Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Middlemarch by George Eliot

10 reviews

shieldbearer's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is precisely the type of novel I usually cannot bring myself to care for, but I will admit that the characters are drawn with such nuanced skill here that I cannot help but be invested even though the plot is so terribly uninteresting to me, personally. These sorts of "oh WHO shall Saunterblugget Hampterfuppinshire marry???" plots just don't do it for me in general, especially since the focus is exclusively on the upper class. Having read "Blood in the Machine" by Brian Merchant, the Luddites are far more on my radar than they were, and seeing machine breaking get mentioned off handedly, and yet no actual engagement with it, made me feel like it were truly a missed opportunity, though I know this is partly modern sensibility at play. 

All that said, the misogyny, antisemitism, racism and antiromanyism really hampered my enjoyment. To a large extent, some of this is a product of its time, I'm aware, and it's what one often signs up for when reading these old novels, but still... I think the main things that I am enthralled by when it comes to this novel is Eliot's skill in bringing out nuanced, realistic characters (in the sense that they have very human, very flawed thoughts and impulses, in ways I truly wish more authors would write) and by the missed opportunities. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Classism, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Ableism, Toxic relationship, Racism, Misogyny, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Fatphobia, Chronic illness, Medical content, Death, and Cursing

Minor: Child death, Cancer, and Death of parent

tenar's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Antisemitism

Moderate: Misogyny, Ableism, Grief, Chronic illness, Death, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Medical content, and Miscarriage

Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Drug use, Cancer, Alcoholism, Colonisation, and Murder

buildingtaste's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

FWHOAUR. Shockingly one of the novels on lists of great novels is a great novel! Sprawling through the psychological landscape of a provincial town made me feel like I had an incredibly active social life. Some chapters could be dull (sorry Lydgate I do mean yours) but others were extremely funny and wry. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny and Antisemitism

mondovertigo's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny

Moderate: Death

grboph's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was one of the densest books I've ever read. It took me seven months to get through, but I'm still glad I read it. I think a lot of its characters and scenarios are really good examples of how little human nature has changed between when the book takes place and now. I also really liked what it had to say at the very end about how most of the big changes in the world are moved by the lives of everyday people who don't get a whole lot of recognition for what they do. However, the book was dense and often boring, and British literature really isn't my thing, so while I'm glad I read this book, I'm also kind of glad I never have to read it again. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a challenge, or anyone who likes really complex, wordy writing.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Colonisation, Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Classism, Medical content, and Sexism

Minor: Child death, Grief, Confinement, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

emotional relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

“Explain my preference! I never had a ‘preference’ for her, any more than I have a preference for breathing. No other woman exists by the side of her. I would rather touch her hand if it were dead, than I would touch any other woman’s living.”

A lot of characters to keep track of that it can be confusing sometimes

Fantastic book, it could be hard to focus on at times but some chapters and characters have my heart! I loved Dorothea, Celia, Will, and Mary the most. 

I didn’t like the chapters on the politics of Middlemarch as they tend to be confusing and long winded.

I feel really proud of myself to have read this beast of a novel and get back into reading classics.Lovely ending where the author tells us the future of each main character!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, and Grief

Moderate: Antisemitism, Medical content, and Miscarriage

Minor: Addiction

afion's review against another edition

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Medical content, Death, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Miscarriage, Drug use, Classism, and Antisemitism

Minor: Suicide and Body shaming

writingcaia's review against another edition

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Misogyny

twentyventi's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

5.0

I had attempted to read Middlemarch as a teenager and gave up shortly after Part One (of Eight). This is not a book for an impatient, inattentive audience — the pleasure of reading it is reserved for someone who is willing to wait for and work towards the rewards it ultimately offers (much like several of the characters within its intertwining stories, each striving towards their respectful goals).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Death

Moderate: Antisemitism, Sexism, Addiction, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Miscarriage

skudiklier's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Okay, wow. I enjoyed this book a lot more than it seems other people do. It's my favorite college professor's favorite book, and she regularly brought it up in classes, so it's been on my tbr list for years. I didn't know how long or intricate it was, but I'm glad I didn't know anything really going in.

Halfway through I had to make a list of characters I actually liked, since several of them fell into a category of something like "I root for them in spite of not really liking them." But it all progressed in a much better way than I thought it would. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Drug use, Infidelity, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Suicidal thoughts

These are just the more specific content warnings I wrote down while reading the book:

Anti-Romani slurs, antisemitism, racial slurs, Antiziganism, anti-Romanyism, miscarriage, illness, death, medical content, drug use, gambling, ableism