Middlemarch by George Eliot - Readalong

[CramptonHodnet]

This is the Readalong thread for anyone feeling brave enough to tackle this huge novel this autumn/winter

I was wondering what the reasons for Fred not finishing his degree might be. Debt, probably - gambling, drinking, having to leave quickly because of scandal brewing? He certainly seems very keen to secure his inheritance.

I like the comparison with an Instagram queen. Or maybe a YouTuber along the lines of Zoella? Trading on her youth and looks and popularity.

I love the modern-day Rosamund comparisons 😁 and I definitely knew one or two Will Ladislaws in my time. (Call me Fuzzy, by the way. Sorry for the complicated user name).

Yes, really interesting points about Rosamond and her modern-day equivalents.

I liked the squabbling between Rosamond and Fred; it seemed a very realistic brother/sister relationship

Thinking about Jane Austen - I'm a fan - did this remind anyone of her style:

when a man has seen the woman whom he would have chosen if he had intended to marry speedily, his remaining a bachelor will usually depend on her resolution rather than his ?

We were talking earlier about Dorothea and her idealistic view of marriage. I think Lydgate is equally deluded. He looks forward to

reclining in a paradise with sweet laughs for bird-notes, and blue eyes for a heaven

I am really liking Mary, and wondering how much of GE's portrayal of her is informed by not having been a conventionally attractive woman herself.

There's a lot of interesting stuff here about the shallowness of judging by appearances, and the propensity of certain characters to do this is possibly one measure by which we can judge their own integrity.

Taken my eye off the ball a bit with this. Can someone confirm that we are starting Chapter 13 today? (Or this week, you know what I mean)

By the end of the month, I'm supposed to have finished Uncle Silas, Middlemarch, Wives and Daughters, and Daniel Deronda (I'm doing Victober on Goodreads).
I think Victober is going to turn into Victember. Hopefully not Victanuary.

Dolores we're reading 13,14,15 and 16 this week and will start discussing them this weekend

highlandcoo Thanks!

Oh and Victober sounds very interesting but rather challenging!

Good luck

I've seen some booktubers talking about Victober, and immediately thought yes that's a good idea, then decided Middlemarch was probably enough for now.

However, having a big sort out of books today with DH, I found an unread copy of Wuthering Heights, and so that's on a soonish tbr pile.

I would never manage Victober 😬

Just wanted to check in and say I’m really enjoying reading everyone’s comments so far. I always find people point out things I overlooked, which gives me a lot to think about.

I’m a bit ahead, chapter 21, but I’ve read on with the expectation that I’ll inevitably fall behind with my reading schedule so I want a head start

Hi Potatoandleek 👋 I agree. I love reading other people's comments and insights.

Hello PotatoandLeeek .

I still haven't read this week's chapters . Will catch up soon. It's entirely the library's fault for having the books I reserved weeks and weeks ago all come in at the same time

I'm a little behind on my reading too but should be caught up over the weekend. Crampton my library does that too, nothing for weeks then huge piles of books.

Getting behind, but I'll have a binge and catch up. I've got to plough through fourteen chapters of Wives & Daughters first, but I'm planning to do that at work tonight with an audible book so I can MM tomorrow.

It's such a horrible wet day here. Got soaked walking to the library with DS this morning so am going to have a bit of a Middlemarch binge this afternoon 📖🍵🍰😊

I'm up to date, but will have a look back over the chapters later on. A bright, chilly day here.

Ok, I'm up-to- date now.

Rosamund Vincy is making me quite cross with her obsession about class and status. Nothing is going to get in her way of social climbing. She is prepared to use anyone for her own ends. She is ridiculously envious of the Brookes' social standing.

But I do like GE's sharp little asides - reminding me even more of Jane Austen and her descriptions of Mrs Bennet's and her younger daughters' obsession with the perceived glamour of the young officers in uniform.

And Lydgate's track record with women isn't exactly a healthy one. I foresee train crash in slow motion where Lydgate and Rosamund are concerned.

Ha ha, Crampton! I would put my money on that too. What a numpty Lydgate was with that French lass.

The funny thing about Lydgate is that he thinks he is an experienced man, thinks he has learned something from the episode with the French actress, but he knows nothing. He misunderstands what's happening with Rosamond in exactly the same way he misunderstood the French woman.

In many ways he is like Dorothea. Both hav ideals about their life's work that we can see will never be realised. For him it's scientific research that will improve the world, for her it's the nobility of Casaubon's work. Both are naive when it comes to love and marriage, but don't see it in themselves.

Exactly, Pilar. Well said.

Pilar's comment got my mind going in the direction of the Victorian mania for their civilising mission/philanthropy - a theme going on that explores knowledge and theory versus action, perhaps? Chettam sounds like a fairly feudal sort of bloke that doesn't think too much but is pretty sound (in Victorian terms) about acting on what he thinks is the right thing to do with the cottages and whatnot. Brooke is Whiggish (and it's hard not to be fond of him) but won't follow through with his own tenants. Dorothea is confused about doing good in the world and how that connects to education. Lydgate will fit in there somewhere as well.

I really enjoyed these last four chapters.

I like Fred for his good humour and affectionate personality, although he is exasperatingly unfocused. If he listens to Mary she will sort him out I think.

In the chapter on Lydgate, I thought GE's comments on men (as it was in those days) who find themselves becoming wage slaves despite their earlier grand ambitions, were very telling:

in the multitude of middle-aged men .. there is always a good number who once meant to shape their own deeds and alter the world a little

Lydgate has big - and admirable - ideas .. but is GE warning us that these are unlikely to come to fruition?

They may not come to fruition if he becomes ensnared with the lovely Rosamund. She comes across as quite callous in her regard for him.
I also think that Lydgate and Dorothea share an altruistic view of the world, but that there will be obstacles in their path in reaching their goals.