Middlemarch Book VII
In which I rediscover the joy of the audiobook
Good Morning Readers,
I hope you have cozy plans on this rainy Saturday. This is the time of year that we spend a day outside and decide that we should spend everyday outside and then inevitably it rains the next day and back inside we go. But it looks like tomorrow should be better.
We are now a little over halfway through Lent and it feels like it. Is anyone else’s Lent feeling very long? I feel like we are plodding along and it is good, but I am very much looking forward to Easter! Maybe the backend will go faster.
That is a bit how I am feeling about Middlemarch. We got to the middle and it felt like we would be there forever, but now we are in the home stretch! I hope you all are still enjoying it and feel accomplished that you’re about to finish a solid 800 page book! I was encouraged (by the interview below) to embrace the audiobook listening that I’d been avoiding. It has been very enjoyable. I always avoid audiobooks for book club books because I get distracted and feel like I miss things. But this week I have been choosing times where I’m unlikely to get distracted and having my book nearby in case I want to go find a quote. It has been very enjoyable. But Rosamond’s voice is awful and it is making me dislike her more (though this part of the story does not make her likable either)!
Chapter Musings
58
In which we find out how Rosy lost her baby and Lydgate shares with her about their financial troubles.
I am wondering if we should see a connection between Rosy losing the baby because of horse riding and the horse representing Rosy’s passions. I think there is something there because she and the horse are even described in similar language. This seems to foreshadow how she will respond to the financial troubles as well. Her obstinance led to a literal loss of life and it seems like it may lead to more.
59
In which Rosy is a blabber mouth
Fred tells Rosy about the codicil because they have nothing else to talk about. Lydgate asks her to keep it quiet. She immediately tells Will and it makes him angry and understand so much more. I love all the responses to Farebrother knowing about the codicil and not telling.
“News is often dispersed as thoughtlessly and effectively as that pollen which the bees carry off (having no idea how powdery they are) when they are buzzing in search of their particular nectar.”
60
In which Raffles tries to tell Will his family history
Bulstrode has taken over the Pioneer and is annoyed that Will is still here. The whole auction scene is VERY funny.
“But indefinite visions of ambition are weak against the ease of doing what is habitual or beguilingly agreeable, and we all know the difficultly of carrying out a resolve when we secretly long that it may turn out to be unnecessary.”
61
In which Raffles tells Bulstrode who Will is and we Bulstrode tries to pay Will off
He married Will’s widowed grandmother and was part of the family business that profited from thieving (at least partially). Will’s mother ran away before they got rich and his grandmother wanted Bulstrode to find them before she died. Bulstrode sent Raffles to find them and then never told her so he inherited all the money before she died.
Bulstrode’s reasoning within himself of right and wrong is very interesting. Also Raffles keeps coming back and it makes me think of the spiritual connections. You can’t hide from your sin. Will refusing the money seems virtuous.
62
In which Will actually leaves
It is funny that Chettam uses Mrs. Cadwallader to spread gossip. Dorothea and Will get one last goodbye and it is painful again. But at least this time they are able to be a bit more open. The image of her carriage passing his seems very meaningful.
“I suppose one gets a habit of doing without happiness or hope”-Will
“She could no more make any sign that would seem to say, ‘Need we part?’ than she could stop the carriage to wait for him.”
63
In which the Vincy’s have a New Year’s Eve party
I was thinking about how Mrs. Vincy idolizes her children and the difference between her and Mrs. Garth in that aspect. I thought it was funny that Mr. Farebrother says he can’t tell a story because he will probably start preaching. Mrs. Vincy is all of the sudden very protective of Fred’s claim on Mary. I want to think more about the comparison of Lydgate and Farebrother in relation to being in someone’s debt. Mr. Farebrother doesn’t mind at all. Lydgate is in literal, monetary debt and it is killing him. I think there is a spritual correlation.
“So strangely determined are we mortals that after having been long gratified with the sense that he had privately done the vicar a service, the suggestion that the vicar discerned his need of a service in return made him shrink into unconquerable reticence.”
64
In which we find out how awful Rosamond can be
This chapter is a flashback to before the party and helps explain why Lydgate is so rude to Farebrother. He is planning to get out of debt and asking Rosamond for her help and she secretly undermines his attempts to sell that house and then secretly (against his will) writes to Sir Godwin (his uncle) for money. This makes Rosamond very unlikeable, but in a way can’t we all admit that we sometimes think our own plans are better?
65
In which Rosamond can actually get worse
Sir Godwin writes back and it is humiliating to Lydgate and him and Rosy get into a huge fight. Again I find myself disliking Rosy, but also seeing where the vice of stubbornness can go.
“In fact there was but one person in Rosamond’s world whom she did not regard as blameworthy, and that was the graceful creature with blond plaits and with little hands crossed before her, who had never expressed herself unbecomingly and had always acted for the best- the best naturally being what she best liked”
“We are not obliged to identify our own acts according to a strict classification, any more than the materials of our grocery and clothes.”
“Nevertheless she had mastered him.”
66
In which everyone tries to go gambling
Lydgate decides to “try on” gambling to see if he can make any money to pay his debts. Fred catches him because he was just hanging around, what could it hurt? Fred goes to stop Lydgate and then Farebrother comes to stop Fred. Then Farebrother warns Fred that he could lose Mary over this. It seems to true to life that someone else’s sin can check our own desire to flirt with temptation. Also, Farebrother is just so good. The “chain” of people helping people seems to have spiritual significance.
“To think of the part one little woman can play in the lift of a man, so that to renounce her may be a very good imitation of heroism, and to win her may be a discipline!”
67
In which Lydgate asks Bulstrode for money and is refused
Bulstrode is decaying outwardly as he is inwardly. This book seems to show the spiritual life in such broad brushstrokes so that we can see it clearly.
68
In which Fred might get Stone Court after all
Raffles is back and being awful. Bulstrode is going to leave and asks Mr. Garth to find him a tenant for Stone Court. Garth wants to give it to Fred so he can work the land and marry Mary.
69
In which Mr. Garth finds out
Raffles comes back and is sick. Mr. Garth helps him get to Bulstrode and he tells all on the way. Garth will not gossip, but he cannot work for Bulstrode anymore (poor Fred). Bulstrode asks Lydgate to check on Raffles.
70
In which Bulstrode’s desires kill Raffles
Lydgate gives very specific instructions for Raffles care. Bulstrode changes his mind and decides to give Lydgate the thousand pounds.Bulstrode gives the woman watching Raffles bad instructions “by accident” and Raffles dies overnight. Lydgate is surprised but it could happen.
“Bulstrode set himself to keep his intention separate from his desire.”
71
In which the town gossips
This chapter is full of hilarious remarks about gossip in a small town. The town puts two and two together about Bulstrode and Raffles and assumes that Lydgate has been bribed. Bulstrode is confronted in front of many important people in the town. The image of Lydgate propping him up and taking him home is a strong objective correlative. Dorothea sets out to clear Lydgate’s name.
“The business was felt to be so public and important that it required dinners to feed it, and many invitations were just then issued and accepted on the strength of this scandal.”
“Everybody likes better to conjecture how the thing was than simply to know it, for conjecture soon became more confident than knowledge and had a more liberal allowance for the incompatible.”
Thanks for sticking with me. I hope these thoughts and summaries add to your reading life and I would love to hear any of your thoughts in the comments if you’d like to share. Otherwise I look forward to many good conversations about the end of the book in the coming weeks. I will post some thoughts on the last book next week.
Other Things I’m Enjoying
I was very encouraged by this conversation between
and Sarah Mackenzie (of the Read Aloud Revival Podcast) about homeschooling, parenting, and reading aloud. It was a very fun listen!They mentioned this essay (Chesterton on Cheese) and I haven’t read it in years but it got me thinking that the opening line seems like a parody of Cassubon’s unfinished work…I have no evidence that Chesterton intended that, but it is making me giggle regardless.
This was a thought provoking piece about why the internet can be good by
. We all need some nuance in our lives and I appreciated this bit of it.I can’t stop posting
essays and I’m not sorry. This one on busyness is a must read!“We fear that if we cease our activity even for a moment, we will be forced to confront some of the deeper questions that our busyness helps us avoid; to address some of the problems our constant motion allows us to skirt past. When our exterior lives become quiet, our interior lives become louder, and we can no longer avoid wondering…”
Father Brown Schedule
Our next book is The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton. This is a collection of Detective Short Stories. Because they are short stories and we are coming off a long book and heading into a busy spring season I wanted to give everyone to opportunity to slow down a bit. In light of that we are going to focus on 4 of the short stories. If you enjoy them and want to read the whole book we can definitely discuss those as well. But I wanted to have a few to really dig into in the Substack posts and at Book Club. The below dates are when I plan to post about each story so if you want to read along with me finish the story by that date (if you don’t want spoilers). I am very excited to read these with you all!
March 23rd- The Secret Garden (30 pages)
March 30th- The Invisible Man (25 pages)
April 6th- The Wrong Shape (27 pages)
April 13th- The Sign of the Broken Sword (26 pages)
Choose your Spooky Book
As I start (or finish) planning the book list for next year there are a few months I’d like your feedback on. The poll will be open for a week so be sure to vote soon. There are links on the book covers below if you want to check out prices and page numbers to influence your choice.
Thanks for sticking with me through all of that! I now send you off to your cozy Saturday reading and family time. Enjoy the last pages of Middlemarch and your in person meetings coming up!
Enjoy your reading until we meet again!
“Words liven us to the vast, vivid, bustling world around us, kindling us to see sky and tree, child and friend afresh as gift, as mystery.”Book Girl
-Sarah Clarkson ()
A Few Reminders
Next up for Literature Book Club (after The Innocence of Father Brown) is Crossing to Safety in May. This is one of my favorites!
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.
Book lists from previous years can be found here.
We are on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (with links to Substack) in order to spread the joy of the reading life to more people...if you want to like or share with any friends that want to start their own groups (or follow along virtually) please do!
*As always, some of the links are affiliate links. The few cents(literally) earned with each purchase you make after clicking links (at no extra cost to you) go toward the time and effort it takes to keep Literature Book Club running and I appreciate it!
Aw, thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed the "busyness" piece!