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A review by richardrbecker
Middlemarch by George Eliot
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Middlemarch by George Eliot reads surprisingly contemporary and modern. Written in 1871-72 in eight installments, the story primarily follows four characters — Dorothea Brooke, Tertius Lydgate, Mary Garth, and Nicholas Bulstrode — each with their own plots but all centered around Middlemarch, a fictional English Midlands town between 1829 and 1832. B
But if we are to attempt a condensation of theme, Eliot is especially interested in the relationships between men and women through the lens of societal trappings of the upper middle class. The result is often disastrous, mainly because of their expectations of each other. These include expectations related to marriage, conformity, love, responsibility, prejudice, femininity, vanity, and gender (among others). Occasionally, Eliot also accounts for community, class, politics, progress, and reform. However, those latter themes are almost always tethered to how they touch individuals and their relationships.
As told by Eliot, it was an exceptionally troublesome period in history, where society seemed to have shoved a wedge between men and women by spelling out their roles and obligations. And yet, it still shines as a reminder that we need to do better in our attempt to understand each other without succumbing to ego and ambition within our households.
The 19-year-old orphan Dorothea Brooke sets the tone of the novel. As a pious young woman, she makes a mistake in marrying a much older scholar. Once married, he doesn't take her youth, energy, and enthusiasm seriously. He even attempts to haunt her after death by placing conditions on his estate, expressly forbidding her from remarrying one of her friends.
Other stories of characters include an idealistic, naive young doctor who ends up in an unhappy marriage with Rosamond Vincy; Mary Garth, who insists Fred Vincy prove he is ready to live a practical and serious life; and a wealthy banker and hypocrite Nicholas Bulstrode, who attempts to instill his beliefs on Middlemarch society after marrying Vincy's sister, Harriet.
While all of their lives interact (along with a cast of dozens), their individual stories often stand on their own, making Middlemarch meander along more often than not. And because of this, along with its substantial length, it isn't for everyone. Sometimes, I even found myself lost in the reading, wondering where Eliot was taking me and having to remind myself that Middlemarch isn't a journey as much as a destination. It is a society in which characters like Dorothea are trapped, and the readers right along with them. Fortunately, it's an entertaining trapping, one I recommend for anyone who appreciates historical fiction (even though it wasn't written as such in the 1800s) or wants to consider how some classics could influence their writings.
But if we are to attempt a condensation of theme, Eliot is especially interested in the relationships between men and women through the lens of societal trappings of the upper middle class. The result is often disastrous, mainly because of their expectations of each other. These include expectations related to marriage, conformity, love, responsibility, prejudice, femininity, vanity, and gender (among others). Occasionally, Eliot also accounts for community, class, politics, progress, and reform. However, those latter themes are almost always tethered to how they touch individuals and their relationships.
As told by Eliot, it was an exceptionally troublesome period in history, where society seemed to have shoved a wedge between men and women by spelling out their roles and obligations. And yet, it still shines as a reminder that we need to do better in our attempt to understand each other without succumbing to ego and ambition within our households.
The 19-year-old orphan Dorothea Brooke sets the tone of the novel. As a pious young woman, she makes a mistake in marrying a much older scholar. Once married, he doesn't take her youth, energy, and enthusiasm seriously. He even attempts to haunt her after death by placing conditions on his estate, expressly forbidding her from remarrying one of her friends.
Other stories of characters include an idealistic, naive young doctor who ends up in an unhappy marriage with Rosamond Vincy; Mary Garth, who insists Fred Vincy prove he is ready to live a practical and serious life; and a wealthy banker and hypocrite Nicholas Bulstrode, who attempts to instill his beliefs on Middlemarch society after marrying Vincy's sister, Harriet.
While all of their lives interact (along with a cast of dozens), their individual stories often stand on their own, making Middlemarch meander along more often than not. And because of this, along with its substantial length, it isn't for everyone. Sometimes, I even found myself lost in the reading, wondering where Eliot was taking me and having to remind myself that Middlemarch isn't a journey as much as a destination. It is a society in which characters like Dorothea are trapped, and the readers right along with them. Fortunately, it's an entertaining trapping, one I recommend for anyone who appreciates historical fiction (even though it wasn't written as such in the 1800s) or wants to consider how some classics could influence their writings.