George Eliot

應外二 49782014 高璇柔 應外二 49782018 曹心怡 應外二 49782021 翁韋如 應外二 49782024 劉玉婷 應外二 49782051 黃寶兒 應外二 49784020 劉穎蓁

Author

George Eliot (1819 –1880) • Mary Anne (Mary Ann, Marian) Evans • Pen name George Eliot • English novelist and one of the leading writers (Victorian era) • Author of eight novels • Celebrated for their realism and psychological insights.

George Eliot (1819 –1880)

Major Works (Middlemarch)

Characters

Dorothea Brooke • Brought up by her uncle. • Insists on wedding Mr. Casaubon because of his supposed wisdom. • Refuses to complete Casaubon’s work due to his distrust. • Donates money to the hospital to help the needed and helps Lydgate pay his debt. • Gets married with Mr. Ladislaw in the end.

Edward Casaubon • A scholar intends to write “The Key to All Mythologies.” • Forbids Dorothea from interfering his work. • Prohibits his cousin Ladislaw working in Middlemarch. • Adds codicil to his will. If Dorothea gets married with Ladislaw, she cannot inherit his legacy.

Will Ladislaw • An Italian with white mice. • Possesses lower social and economic standing. • Works for Mr. Brooke to elect councilor. • Leaves Middlemarch for he finds out the codicil in his cousin’s will.

Tertius Lydgate • An idealistic, ambitious, and talented doctor • Good birth but small financial means • Come to Middlemarch to fulfill his ideal • Married Rosamond Vincy • Gives up his ideal eventually and want to give his wife a happy life

Rosamond Vincy • An egocentric and proud woman • Despises the life in Middlemarch, hoping to live an aristocratic life • Married Tertius Lydgate because of his good background • The marriage provides her with an increased status

Nicholas Bulstrode • A wealthy banker in Middlemarch • A pious Methodist who tries to impose his beliefs in Middlemarch society • Has a dark past • Lives in agony because he is afraid that his past would be revealed • Leaves Middlemarch with his wife after his secret had been revealed

Fred Vincy • • • •

Rosamond's brother, the mayor’s son Spendthrift and irresponsible Loyal to his lover-Mary Fails to meet his parents’ expectation of being a clergy, not knowing what to do in the future • Finds his profession and wins his lover Mary’s respect and they get married in the end

Summary

Rosamond Fred Vincy Vincy (mayor’s (mayor’s son) daughter) Dorothea (niece of landowner) Husband and wife First marriage Love and get married Edward Lydgate Casaubon (doctor)(scholar)

Second marriage

Mary Garth (Featherstone’s nurse) Inviter and supporter

Covet his money

Ladislaw (cousin of Casaubon) (banker) Featherstone Bulstrode (Fred’s uncle)

Theme

Theme Marriage Marriage in Middlemarch is a beginning, not an ending

Theme Compassion and Forgiveness

Compassion, Forgiveness, Sympathy – these are big ideas in Middlemarch

Theme Women and Femininity

Women in Middlemarch have personalities and ambitions independent of their husbands

Theme Science Science and scientific progress was a big deal in the 19th century

Theme Dreams, Hopes, Plans • Casaubon • Dorothea • Lydgate

Theme Dissatisfaction • Dorothea • Lydgate • Casaubon

• Most of the dissatisfaction in this novel is a result of a failure to settle lofty ambitions with everyday realities (financial problems).

Theme Society and Class

• the relationships between different people have large and small effects on everything around them

ambitions realities(financial problems) social expectations dissatisfaction

Theme Spirituality • religious feeling • personal belief • moral sense