How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
But it is not ignoble to feel that the fuller life which a sad experience has brought us is worth our own personal share of pain. Surely it is not possible to feel otherwise, any more than it would be possible for a man with cataract to regret the painful process by which his dim blurred sight of men as trees walking had been exchanged for clear outline and effulgent day. The growth of higher feeling within us is like the growth of faculty, bringing with it a sense of added strength. We can no more wish to return to a narrower sympathy than a painter or a musician can wish to return to his cruder manner, or a philosopher to his less complete formula. (54.8)
Eliot's characters do not have creative temperaments, but they do share important traits with artists, musicians, and philosophers. Of course, nobody in Hayslope wears berets or reads weird poetry in out-of-the-way coffee houses. Instead, these "important traits" go much deeper. Personal growth can be an arduous process, but the struggle creates a stronger, more complex identity.