Tuesday, July 19, 2016

#Eliotalong Week 3 - Chapters 29-42




I'm a little late this week- I'd like to say it's because I've been out enjoying the good weather, but sadly no! I've mostly just been working and then coming home exhausted and going to bed early, rinse repeat. 

Anyway. I can't believe we're halfway through! There's still lots to go down... Most of my strong memories come from the second half so I'm looking forward to getting into that stuff. 

  • Casaubon/Dorothea/Will Ladislaw- I think this week's chapters really just emphasised what a disaster this marriage is. Poor Dorothea, she seems totally crushed. The jealousy thing is just incredibly gross. Jealousy issues are kind of a deal breaker in a relationship for me- if you can't trust someone not to cheat on you, why are you with them in the first place?!- so that's incredibly irritating, especially as Dorothea needs someone to support her. I liked how Eliot dedicated some time to Casaubon's point of view- it didn't make me feel any sympathy for him, but it gave a little insight into his head and his motives which was interesting. 

  • Featherstone's death and will business- Such drama with the second will! I think Mary should have just burned the will like Featherstone told her to. Sure, there's the legality of it but surely a dying man's wishes trump that to some extent? I suppose it would have looked awfully suspicious though. Especially if her relationship with Fred was more widely known. Still, it's pretty painful for the two of them. Hopefully it'll work out. In the mean time though, who is Joshua Rigg? It's pretty startling to have a mysterious newcomer thrown into the mix. I'll keep my eye on him.


  • Lydgate/Rosamond- I feel like I'm watching a car crash in slow motion. And that's all I have to say about that.

  • Brooke/political drama- It's nice to have some local politics thrown into the mix- it's interesting from an historical point of view and it just makes the whole book seem wonderfully rounded. This is another thing I'll be sure to keep an eye on.

2 comments:

  1. This week's chapters were so good! Dorothea's virtual imprisonment in her marriage is incredibly painful to witness. I agree with you that it is one of the strengths of the book that Eliot goes so deep into Casaubon's thinking and character. It isn't pretty, but it is real.

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  2. Hi there!

    I did find a bit of sympathy for Casaubon by spending time in his head. I ended up thinking he was a very insecure person. Although I could never say I condone his actions, at least i did not have to stretch my imagination to understand why he was doing what he was doing, or thinking the way he was thinking. And poor Dorothea, innocently adding to his doubts about Ladislaw!

    I COMPLETELY agree with you about Rosamond and Lydgate. That was painful! I think Lydgate is an admirable man: educated, working in a noble profession, intelligent, and so understanding and compassionate. To see him with the conniving and manipulative Rosamond really upset me.

    The political drama tempted me to down the book and Google the political history of that time. I just couldn't down the book though, so my only understanding is from what I got from Middlemarch.

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