Middlemarch is a novel about three couples. First, there is Dorothea who is a religious young woman who has idealistic notions of helping the poor in society. Early on in the novel, she ends up marrying a much older religious preacher. She has these grand notions of the both of them having a positive effect on society. Dorothea, however, is quickly disappointed. Her husband mainly wants to spend most of his time in his study examining his religious and academic books. Dorothea becomes more of a study partner than a wife. Gradually, throughout her marriage, Dorothea starts to become attracted to her husband’s younger relative, Will. Will is outraged the way Dorothea’s husband treats her and Will’s attention to Dorothea irks her husband.
Dorothea’s husband dies; it is discovered that the will stipulates that if Dorothea marries Will, she will lose all of her money. It creates much tension between Will and Dorothea. They figuratively dance around their attraction and it takes them awhile to admit their true feelings to one another.
The second couple is Doctor Lydgate and his wife, Rosamond. I found this couple to be the most annoying. Dr. Lydgate is a physician who is very idealistic about making a difference in medicine. He also does not have a problem offering his services for free, especially if his patients are struggling financially. This, of course, causes him to have money problems later in the novel and Rosamond resents having to make change in their life style. She is selfish and focused on only getting her way. She acts like a spoiled child and the parts of the novel that relates to their marriage are not my favorite passages.
The third couple is Fred and Mary. Fred is a young man who has always had feelings for Mary, but Mary has not always been receptive to Fred. At one point in the novel, he leaves town to attend college. When he returns, he is not ready to give up on her and he is determined to court her.
Despite my issues with Dr. Lydgate and Rosamond, I thought this was a good novel. It depicts romantic relationships—-the positive and negative—realistically. There are ups and downs; and what matters is how these couples deal with these problems. And sometimes, they do not handle the problems very well. The novel also illustrates how love is complicated and sometimes who we are attracted to does not always make sense. For instance, on paper, it would seem Dorothea’s relationship with her first husband should have worked, but it did not. It was not a good marriage. But she receives a second chance with Will.
Rating: 4/5
Next Novel to Review: A Palette for Murder