The Middlemarch Readalong Week 2

The next installment of the #EliotAlong, or for those who like things a bit more specific, the Middlemarch readalong hosted by An Armchair by the Sea.

Apologies for the late update! It is the last week of my holiday, and of course we all know that a holiday is time off one's paid work, to catch up on all the other work around the house. In other words, I was busy.

I am going to confess right here, that I am writing this from the notes I made - because I finished Middlemarch at the beginning of the second week. I just couldn't wait. I was so involved in the story, I just couldn't slow down. But I will keep this spoiler free for those who are participating in the readalong. For those who aren't, be warned, there are spoilers everywhere!

In this part, we get to meet a whole lot of people. While I normally dread this in books, because I am a lazy reader and hate remembering names, this was no where near as disorientating as it could have been. Eliot introduced the characters slowly, and gave a nicely rounded backstory (of what was interesting) so that I was happily aware of who I was reading about later because these characters came across as real people, with hopes, dreams and a history.

First off, (because I see now that my notes are actually inadequate at jogging my memory as to what exactly happened - it is a collection of my thoughts and responses to events) I am going to stick to the big things. Dorothea, Casaubon and Will Ladislaw. I predicted trouble. Jealousy never bodes well for a relationship - especially when it is a relationship you can't walk out on. I think the setting for a discontented marriage was also set in stone with the portrait scene. Casaubon was more enamoured with his own portrait than with the one of Dorothea. I reckon that shows his self-centred side. Surely if he was in love with Dorothea, he would have wanted to admire her portrait instead. But then, this is not stretch really. The unhappiness of Dorothea during the honeymoon is no secret. I am also very aware of the contradictions between Casaubon's words and actions. Very often he will refer to Dorothea as 'his love', but his manner will be cold. Nope. Nothing good can come from this. And of course, there is Mr Ladislaw who seems absolutely brilliant in comparison.

I found Fred Vincy ... How do I put this? I thought he was a nice but a bit stupid. Man, was I hoping he would get everything sorted out. One bad thing followed by another, and I felt mortified for him. I like the sound of Mary Garth. In fact, I like the sound of all the Garths. My note here went something along the lines of hoping things turn out all right for them.

On to Lydgate. I really liked the sound of him. I could completely see why he would be having issues as a young doctor with more modern ideas in an old town with crazy ideas on recovery. I can see that Rosamond has her eye set on him. She seems sweet, but my note here states that I was unsure on her. (It read like this: But ... ??)

I can see that I am going to have huge problems going by my notes (which get even vaguer as I got more involved in the story) for the next installments. I will try my best though. I am so pleased to have read this though. It started me on a 'Kill my TBR Classics' marathon.