Middlemarch - Happiness and Success
Middlemarch (1871-2)
Written by the Englishwoman, George Eliot (1819-90),
born Mary Anne Evans, pictured right.
Fun facts
- Published in four volumes.
- Made into a BBC TV series in 1994.
- Set in the English rural town of Middlemarch during the late eighteenth century.
- The favourite book of the English scientist, Stephen
Hawking (pictured right).
Key characters
Dorothea Brooke, young lady.
Edward Casaubon, her husband and clergyman.
Will Ladislaw, Casaubon’s cousin.
Tertius Lydgate, doctor.
Rosamond Vincy, his wife.
Nicholas Bulstrode, banker.
The story
In Middlemarch, Dorothea Brooke, young, beautiful, idealistic and intelligent, seeks dedication
to a worthy cause.
She thinks she will find it in her marriage to the
middle-aged clergyman, Edward Casaubon.
But he is extremely selfish and resentful of her ability, spending
their honeymoon researching his huge book, Key to all the Mythologies.
Dorothea falls in love with her husband’s cousin, Will Ladislaw (pictured together in the BBC
production).
Casaubon dies, but his will says that Dorothea will lose his money, if she re-marries. This
prompts Ladislaw to leave Middlemarch to avoid a scandal.
But Ladislaw returns and becomes engaged to Dorothea who, through her church work, gives money to a
charity hospital, run by the young, and idealistic doctor, Tertius
Lydgate.
Lydgate’s marriage to the beautiful Rosamond Vincy (pictured right in the BBC
production) is unhappy because of her interest in only money and social advancement.
Fred, Rosamond’s spendthrift brother and trainee clergyman, has borrowed money from
Caleb Garth, the kind father of his sweetheart, Mary Garth.
Fred dreams of inheriting the Stone Court estate of Mary's old uncle, Mr
Featherstone. His illegitimate son inherits it instead and sells it to a banker, Nicholas
Bulstrode.
Lydgate’s medical practice is unsuccessful because his poorer patients aren’t profitable and the older ones
question his modern scientific methods. Because of Rosamond’s extravagance, he gets into
debt.
Bulstrode is being blackmailed by John Raffles, his ex-partner in their stolen goods business,
who (before his death from alcoholism) publicizes Bulstrode's shady past
Bulstrode is widely suspected of killing him, and Lydgate is also implicated when it becomes known that
Bulstrode has given him a large loan. Bulstrode is forced to leave Middlemarch but his wife,
Harriet, remains loyal.
The innocent Lydgate stays but his idealistic dreams of helping the poor are destroyed when his poverty
forces him to move to London and treat rich patients.
Fred decides to become an estate manager and marries Mary (pictured right).
Mary writes a children’s version of a history book by the ancient Greek historian, Plutarch. Everyone thinks
that Fred must have written it.
Dorothea and Will marry and live in London, even though she loses Casaubon’s money. She
sacrifices her personal ambitions to support her family and Will's career as a Member of
Parliament.
Lessons for happiness and success
1. Happy relationships are equal partnerships
Dorothea and Mary’s marriages are very happy because they are equal, like-minded
partners with Will and Fred.
But Dorothea and Lydgate suffer because of the stupidity and selfish
superiority of both Casaubon and Rosamond.
2. Character counts for more than looks and brains
Rosamond is beautiful and her selfish character destroys Lydgate.
Dorothea (Juliet Aubrey in the BBC production, pictured right) cares little for her looks but:
- has great moral character.
- supports Lydgate (despite other people's opposition).
Will has a similar character, which is why their marriage is so happy (see point 1).
Mary isn’t so beautiful but her love and integrity inspire Fred to be a better
person.
Unlike her hypocritical and manipulative husband, Bulstrode, Harriet is a true Christian, kind,
loyal and forgiving.
3. Women are the equal of men
Dorothea and Mary are just as talented as the men.
They face the same prejudice and social inferiority that George Eliot experienced which is why she used a
male pseudonym. Mary’s book is also much better than Casaubon’s.
4. Do something worthwhile
Dorothea is an idealist who wants to use her mind and money to make the world a better place through her charity
work. But she thinks that her family is more important and puts them first.
Sadly Lydgate’s ideals are destroyed by:
But he should have devoted more time to her. He didn’t even notice her depression after
her miscarriage.
5. Love is more important than money
Lydgate is destroyed by his money grabbing wife, but Dorothea marries Will, even though she loses Casaubon’s
money.
Will refuses Bulstrode's money, because, like Dorothea, his principles are much more
important.
Will (Rufus Sewell) is pictured right in the BBC production.
6. Accept change
Dorothea would have been a much better wife for Lydgate, but fate dictated that this wasn’t to be.
The people of Middlemarch don't like change, like Lydgate's modern medical ideas.
7. Contacts are important
Lydgate discovers that who you know is nearly as important as
what you know.
He needs the help of:
- Dorothea (to run the hospital).
- Bulstrode (to pay his debts).
8. Live for learning
Knowledge is constantly sought by Dorothea and Lydgate, who has an “intellectual passion”
for medicine.
But Casaubon’s learning is hindered by his:
- refusal to accept criticism.
Casaubon (Patrick Malahide in the BBC production, pictured right) thinks he is much cleverer than he really
is.
Key quotes on change
It is a narrow mind which cannot look at a subject from various points of
view.
Every limit is a beginning as well as an ending.
The more our egoism is satisfied, the more robust is
our belief
Key quote on marriage
Poor Lydgate!...Poor Rosamond! Each lived in a world that the other knew nothing.
Key quote on science
Dogma gives a charter to mistake, but the very breath of science is a contest with
mistake, and must keep the conscience alive, Lydgate.
Key quote on communication
I think the truth is the hardest missile one can be pelted with, Humphrey
Cadwallader, Church of England minister.
Key quote on success
That is not brave... to give up the fight, Dorothea (to
Lydgate).
After all, the true seeing is within, Will Ladislaw
Key quote on forecasting
Among all forms of mistake, prophecy is the most gratuitous.
Key quote on relationships
What loneliness is more lonely than distrust?.
Key quote on ethics
What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult to each other?, Dorothea
Men outlive their love, but they don’t outlive the consequences of their recklessness, Mr.
Farebrother (a Church of England minister and Lydgate's friend).
Character is not cut in marble - it is not something solid and unalterable. It is something living and changing,
and may become diseased as our bodies do, Mr. Farebrother
He was simply a man whose desires had been stronger than his theoretic
beliefs...If this be hypocrisy, it is a process which shows itself occasionally in us all (talking about
Mr. Bulstrode)
Key quote on pain and stress
But what we call our despair is often only the painful eagerness of unfed hope, Will
Ladislaw
For pain must enter into its glorified life of memory before it can turn into compassion
Key quote on careers
You must be sure of two things: you must love your work... And the other is, you must not be ashamed of your
work, Caleb Garth, a businessman.
Two literature websites to
recommend
1. sparknotes.com
2. litcharts.com
A big thank you to...
The BBC for the pictures.
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