Abstract:Using George Eliot's Middlemarch (1871–72) as its primary textual example, this essay considers regret as an emotion that responds, simultaneously, to our inability to control the consequences of our actions and our enduring responsibility toward others. Regret, in this context, exposes the inherent constraints that Enlightenment models of autonomy face. The essay further argues that this experience of regret and endless responsibility potentially results in a retreat from acting altogether—a retreat that mani… Show more
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