Whew!  Here we go – the final two volumes, and the epilogue (“Finale” as George Eliot calls it) of Middlemarch.  Warning: spoilers abound, and I’m going to tell you the ending.   If you’re planning to read Middlemarch yourself and don’t want it ruined, skip this post and come back on Wednesday!

Volume VII – Two Temptations

I almost thought this volume was misnamed, because it seemed to me that there were many more than just two temptations.  People were being tempted left and right!  Fred Vincy was tempted to go back to the gambling parlor, just to see what was going on with his old crowd.  Farebrother, upon learning that Fred might be up to his old tricks (he wasn’t) was tempted to let Fred backslide and then claim Mary Garth for himself.  But the main two temptations of the volume involved Lydgate and Bulstrode.

First, Lydgate.  The good doctor’s marriage is continuing to deteriorate, as he tries to convince Rosamond to adopt some austerity measures to stop their financial bleeding.  Rosamond is convinced that Lydgate is in the wrong – anyone who opposes Rosamond is necessarily in the wrong – and takes it upon herself to hinder his attempts to get their money situation under control, in any way she can.  Lydgate realizes two things simultaneously: his wife is determined to get in his way at every opportunity, and he is personally incapable of consciously doing anything that will make her unhappy.  Since she has made it clear that it would make her unhappy if Lydgate moved them to a more affordable house or sold off some of their luxurious furniture to pay down their creditors, Lydgate tries to get the money he needs in other ways.  He starts gambling, wins a bit, then begins to lose.  Fortunately, before things can really go downhill, Fred Vincy saves the day by dragging Lydgate out of the gambling den.  (And then gets roundly chewed out by Farebrother for being there in the first place… but it’s a good thing he was, since he managed to save Lydgate from himself.)  Lydgate, out of desperation, appeals to Bulstrode for a loan.  Bulstrode coolly and unsympathetically suggests that Lydgate declare bankruptcy.  Thanks for nothing, Old Nick.

Speaking of Bulstrode, he’s the other victim of temptation in this volume.  He’s been trying to keep his reputation secure from Raffles’ tale-telling, and not entirely successfully, as Caleb Garth comes to him and resigns his post as Stone Court’s manager.  Looks like Raffles got to Garth… but fortunately for Bulstrode, Garth is an ethical man who has no intention of spreading Raffles’ story around Middlemarch, even if he himself doesn’t feel comfortable working for Bulstrode any longer.  Soon after this encounter, Bulstrode learns that Raffles has been taken ill (alcohol poisoning, big shock there) and is lying insensible at Stone Court.  Bulstrode summons Lydgate to attend his tormentor and sits up with the good-for-nothing himself, resolved to carry out Lydgate’s instructions for saving Raffles’ life even while he contemplates how useful it would be if Raffles would die. Worried that Raffles will do some ranting and raving in front of Lydgate, Bulstrode reconsiders his position on Lydgate’s loan request and quickly writes a check for one thousand pounds.  Lydgate gratefully accepts without thinking too much about the possible reasons behind Bulstrode’s sudden change of heart.  Lydgate leaves and Bulstrode retires to bed, leaving Raffles in the care of the housekeeper, who questions Lydgate’s orders not to administer any alcohol to the patient.  Without telling the housekeeper to do one thing or the other, Bulstrode lets her know where the brandy is located in the wine cellar.  She goes ahead and gives Raffles brandy, and he dies.

Bulstrode and Lydgate enjoy a brief period of happiness – Bulstrode is thrilled that Raffles has gone to the grave and, presumably, taken his tale with him, and Lydgate pays off his debts with much relief.  But soon both men can’t fail to notice that folks are avoiding them.  Together, they attend a town meeting to discuss efforts to improve sanitation and prevent cholera… but the meeting quickly turns into a condemnation of Bulstrode, for his actions (looks like Raffles spread the word after all), and Lydgate, for presumably accepting a bribe from Bulstrode and either concealing or perhaps colluding in the efforts to speed along Raffles’ demise.  All of Middlemarch gangs up on Bulstrode and Lydgate, and everyone believes them guilty as sin… except for one person.  Dorothea Casaubon.  And if there is one person you’d like in your corner, it’s Dorothea.

Volume VIII – Sunset and Sunrise

Dorothea ends Volume VII determined to clear Lydgate’s name.  She likes him personally, she knows he’s a friend of the Farebrothers, and she believes wholeheartedly in his work with the fever hospital.  But she’s hindered in her detecting efforts by the well-meaning cabal of Mr. Brooke, Sir James, and the Cadwalladers, who advise her against getting involved.  Dorothea listens for a little while, but finds that she has the perfect opportunity to find out what happens when Lydgate visits her to explain that he is planning to leave Middlemarch and will not be continuing his work with the hospital.  Dorothea admits that she has heard the gossip about Lydgate and Bulstrode and asks him to tell her, in his own words, what happened.  Lydgate, overwhelmed by the first expression of support he’s heard since the scandal breaks, confesses everything about his marital difficulties, his financial woes, and the circumstances of his treatment of Raffles and acceptance of Bulstrode’s loan.

True to form, Dorothea has a plan.  She first advances Lydgate one thousand pounds, enabling him to return Bulstrode’s money and get out from under the taint of supposed bribery.  She then spreads the word to her uncle, Mr. Farebrother, and the other men of her acquaintance that Lydgate has told her his side of the story and that she believes him.  Next, Dorothea undertakes a visit to Rosamond, to assure her that her husband still has friends who support him in Middlemarch.  Unfortunately, Dorothea stumbles onto a scene she immediately wishes unseen: the sight of Rosamond throwing herself at Will Ladislaw.  Dorothea stumbles out, blinded by misery, and doesn’t witness the next part: where Will scathingly rejects Rosamond and manages to throw the first verbal darts ever to lodge in that absurdly thick skin of hers.

Dorothea passes a miserable night, but resolves to return to Rosamond’s home the next day and finish her business of assuring her of local support for Lydgate.  When she is announced, Rosamond is terrified, wondering what this woman she has wronged has come back to say or do to her.  Dorothea is grace itself and the two women cling to each other in their sorrow.  Meanwhile, Rosamond confesses that she was the one to put the moves on Will, and that Will’s heart is entirely Dorothea’s.  Dorothea is intensely relieved and she urges Rosamond to look back to her own husband for love and affection.  Will, upon learning that Rosamond has explained things to Dorothea, rushes to his love’s side and they are immediately engaged.  Dorothea convinces Will that she doesn’t mind giving up her wealth – Casaubon’s money is nothing but a weight on her.  (And, anyway, it’s not like they’ll be destitute; Dorothea does have her own personal fortune still.)  She promises that she’ll learn to economize… and one expects she will be a darn sight better at it than La Rosamond.  Of course, Dorothea’s family and “friends” (the Chettams and Cadwalladers) are shocked and dismayed at the engagement, but Uncle Brooke feels himself powerless to stop it.  And so Dorothea has her intellectual companion at last.

Finale

The quick finale gives us a brief glimpse of the main characters’ future.  Fred Vincy and Mary Garth live a long, happy, noisy, child-blessed life together.  Rosamond is happier than she deserves to be, with Lydgate leaving Middlemarch after all and becoming a wealthy, successful doctor in London and at a resort on the Continent, but Lydgate feels deeply his failure to accomplish what he set out to do with his hospital, and dies young.  (Don’t worry about La Rosamond.  She remarries, more money this time.)

As for Dorothea and Will, they live a simple, happy life together.  They have a son, who provides the means of reconciling Dorothea to her family.  (Celia can’t resist a baby.)  Will enters politics and Dorothea’s life is quiet, but she gets to be the helpmate she always wanted to be.

Thoughts on Middlemarch

My one regret about reading Middlemarch is that it took me so long to finally open this book.  It’s been sitting on my shelf for years, and on my “to-read” list for even longer than that.  I was intimidated by the length of the book (silly, since I blazed through some Tolstoy chunksters with no issue), by the setting in a time period that isn’t especially familiar to me, and by the multiple complex story lines.

When I finally started it, I found something out: Middlemarch is an easy read.  Oh, it’s beautifully written and meticulously plotted and absolutely deserves its place in the canon.  But here’s the thing.  The characters are real.  Dorothea, Casaubon, Lydgate, the Chettams, the Vincys, the Garths and Farebrothers, the Bulstrodes, and all the supporting characters who make up the texture of Middlemarch – they’re all real.  And Middlemarch itself is a layered, complicated, oh-so-real place.  And that makes this book very easy to read.  It only takes a few sentences to hook you and pull you in, and you find yourself sinking deeper and deeper into Eliot’s rich world.  And that’s how you find yourself turning page after page until you realize you’ve read 150 pages straight and haven’t actually seen or heard anything in “the real world” for hours.  This is that kind of book.

I already know I’m going to re-read Middlemarch.  Not right away, because I want to let it sink in a bit more, since I’ll never again have the pleasure of reading it for the first time.  But I’m going to re-read it.  And then I’m going to re-read it again.  And again.  And again and again for the rest of my life.  This is now one of my favorite books.

Buy it!  Middlemarch, by George Eliot, available here (not an affiliate link) or support your local indie bookstore.

I’m submitting this post as my review of Middlemarch for The Classics Club.  Thanks for coming along on this journey, and Beth, thanks again for hosting this readalong!