In George Eliot's "Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life," the narrator expresses a deep dissatisfaction with the artwork displayed in the drawing-room. The pictures, which are perceived as attractive and pleasant by others, strike the narrator as deceptive and superficial. This sentiment reflects a struggle between the harsh realities of life, such as the dirt and ugliness experienced in the village, and the idealized beauty represented by the artwork.
The narrator...