Joy and peace are not resignation: resignation is the willing endurance of a pain that is not allayed – that you don't expect to be allayed. Stupefaction is not resignation: and it is stupefaction to remain in ignorance – to shut up all the avenues by which the life of your fellow-men might become known to you. I am not resigned: I am not sure that life is long enough to learn that lesson. You are not resigned: you are only trying to stupefy yourself.
In this excerpt from George Eliot's "The Mill on the Floss," the author distinguishes between true acceptance of life's struggles and a passive resignation. Resignation implies a quiet acceptance of pain or hardship, which one believes will never change. Eliot argues that this is not the same as joy or peace, which should not be confused with merely enduring life's difficulties without hope. Instead, one should actively seek understanding and connection with the lives of others rather than falling into ignorance.
The passage emphasizes the importance of engagement with life and the dangers of emotional numbness. Eliot suggests that to be unresigned is to acknowledge the challenge of understanding the complexity of existence. The notion of stupefaction highlights a refusal to confront reality, leading to a disconnection from the experiences of others. Thus, the author calls for active participation in life, implying that genuine knowledge and empathy are vital for overcoming apathy and truly living.
