Middlemarch

A Study of Provincial Life

byGeorge Eliot(Mary Ann Evans)

Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life is a novel by English author George Eliot, first published in eight instalments (volumes) during 1871–2. 

Although the first reviews were mixed, it is now widely regarded as her best work and one of the greatest novels written in English.

The novel is set in the fictitious Midlands town of Middlemarch during 1829–32, and it comprises several distinct stories and a large cast of characters.

Middlemarch is written as a third-person narrative, centering on the lives of the residents of Middlemarch.

Although containing comical elements, Middlemarch is a work of realism that refers to many historical events: the 1832 Reform Act, the beginnings of the railways, the death of King George IV, and the succession of his brother, the Duke of Clarence (the future King William IV).

In addition, the work incorporates contemporary medical science and examines the deeply reactionary mentality found within a settled community facing the prospect of unwelcome change.

Significant themes include the status of women, the nature of marriage, idealism, self-interest, religion, hypocrisy, political reform, and education.

The Imperfection of Marriage: Marriage and the pursuit of it are central concerns in Middlemarch, but unlike in many novels of the time, marriage is not considered the ultimate source of happiness.

Significant Themes in Middlemarch

The Harshness of Social

Expectations: The ways in which people conduct themselves and how the community judges them are closely linked in Middlemarch.

A Study of Provincial Life: Eliot's interested in showing how the relationships between different people have large and small effects on everything around them.

Major Characters in Middlemarch

Dorothea Brooke—She is the heroine of the novel who is intelligent, wealthy woman with great aspirations.Dorothea is also the moral center of the novel.

Will Ladislaw —He is a man of great enthusiasm, idealism and talent but of no fixed profession. He is in love with Dorothea, but cannot marry her without her losing his aunt’s property.

Dorothea Brooke and Will Ladislaw

➜ Rosamond Vincy — Is vain, beautiful, and shallow, Rosamond has a high opinion of her own charms and a low opinion of Middlemarch society. She marries Tertius Lydgate because she believes that he will raise her social standing and keep her comfortable.

➜ Tertius Lydgate — An idealistic, talented, but naïve young doctor, but though of good birth he is relatively poor.Rosamond Vincy and Tertius Lydgate

Mary Garth and Fred Vincy

Mary Garth — The practical, plain, and kind daughter of Caleb and Susan Garth.She loves Fred, but she refuses to marry him if he becomes a clergyman and fails to find a steady occupation.

Fred Vincy — Rosamond's brother. He has loved Mary Garth from childhood. His family hopes that he will advance his class standing by becoming a clergyman

Nicholas Bulstrode — Wealthy banker married to Mr. Vincy's sister, Harriet. He tries to impose his beliefs in Middlemarch society; however, Bulstrode professes to be a deeply religious Evangelical Protestant(1), but he has a dark past: he made his fortune as a pawnbroker selling stolen goods. 

(1) Evangelical Protestantism is a religious movement within Protestant Christianity means “good news”. Evangelicals believe "born again" experience in receiving salvation, in the authority of the Bible as God's inspiration to humanity, and spreading the Christian message.

«Every limit is a beginning as well as an ending.»

Thanks! Gökhan Şen