For those who have studied Economics before, they might notice this strong notion of causality: Y happened because of X. A few examples include: a fire in a factory causes a shortage for goods made in that factory; some hip trend causes a shift in demand for a particular good. And more prominently, a lack of confidence in the market causes a stock market crash, which causes a recession – and layoffs, lack of overall spending, slow economy, etc. Moreover, causality is especially prevalent with money and credit. Credit, of course, depends heavily on causality; your credit is either great, terrible, or somewhere in between, depending on your ability to pay back loans, pay rent, bills, etc.

Throughout the novels in the course, we can find this theme of causality. So far, the novel that emphasizes this theme the most is probably Roxana. In the early parts of the novel, we can conclude that Roxana’s initial predicament in poverty is caused by her first husband – her only real source of income at the time – and his lack of prowess in business and credit. His poor credit and reputation can be caused by his lack of proper dealings with his clients and stakeholders. We see this again further on in the novel when we revisit him via a spy – he gains a reputation as a sort of swindler. And there’s just many, many more examples of causality in this novel: Roxana herself haunted by Susan, a daughter conceived by her past trysts; the jeweller murdered,  perhaps with the assailants’ knowledge of his precious jewels and his complete absence of security; even Roxana’s philosophy on marriage, based on her experience with the rigidity of having just one husband versus the flexibility of moving between lovers.

However, we can also argue for the lack of causality throughout the novels in the course as well. The most recent example of this is the abrupt ending in The Mill on the Floss, where our beloved main characters are unexpectedly killed by the flood. It’s in these chance moments where we think to ourselves, “how on earth could that have possibly happened?” And even in the beginning of the novel where our main Characters, Tom and Maggie, are each given default circumstances beyond their individual choices (warning: inequality overtones ahead). Tom, born a male, is given the privilege of higher learning by default. Unfortunately, he also has been given the responsibility of paying off his father’s debt without a choice. On the other hand, Maggie, born a female, is denied an education at first. She is also promptly reprimanded during moments when she does something unladylike (cut her hair, does/doesn’t wear something in particular, etc.). (Note: this is all in the past now; we clearly have stronger notions of gender equality today)

Throughout the novels in the course, where can we find other examples of Causality? Or even any unexpected happenings?