Felix Holt, The Radical - Major Themes

Major Themes

Published in 1866 around the time of the Second Reform Act, Felix Holt, the Radical takes a nostalgic look at events during the time of the First Reform Act in 1832. Little attention is paid to the preceding social or political mechanisms underlying the Reform. More relevant to the story is the social change seen in rural towns across England resulting from political change. Treby Magna, previously isolated from notions of national politics and national religion, becomes exposed to the riotous upheaval seen in other English towns when it is made a polling station.

The story depicts private life inexorably determined by wider public life, exemplified by the thrust of the previously isolated Treby Magna into national politics. Woven into this theme are observations of feminine submission and male dominance. Mrs. Transome's personal despair deepens as her kind but insensitive son brings the Transome family into conflict with traditional Tory allies and with Matthew Jermyn, with whom she shares a particular understanding. She feels equally helpless as the ownership of the Transome estate comes into question. Mirroring this is the situation of Mrs. Holt, whose kind but insensitive son deprives her of her intended living. She is equally helpless when Felix Holt's headstrong actions leads to his own arrest, throwing the family into financial peril.