Middlemarch Book V (part)

Chapters 43-48...and how I loved my copy of Middlemarch to death

Good Morning Fellow Readers,

We are now a week and a half into Lent and I am feeling prayerfully ploddy (which is not a word, but I think it should be). We are far enough into it that it is starting to feel normal to be slightly uncomfortable and miss things we’re fasting from. The added prayers are starting to become slight habit as well, which is really good. But Easter still feels very far away and I am very much looking forward to it, which is the point. My most faithfully fasting child just found out that Sundays “don’t count” and is very much looking forward to tomorrow (as am I!). I hope you all are prayerfully plodding as well. It is such a beautiful time in the church calendar to slow down and make ourselves slightly uncomfortable enough to lean on Christ. Even when I am excited for Easter, I do love this time of penance as well.

I was planning to read all of Book V of Middlemarch this week. I had perfectly plotted out a “course of study” and was prepared to hold to it. If I read 3 chapters a day I could have a beautifully organized Substack post, but then life intervened. My copy of Middlemarch literally fell apart. I have only read it once before (but I think I did buy it used) and it only made it through half of a reread. I used to think I liked hardbacks best, but my opinion has shifted to well published paperbacks. So I only got half of my intended reading done because it is not fun to read a book that has literally fallen apart AND I already feel like I need to transfer all my underlines and notes (or bring two 800 page books to Book Club next month). But, I had been eyeing the Penguin Deluxe Paperback version for a while now and I will admit that it does not disappoint. They publish very sturdy big paperbacks (they are also the ones who publish Kristin Lavransdatter). So now I am not only enjoying the book, I am also enjoying the aesthetic experience of holding the book while reading it! Now to decide whether to cart around the old book and risk losing part of it or to spend time transferring notes…

Chapter by Chapter

43

Summary: Dorothea goes to see Lydgate, he is not home so she sees Rosamond. Will is there playing music with Rosy and Dorothea thinks it is weird that they are together without her husband so she leaves. Will thinks she is acting weird because of class distinctions (the Lydgates were lower class and therefore he was too). Rosamond suspects that he loves her.

Things I noticed: Eliot compares Dorothea’s headdress to a saint’s halo…we have so much saint/religious imagery around Dorothea in the whole book.

“Perhaps I have been mistaken in many things”-Dorothea

“the image of Will which had been so clear to her before was mysteriously spoiled.”

“When one sees a perfect woman, one never thinks of her attributes- one is conscious of her presence”-Will

“Why, what can a man do when he takes to adoring one of you mermaids? He only neglects his works and runs up bills”- Lydgate

44

Summary: We flash back to the conversation between Dorothea and Lydgate about Cassubon and the hospital. We hear more about Bulstrode and why no one likes him. Lydgate asks Dorothea for money for the hospital and she agrees

Things I noticed: Dorothea’s marriage has made her put aside all of her charity work. Dorothea slightly sympathizes with Bulstrode because she thinks the people are “persecuting” him because of his religious beliefs and she empathizes.

“He distrusted her affection; and what loneliness is more lonely than distrust?”

45

Summary: We get a deep dive into Lydgate’s medical opinions and his relationships around the town.

Things I noticed: Farebrother’s advice is to 1. Keep separate from Bulstrode and 2. Don’t go into debt. Well that isn’t good…that’s exactly what he has already done. Also it was hilarious when it spreads around town that Lydgate wants to cut up bodies!

“But oppositions ahve the illimitable range of objections at command, which need never stop short at the boundary of knowledge, but can draw for ever on the vasts of ignorance.”

“But let the wise be warned against too great readiness at explanation: it multiplies the sources of mistake, lengthening the sum for reckoners sure to go wrong.”

46

Summary: Lots of political talk, we hear what people in the town think of Will, and then Will and Lydgate argue because Lydgate was grumpy because his debts are starting to demand payment.

Things I noticed: I thought the comparison of Bulstrode and Brooke (and how Lydgate and Will are attached to them) was very interesting. Also the comparison of Will’s work with Cassubon’s (unstated comparison, but intentional I think).

47

Summary: Will thinks about his argument with Lydgate and then his thoughts drift to Dorothea. He decides to go to church to see her the next morning. This ends poorly for everyone.

Things I noticed: Everyone go read the second paragraph of chapter 47 (it is a long paragraph) and let’s talk about Will’s desire surrounding Dorothea. Also the “argument” between objection and inclination a few paragraphs later is hilarious!

48

Summary: Dorothea thinks about seeing Will at church. She works with Cassubon to edit his manuscript. He asks her to promise to fulfill his unspoken wishes. She delays, He dies before she can give her (intended) promise.

Things I noticed: Dorothea feels like she is half in the grave with Cassubon. Which makes me think that by this promise he is trying to “bury her alive.”

“Today she had stood at the door of the tomb and seen Will Ladislaw receding into the distant world of warm activity and fellowship- turning his face towards her as he went.”

“The poor child had become altogether unbelieving as to the trustworthiness of that ‘Key’ which had made the ambition and the labour of her husband’s life.”

Thoughts moving forward

Is anyone else relieved that Cassubon died? Does that make me awful or simply human? There are still a lot of pages left so I am wondering what mischief is still brewing. Will Fred get his act together? Will Lydgate pay his debts? What happens to Dorothea as a widow? I would love to hear any thoughts or questions you are asking as we move forward as well!

Middlemarch Family Tree

A lot of you missed this in a previous post and it is immensely helpful to keep track of who everyone is in the town and how they are related (because it seems like everyone is).

Other Things I Am Enjoying This Week

• I finished The Word is Murder (recommend for a modern mystery with an interesting narrative device), Arcadia (very fun, but I’m not sure I quite “get it”, lots of affairs), The Warden (with

  Close Reads HQ
  , very mixed feelings and would love to hear others’ thoughts), and Reflections on the Psalms (definitely not Lewis at his best, but it is still Lewis and therefore always recommended)….because I read a lot of books at once I usually don’t finish anything for weeks and then have a waterfall of finished books, which always makes me feel accomplished even when I’m drowning in chaos.

  

  

• Christy Isinger
  wrote some interesting thoughts about Lent on her weekly bits and bants

  “I think our lives are hard already. I think we all have various crosses that at different times feel much more painful than others. We all have seasons of intense darkness, spiritual dryness, and deep melancholy. We also have lives that are very busy with many burdens we haven’t chosen but still are obligated to fulfill. Our lives are not dissimilar to the lives of regular Catholic laypeople throughout time and history. I think the Catholic peasants in plague-ridden 14th century France probably didn’t need to take on an extra penance during Lent. But the Church did not say Lent wasn’t going to happen that year.”

  “I don’t want to be told that Lent in its difficulty can be imagined away or rebranded as a time for more self reflection to just give yourself more of break because things are tough. I want to be told that Lent is difficult, but that my sacrifices are meaningful especially when offered in reparation for my sins and the sins of others.”

• Two Doves Press has published a beautiful and free Charlotte Mason inspired Faith Formation program (I think it would be especially helpful for preschool-kindergarten children).

• Speaking of Charlotte Mason,

  Autumn Kern
  did a video a few weeks ago called, Did Charlotte Mason Hate New Books?, and I have been thinking about it for weeks! I also rejoined her paid subscription (Common House) and I have to say, if you are a homeschooler and inspired by Charlotte Mason or the Classical Tradition at all it is a great resource and community.

And that is all I have for you this morning. I started the second Hawthorne & Horowitz mystery last night and am excited to binge read that this weekend. I hope you all have a few moments to curl up with Middlemarch or another fun book and enjoy some leisure during this (what feels like very short compared to last) weekend.

Enjoy your reading until we meet again!

“Letters are an imperative and daily requirement to satisfy that universal mind hunger, the neglect of which gives rise to emotional disturbances, and, as a consequence, to evils that dismay us.”
-Charlotte Mason (A Philosophy of Education)

A Few Reminders

• Next up for Literature Book Club is The Innocence of Father Brown for April and then Crossing to Safety for May.

• If you found your way here and are not part of an in person book club, welcome! We would love you to read along with us. But, in person literary community is a beautiful thing. So please contact me if you’d like to join or start a group!

• If you are part of a group, but you’re not on our Slack page, please contact me. That is where people share thoughts and logistics for each in person group.

• Here is the whole list of this years book selections

• Book lists from previous years can be found here.

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