Middlemarch is a fascinating must-read classic! If you’re not already in love with it by now, here are five tips on how to read it and how to manage your expectations of it.
This is the third article in a series about Middlemarch, discussing each book individually. The last article was about Book 2: Old and Young.
We’ve already started to get to know the Middlemarchers by now: some of them have even had their heart broken already or have faced character-defining decisions. Let’s see what Book 3 brings us!
Book 3 – Waiting for Death – Summary
Fred has a debt of 160 pounds to Mr. Bambridge. His debt is backed by Caleb Garth. Fred’s attitude towards it, along with the author’s commentary, gives us a clear idea he has no idea how to produce or manage money. He, as well as his sister Rosamond, were raised completely outside of practical knowledge.
When Fred gets some money from his uncle, he sets aside 80 pounds. That is only half the sum he owes, and his hopes of using 20 pounds to get the rest of the sum just go to show his naivety. He is determined to sell his horse for the money and goes to a fair to do just that, accompanying Mr. Bambridge and Horrock. Instead, he trades his horse for a better one, plus a difference and sets home, hoping to be able to sell it at a higher price, later.
Of course, as luck would have it, the new horse, overburst with energy, injures itself. The result? Fred is left with a lame horse and only 50 pounds.
Not seeing what else to do, he goes to confess his troubles to the Garths. This is the moment of change in him. It starts with the truthful confession and continues with the realisation of the impact his actions have on the family who has always welcomed him. They basically have to forfeit the money they had saved up for their son Alfred’s apprenticeship, as well as whatever Mary had gained through taking care of her uncle, Peter Featherstone, in the most disagreeable of conditions.
Fred doesn’t shy away from confessing his debt to Mary, sealing her opinion of him as a man with “no manly independence, and who goes on loitering away his time on the chance that others will provide for him.” Renouncing her savings at the request of her parents comes naturally, as she declares “I consider my father and mother the best part of myself.”
When Fred becomes ill after his trips, and Mr. Wrench is too busy to make too much of a fuss over him, Lydgate is called and becomes the Vincy family’s doctor. Rosamond is the one who is the most excited about this development. Eager to help her brother and mother (who also needs caring as being too worried about her son’s fate), she follows the good doctor’s directions and talks to him a lot to better be able to help. Not much longer, when Fred is a bit better, their talks turn to flirting. When he becomes healthy again, regular visits are resumed, but the relationship with Rosamond doesn’t fade.
As Lydgate’s abilities grow in popularity, he is called upon as a doctor at Lowick Manor. Here, Dorothea doesn’t find fulfilment as a wife, her days are not sufficiently infused with purpose. She feels too much liberty and too little duty as opposed to what she originally envisioned for herself.
Lucky for her, Casaubon falls ill and Lydgate recommends him less work, more moderation and no anxieties. She is finally needed!
At the same time, Ladislaw wants to visit, which, of course, with Casaubon’s health problems, is inconvenient. Dorothea charges her uncle to deal with him and he ends up inviting the bright young man to Tipton Grange instead.
Celia has news too! She is engaged to Sir James Chettam, a perfect match for her, as Dorothea says.
Given the closeness between Rosamond and Lydgate, people start to assume they are engaged, leading Mrs. Bulstrode, as a concerned aunt, to inquire Rosamond about the situation. Of course, Lydgate isn’t exactly the right fit for her, as he lacks the fortune the girl is accustomed to. While Rosie unconvincingly denies anything, Lydgate becomes aware of the rumours and, given he has no intention of marriage soon, he decides to stop his visits altogether.
His resolution heroically lasts for 10 days. On the 11th day, after seeing how his lack of visits affected Rosie, he asks her to marry him. Mr. Vincy readily accepts.
There could have been no more complete answer than that silence, and Lydgate, forgetting everything else, completely mastered by the outrush of tenderness at the sudden belief that this sweet young creature depended on him for her joy, actually put his arms round her, folding her gently and protectingly—he was used to being gentle with the weak and suffering—and kissed each of the two large tears. This was a strange way of arriving at an understanding, but it was a short way. Rosamond was not angry, but she moved backward a little in timid happiness, and Lydgate could now sit near her and speak less incompletely. Rosamond had to make her little confession, and he poured out words of gratitude and tenderness with impulsive lavishment. In half an hour he left the house an engaged man, whose soul was not his own, but the woman’s to whom he had bound himself.
Middlemarch, by George Eliot
In the meantime, at Stone Court, Peter Featherstone is dying. All his relatives are there, waiting, hoping to get something of his inheritance. Peter doesn’t receive anyone — he doesn’t like them. When he remains alone with Mary Garth who was still looking after him, Peter wants her to take some money and burn one of his wills, as he had made two on purpose. Mary refuses to commit such acts that would stain her reputation. Peter dies during the night, his last wishes not satisfied.
Middlemarch – Book 3 – Characters
Here are, in short, the characters who appear in Book 3:
- Mr. Bambridge – horse-dealer;
- Mr. Horrock – the vet;
- Fred Vincy – son of the Middlemarch Mayor, Mr. Vincy, in love with Mary Garth;
- Caleb Garth – Brother-in-law to Peter Featherstone through his sister, Featherstone’s first wife;
- Susan Garth – Caleb Garth’s wife;
- Ben, Letty, Sally, Alfred – the Garths’ children, Mary Garth’s siblings.
- Mr. Bulstrode – banker, uncle to Fred Vincy, married to Harriet (Mrs. Bulstrode), brother-in-law to Mr. Vincy;
- Tertius Lydgate – doctor, new in town;
- Mr. Wrench – medical practitioner;
- Camden Farebrother – reverend at St. Botolph’s, the oldest church in Middlemarch;
- Ned Plymdale – son of Mr. Plymdale, the manufacturer;
- Dorothea Casaubon – niece of Mr. Brooke, wife to Edward Casaubon, mistress at Lowick;
- Edward Casaubon – nobleman, the owner of Lowick, cousin with Will Ladislaw;
- Celia Brooke – sister to Dorothea Casaubon, niece to Mr. Brooke, engaged to Sir James Chettam;
- Mr. Brooke – the owner of Tipton Grange;
- Sir James Chettam – owner of Freshitt Hall;
- Mrs. Harriet Bulstrode – sister to Mayor Vincy, aunt to Fred and Rosamond Vincy, wife of Mr. Bulstrode
- Mrs. Selina Plymdale – wife of Mr. Plymdale, the manufacturer, mother to Ned Plymdale, one of Rosamond’s suitors;
- Mr. Borthrop Trumbull – bachelor and auctioneer, “concerned in the sale of land and cattle”, second cousin to Peter Featherstone;
- Peter Featherstone – owner of Stone Court, uncle to Fred Vincy;
Middlemarch – Book 3 – My Impressions
Book 3 naturally goes deeper into the lives of our characters. Important events happen and we get to see some remarkable character development.
For one, Lydgate is already very well-rounded. He may remain an outsider for the Middlemarchers, but we know how passionate he is about medicine and how deep his convictions are about how it should best be practised. Of course, this all pales when he falls in love with Rosamond. He doesn’t even realise how much he is smitten by her until Mrs. Bulstrode makes him see how his behaviour may be construed as though a proposal is on the way.
Given his former love experience, it’s only natural he is now attracted to a sensible woman, one who will care for him, one who will make him forget all his work troubles when he comes home. Rosamond certainly behaves perfectly in that regard, never revealing her thoughts truthfully, never understanding herself the responsibilities a doctor’s wife would have. As opposed to Dorothea, her intent in going into marriage seems a bit deceitful, though I don’t get the sense that she did something wrong, as that was the way she was thought to act in Mrs. Lemon’s school for girls.
Nevertheless, both she and Lydgate enter the marriage similar to how Dorothea and Casaubon did – full of preconceived notions and dreamy ideas of what it will be like, none close to reality. I really liked that parallel between them and look forward to observing the development of their respective marriages. It all gives me the impression it was really difficult to actually get to know a person back then. The rules of etiquette and public way of acting really got in the way of showing one’s true personality and passions.
While Lydgate is clear on his career path and less so on how to choose the ideal partner, Fred admires and loves a truly amazing person – Mary Garth, even though he is pretty aimless about what he wants. I guess we can’t have it all. His problems begin when he lets other people’s fortunes and wills define his future. He doesn’t stand his ground, taking his life in his own hands. He is just waiting for a future to happen instead of forging one for himself. Not only that, but he even loses money while waiting.
I feel Fred is every young man nowadays: too educated to accept lower positions, not passionate about their education enough so as to actually get a job in their field. I was once Fred and I so, so get what he goes through! I love how his wake-up call comes from hurting the person he loves and he really is changing afterwards!
However, one of the most grotesque scenes is the one with Peter Featherstone lying on his deathbed. Every relative possible is there, “as one should”, blindly following traditions when even the man about to die doesn’t believe in them. The intrigue and aggressiveness seemed so real, I felt I despised all of them myself as well. The way Mary Garth stands tall above them through all her actions is magnificent!
Middlemarch – Book 3 – Conclusions
George Eliot continues to develop the Middlemarch Universe. At the end of book 3, we have two more new marriages – Celia’s and Rosamond’s and so, so much character development already! Looking forward to the next!
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