Most happy she that most assured doth rest,
But he most happy who such ones love best
—Spenser (from epigraph in ch 37)
Welcome back to our year(ish) long read, Middlemarch, by George Eliot. In this episode, Shari and Rhea discuss all the ways Book Four feels pivotal; the story lines begin to really boil in “Three Love Problems,” and there is no shortage of curiosities to go with it. First, they talk of reform in this section, and all the ways the greater idea of “reform” webs itself into the story’s greater themes. They discuss the “three love problems”: who exactly does Eliot want us to think of here? They talk about the “gossamer web” of young love-making, and wonder why Eliot applies it to Lydgate and Rosamond and not, say, Dorthea and Casaubon, or Dorthea and Will? Rhea recognizes the possible significance in the repeated mention of the “pale stag” (once in Ch 9, and then again in Ch 37). Shari wonders if the Bulstrodes really give a rip about Rosamond marrying Lydgate, or if their “caring” has a more selfish motive at heart. Finally, they do a “lightning” round (more like a slow thunder rumble), asking each other those burning questions they have moving forward.
What about you? Any questions or predictions for what will happen next?
If you haven’t already, go to the R&W Middlemarch page and download Rhea’s next set of bookmarks! Scroll down to find them.
Finally, for your continued deeper dive into Middlemarch’s Book Four, or use in a book group, homeschool study, and all purposes in-between, here is a PDF of our Book Four outline:
