Go forward with joyful confidence.
George EliotRead
Education was almost entirely a matter of luck — usually of ill-luck — in those distant days.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Education is largely dependent on chance, often negatively affecting people's opportunities.
George Eliot's quote reflects on the historical inequalities present in education, suggesting that one's access to quality education often relied on arbitrary circumstances rather than merit. This implies that many individuals were at a disadvantage due to factors beyond their control, highlighting the need for systemic changes to ensure equitable education for all.
Themes
EducationLuckInequalityOpportunitySystemic Change
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about educational reforms, one might reference this quote to emphasize the historical disparities in access to education.
More from George Eliot
All quotes →You must love your work, and not be always looking over the edge of it, wanting your play to begin. And the other is, you must not be ashamed of your work, and think it would be more honorable to you to be doing something else. You must have a pride in your own work and in learning to do it well.
George EliotRead
She thought it was part of the hardship of her life that there was laid upon her the burthen of larger wants than others seemed to feel – that she had to endure this wide hopeless yearning for that something, whatever it was, that was greatest and best on this earth.
George EliotRead
Life seems to go on without effort when I am filled with music.
George EliotRead
I think I should have no other mortal wants, if I could always have plenty of music. It seems to infuse strength into my limbs and ideas into my brain. Life seems to go on without effort, when I am filled with music.
George EliotRead
Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them: they can be injured by us, they can be wounded; they know all our penitence, all our aching sense that their place is empty, all the kisses we bestow on the smallest relic of their presence.
George EliotRead
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