The Origin of Species · Character
Sir Charles Lyell
The geologist whose uniformitarian vision of slow, ceaseless earthly change gave Darwin the deep time his theory needed to work.
supporting
Also known as Sir C. Lyell, Lyell, Sir Charles Lyell
First appearance: i variation under domestication
As a supporting figure in The Origin of Species, Sir Charles Lyell is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.
Referenced indirectly through the context of geological and biological change, though not explicitly named in this excerpt.
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Lyell stands as the intellectual authority Darwin leans on when arguing that the earth's crust is a vast but imperfectly kept museum, its collections made only at long intervals. His principles supply the temporal stage…
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Relationship types
- Other
Character groups
- Broad intellectual network
- Protagonist
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Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This passage marks the story's dramatic climax because Darwin shifts from a defensive posture against objectio…
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Sir Charles Lyell appears across 12 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.
- Unconscious Selection
- III: Struggle for Existence
- Illustrations of the Action of Natural Selection, or the Survival of the Fittest
- On the Imperfection of the Geological Record
- On the Lapse of Time, as Inferred from the Rate of Deposition and Extent of Denudation
- On the Poorness of Palaeontological Collections
- On the Sudden Appearance of Groups of Allied Species in the Lowest Known Fossiliferous Strata
- On the Geological Succession of Organic Beings
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Chapter companion notes
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See Sir Charles Lyell in i variation under domestication