathan Edwards George MacDonald • “Never utter anything that is sportive, or a matter of laughter on the Lord’s day” (Phillips 198). • But MacDonald said, “The Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” He thought it was to be a day of joy (198). • He was not a Calvinist. http://amlit1--coursepage.wiki.uml.edu/file/view/Jonathan_Edwards.jpg/59837936/Jonathan_Edwards.jpg

  10. Struggles with Calvinism • MacDonald wrestled with the idea of divine justice. He couldn’t believe that God would send so many people to hell. • In one of his sermons, he said that he believed that there was some provision for sinners after death. • He supported it with verses such as Philippians 2:10-11. “And at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Phillips 199). • Uneasy with some of MacDonald’s views, the elders at his church cut his pay from 150 pounds a year to 115 in the hope that he would resign. • He didn’t.

  11. Struggles with Calvinism • The elders held a hearing in which they brought their charges before the entire congregation, but there still was no final decision. They wrote the following: • “We sympathize with those who are dissatisfied with the statement from the pulpit ‘that with the Heathen the time of trial does not (in his, the Rev. G. MacDonald’s opinion) cease at their death,’ which certainly implies a future state of probation. And this church considers such a view is not in accordance with the Scriptures” (Phillips 213).

  12. Resignation • But although they had not fired him, MacDonald could not live with such tension in his congregation, and he resigned in May of 1853, and moved to Manchester. • In 1860 MacDonald converted to the Church of England, but it does not seem evident that he changed any of his views. Above: the former Congregational Church today http://www.george-macdonald.com/photos/arundel_files/arundel_church01.html

  13. Works • George MacDonald published over 50 volumes in his lifetime. • Genres include: • Sermons • Unspoken Sermons (3 volumes, 1867-1889) • Essays • “The Fantastic Imagination” • Translations of German authors • Exotics: A Translation of the Spiritual Songs of Novalis, the Hymn Book of Luther, and Other Poems from the German and Italian (1876) • Literary criticism • A study of Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1885) http://www.macdonaldphillips.com/images/bookedges3.jpg http://www.rasitesbooks.com/sitebuilder/images/SERMONS_COVER2-248x317.png

  14. Fantasy • Phantastes (1858) and Lilith (1895) – written for adults • Fairy tales and young people’s stories • At the Back of the North Wind (1871) • The Princess and the Goblin (1872) • Poetry • “Within and Without” (1855) • Poems (1857) • Novels and Narrative Fiction • David Elginbrod(1863), Alec Forbes (1865), Robert Falconer (1868) • Part of the beginning of Scottish realism The Genres, Continued Hein 15; The Victorian Web From The Portent, serialized in Cornhill Magazine, 1860 http://www.george-macdonald.com/photos/images_novels_files/the_portent_sandys_1860.html

  15. Phantastes • Its theme: Humanity’s search for something to satisfy its desires is self-seeking and self-destroying. • Serving others is better and can also fulfill these desires, though indirectly (Hein 55) • Garnered some fame for MacDonald as well as a circle of literary admirers (Prickett 139) • Along with Lilith, Phantastes had great influence on adult fantasy writing. • It was “startlingly original” to its first audience (139). • Greville, MacDonald’s son, wrote: “To me [Phantastes] rings with the dominant chord of his life’s purpose and work” (Preface to P) • Had a hand in C.S. Lewis’ conversion to Christianity • it “baptized” his imagination. http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/m/macdonald/george/m13ph/images/p017.png

  16. Lilith • Meant to be “the final imaginative embodiment of [MacDonald’s] deepest beliefs” (Hein 85). • Has a great deal of symbolism • Its purpose: to convey the idea that “salvation is the process whereby children of God become sons through abandoning their old ‘selves’ and being renewed in grace” (86). • Critics see it as more uneven than Phantastes, “severly flawed” (Prickett 192). • C.S. Lewis is more generous in his assessment (193-194). Lady Lilith by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1863) Note: Lilith in the book doesn’t look like this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lady-Lilith.jpg

  17. MacDonald as Writer:“In the Folds of Faerie” http://www.artpassions.net/cgi-bin/show_image.pl?../galleries/magiccats/perrault_anon_puss_in_boots.jpg • MacDonald enjoyed such fairy-tales as the Grimm Brothers, Hans Christian Anderson, and Perrault. • Romantic thought combined with spiritual truth to create Faerie • Used Faerie to transform the common-place • Had a grown-up vision for Faerie but it also became children literature • Established the “therapeutic quality of fairy-tales” (Raeper 313) Puss in Boots illustration from Perrault’s Fairy Tales

  18. MacDonald’s Purpose • He allowed children to think for themselves about the story • He “happily invited an imaginative participation in the meaning of his stories” (Raeper 313). • Incorporated spiritual truths • Helped develop the world of Faerie • He concentrated on engaging the reader’s mind with images in order to cause him to ponder the meaning • “bring the unconscious material to the conscious” (315). http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/c0/c1305.jpg

  19. Recurrent Themes • The concept of a wise woman and a child-like character • Obvious distinctions between good and evil • Obedience as assisting to spiritual growth • Punishment as a way of purification • The idea that anyone given the time could be redeemed http://www.george-macdonald.com/photos/images_novels_files/JWS%20Irene,Grandmother,Doves.html

  20. Themes, continued • Characters often undergo confusion as to whether or not they are awake • A focus on the beauty of nature • Often uses horses, castles, floods, caves, beautiful ghosts, and “baptismal waters” • Preoccupation with hands and feet (Raeper 204) • Makes use of dreams • The structure of Prodigal Son type story http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/c0/c4050.jpg

  21. Curious Facts • Spent a lot of time teaching women, had a lot of women characters, and was often read by women • Made lots of side comments about his own literature • To MacDonald, “learning and loving go together and are spiritually tied” (Raeper 196) • “His imagination was certainly kindled by the current craze of spirit rapping” (197). • Changed the spirit of the Gothic novels to fit his own needs • Extremely fascinated with death and sex • Never actually told his children his stories before they were written; he wrote for adults

  22. Personal thoughts From the group

  23. Works Cited “George MacDonald.” The Victorian Web.N.p., 16 Oct. 2002. Web. 12 Sept. 2010. Hein, Rolland. The Harmony Within: The Spiritual Vision of George MacDonald. Grand Rapids, MI: Christian UP, 1982. Print. MacDonald, Greville. Preface. Phantastes: A Faerie Romance for Men and Women. By George MacDonald. eBooks@Adelaide. Web. 14 Sept. 2010. O'Reilly, Elizabeth. “MacDonald, George, 1824-1905.” Literature Online Reference Edition. ProQuest, 2007. Web. 14 Sept. 2010. Partridge, M.J. The Golden Key.The George MacDonald Society. 1995. Web. 12 Sept. 2010. Phillips, Michael R. George MacDonald: Scotland’s Beloved Storyteller. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987. Print. Prickett, Stephen. Victorian Fantasy. 2nd Ed. Waco, TX: Baylor U, 2005. netLibrary. Web. 14 September 2010. Raeper, William. George MacDonald. Batavia, IL: Lion Publishing, 1987. Print. Wilson, Anita C. Rev. of The Harmony Within: The Spiritual Vision of George MacDonald, by Rolland Hein. Children’s Literature Association Quarterly 9.1 (1984): 40. Web. 12 Sept. 2010.

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