Romantic

Character Role Analysis

Hetty Sorrel

Hetty is Adam's girl next door, even though "next door" in Hayslope means "half a dozen miles away." Go figure. But Hetty isn't just physically distant; there's a "distance" like no other between her personality and Adam's. Adam can't stand people who take "no pleasure i' their work and was afraid o' doing a stroke too much" (1.44).

So why does he not simply stand, but adore a girl like Hetty, who has "the luxurious nature of a round soft-coated pet animal" (37.2)? It might be a simple case of "opposites attract," if Hetty were attracted to Adam. Instead, Hetty's weakness and physical prettiness bring out Adam's reserves of kindness and protectiveness. And those are reserves that he doesn't tap too often.

Dinah Morris

Dinah Morris could have been Adam's own "one that got away." Fortunately, Adam didn't grow up into a lonely man. The sparks don't fly between these two until Hetty is out of the picture, and even then Dinah has all these religious reservations to come to grips with.

And come to grips she does. By the end of Adam Bede, Dinah and Adam know that their "hearts are filled with the same love" (54.17). And they live happy ever after.