The Middlemarch Readalong Week 3

This post marks the midway point of Middlemarch by George Eliot, and the readalong hosted by An Armchair by the Sea. Once again, a warning for spoilers to all those who have not read Middlemarch as yet. Do yourself a favour. Go and read the book. It might be long, but it is easy to read and a lot of fun.

Featherstone! What can one say about him and his will! What a man! And I don't mean that in a nice way. He had all his relatives jumping through hoops while he lived, only to completely eliminate them from his will in the end. (Although there was definitely a feeling of a nest of vultures just hanging around while he was dying). I felt very sorry for Fred Vincy - although, if he manages to make his own way in life, I will like him more. Mary Garth must be feeling horrible and very guilty at this point in time, should Featherstone's dying wish have been to destroy the most recent will, and leave the money to Fred. Oh... and I suppose I have to at least mention the appearance of that distasteful character, Mr Raffles. I think he takes the prize for being the slimiest character so far.

This week saw many developments in the political situation. I thought all the manipulation to get Mr Brooke to improve the living conditions for those on his land rather entertaining. Of course, as Mr Brooke is not a character I would like in real life (although he seems quite fun to read about), I was quite happy at the treatment he received from his tenants when he went to discuss the poaching issue.

Rosamond and Lydgate! They got married. I had all sorts of bad feelings about that. Rosamond seems manipulative, turning on the tears when it would suit her. And the fact that Lydgate has put himself in so much debt is not a good thing. In fact, all the hinting (or blatant statements actually) about how expensive it was going to be to maintain a girl like Rosamond does not bode well for the dear doctor. Rosamond seems far more interested in the fact that his uncle, Sir Godwin, has a title. I think we are about to see our second unhappy marriage.

And then, finally, Dorothea, Casaubon and Will Ladislaw. I was shocked when Casaubon sent Will the letter requesting that he leaves Middlemarch. What audacity! I was pleased that Will stood up for himself. I was also pleased that Will ended up working for Brooke. He seems good with words, and he seems to be doing well in that line. But between Dorothea's attempts to try and make things fair for Will, and Will's presence, I suppose it doesn't take a leap of the imagination to see why Casaubon was convinced that something was happening between the two. When Casaubon sees Lydgate and Lygate confirms that Dorothea knew that he could die soon, I suppose his suspicion would grow more too. I find it interesting that many folks have said that they wished Dorothea would be more assertive, while study guides (sorry, refreshing my memory - my notes are illegible in many places) claim that Casaubon would have been disappointed in her as a wife as she is too assertive. I suppose in those days, women were expected to do nothing but agree (and have babies). I think Dorothea was trying to make the best of a bad situation. There was nothing to be achieved in fighting Casaubon.

Well, those are my thoughts. I hope that I can post next weeks timeously. School starts tomorrow, and the first two weeks of the term are always crazy-busy!