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00:00Blotsomery 59, Middlemarch
00:05Introduction
00:07Middlemarch by George Eliot was first published in one volume edition in 1874.
00:14Before that the novel had appeared in serial form from 1871 to 1872.
00:22The subtitle of Middlemarch is A Study of Provincial Life.
00:28George Eliot was the pen name of Mary Ann Evans.
00:32It was the seventh novel written by her.
00:35She started writing it in 1869, but she put it aside during the final illness of Thorndon Luce,
00:42the son of her companion George Henry Luce.
00:47She resumed writing the novel in 1970.
00:51She started fusing together many stories into a coherent novel.
00:57When Middlemarch was first published, it received great response and attracted large sales.
01:06Middlemarch is set in a fictitious Midlands town of Middlemarch.
01:11It is said that the town is based on Coventry.
01:14The time period is between 1830 and 1832.
01:20There are several plots with a number of characters.
01:24There are interlocking narratives in the novel.
01:27The story pursues a number of underlying themes.
01:32Some of the most significant themes of the novel are the nature of marriage,
01:37the status of women, idealism and self-interest, religion and hypocrisy, education and political reform.
01:47The tone of the novel is mildly didactic though the base of the story is leisurely.
01:53There is an authorial voice which seems to be occasionally bursting through the narrative.
01:59The canvas of the story is quite broad.
02:03There are a few comical and comically named characters such as Mr. Brooke,
02:08the Chiny Aunt Miss Noble and Mrs. Dollop in the novel,
02:12but Middlemarch is definitely a work of realism.
02:17Several issues of the time are voiced through several characters in the novel.
02:22The issues of the time were the Great Reform Bill, the beginnings of the railways,
02:28the death of King George IV and the succession of his brother, the Duke of Clarence.
02:35The state of the contemporary medical science is also brought to the knowledge of the readers through the story.
02:43The entire novel is divided into eight books.
02:47The eight books are not autonomous entities, but they reflect the form of the original serialization.
02:55There is a short prelude which gives the idea of the latter-day Saint Teresa.
03:03Middlemarch has continued to maintain its popularity and status as one of the masterpieces of English fiction,
03:10though some of the critics seem to be dissatisfied.
03:15Plot Summary
03:18In the opening of the novel, we are introduced to Dorothea Brooke.
03:23She happens to be an idealistic and well-off young woman.
03:27She is quite generous and helpful, involved in several schemes to help the lot of the local poor.
03:36Dorothea is supposed to marry the rich landowner, Sir James Chetham, a neighbour,
03:42but her sister Celia is not happy with it.
03:45She is dismayed by the prospect of Dorothea marrying James Chetham.
03:50However, later Celia marries Chetham.
03:54Mr. Brooke, Dorothea's uncle, is also not happy.
03:59Dorothea decides to marry Edward Gasaubon, a scholar.
04:04Edward is a middle-aged pedantic character.
04:09Dorothea believes that Edward is engaged in a great work,
04:13doing his research and writing his book The Key to All Mythologies.
04:19She wants to share her husband's intellectual life to achieve fulfilment in her life,
04:25but during their honeymoon in Rome, Dorothea feels that he is not much interested in her ambitions.
04:32She senses his coldness.
04:36She, with the progression of time, begins to understand that his project is not going to be successful.
04:44She begins to pity him.
04:49Wiladislau happens to be Gasaubon's young cousin.
04:53Dorothea forms a warm friendship with Wil.
04:56However, she realises that her husband is quite apathetic towards Wil.
05:03Her husband begins to believe that Wiladislau is trying to seduce Dorothea to gain access to Gasaubon's fortune.
05:12As a result, Gasaubon forbids Wil's visits to the estate.
05:18Gasaubon falls ill and in his poor health he talks with Dorothea.
05:23He tries to extract from her a promise that should he die,
05:27she would avoid doing what he should deprecate and apply herself to do what he desired.
05:33He means to say that she should shun Wiladislau.
05:37Dorothea believes that she will be able to complete his project The Key to All Mythologies in his place.
05:45Dorothea wants to reply but before she can answer to her husband, he dies.
05:53After his death, it transpires that Gasaubon has added the extraordinary provision to his will that if Dorothea married Wiladislau,
06:02she would not be entitled to inherit Gasaubon's fortune.
06:07On the other hand, Dirtiest Lightgate, a young doctor arrives in middle of March.
06:13He is an idealistic young doctor who possesses advanced ideas for medical reform.
06:21He begins to work as a volunteer in the hospital.
06:24He comes into contact with Mr. Bolstrod, the town's financier.
06:29Mr. Bolstrod happens to have philanthropic learning.
06:34It transpires that Bolstrod is also a religious zealot with a secret past.
06:42Rosamund Vinci happens to be Bolstrod's niece.
06:46She is the daughter of the mayor.
06:48She is a recognized beauty in town.
06:51She sees Lightgate and sets her eyes on him.
06:55She is attracted to his aristocratic connections and his novelty.
07:01With the passage of time, Rosamund wins the heart of the young doctor.
07:06They get married, but she is very much self-centered and he is quite idealist.
07:14It turns out to be an unhappy marriage.
07:19Lightgate is not able to maintain his financial affairs properly, and consequently he finds himself deep in debt.
07:27He seeks help from Bolstrod.
07:32Camden Farbrother is the local preacher.
07:35Lightgate is his friend.
07:37Camden supports him emotionally.
07:40Camden is a very generous parson.
07:45It transpires Fred, Rosamund's brother, is university educated.
07:50He is restless and irresponsible.
07:54He happens to be reluctantly destined for the church.
07:59It is disclosed that Fred has been in love with his childhood sweetheart, Mary Garth.
08:05She happens to be a very sensible and forthright young woman.
08:12She declares that she is not going to marry him until he abandons the church.
08:17She knows that Fred is not interested in the church.
08:21She wants him to settle in a more suitable career.
08:26Though she does not intend to do it, because of her Fred loses a considerable fortune.
08:32It was bequeathed to Fred by the aged and irascible Mr. Featherstone but it was rescinded by a later will which Mr. Featherstone had drawn.
08:41On his deathbed he requests Mary to destroy that will which gives money to Fred.
08:48Mary does not follow Mr. Featherstone's request.
08:54On the other hand, Fred takes a loan for his horse stealing.
08:59The loan is co-signed by Mary's father.
09:02Fred falls into trouble over that injudicious horse stealing.
09:08Caleb Garth, Mary's father, is compelled to pay the loan because Fred fails to pay it back.
09:17Fred is quite humiliated and he is completely shocked but Caleb is forgiving.
09:23He takes Fred under his wing and trains him as a land agent.
09:29There are several side plots in the novel.
09:32Mr. Brooke happens to be a humorous character.
09:36He tries to enter Parliament as a sponsor of reform.
09:41Suddenly, there is a twist in the story with the arrival of John Raffles.
09:47He knows about Bulstrode's past.
09:50He decides to blackmail Bulstrode.
09:55It transpires that in his youth, Bulstrode was engaged in some questionable financial dealings and he owes much of his early fortune to a marriage to a much older wealthy widow.
10:08Bulstrode is frightened by that fact that John Raffles might disclose his secret.
10:14Raffles happens to be quite sick and alcohol is forbidden to him.
10:21Bulstrode gives him alcohol and excessive amounts of opium to hasten his death.
10:27However, Bulstrode is too late because Raffles has already spread out the word.
10:33Livegate is shocked by Bulstrode's disgrace.
10:37The knowledge of the loan to the doctor becomes public.
10:41People begin to say that he happens to be complicit with Bulstrode.
10:48For all that, Dorothea and Farbrother continue to maintain their faith in Livegate
10:54but Livegate and Rosamond are threatened by the general opprobrium and they are compelled to leave Middlemarch.
11:02Bulstrode faces exile too but his wife stands by him and it is his only consolation.
11:11The final complexity of the plot lies in the story of Wladyslaw.
11:16He continues to maintain his love for Dorothea.
11:20He continues to live in Middlemarch, working as a newspaper editor for Mr. Brooke.
11:26Rosamond begins to pay more attention to Wladyslaw now.
11:30After Brooke's failed election campaign, Wladyslaw decides to leave Middlemarch.
11:36He however wishes to visit Dorothea to say goodbye.
11:42Although Dorothea is quite independent after the death of her husband, Casabon,
11:48she is still the prisoner of his will.
11:51Initially she had only seen Wladyslaw as her husband's unfortunate relative,
11:57but now she is deeply in love with him.
12:02She renounces Casabon's fortune and shocks her family once again
12:07by announcing that she is going to marry Wladyslaw.
12:12On the other hand, Wladyslaw's wife, Dorothea,
12:16is going to marry Wladyslaw.
12:20On the other hand, Fred proves to be an apt pupil of Caleb.
12:24He finally succeeds and wins the hand of Mary.
12:30Along with three principal stories, there are glimpses of other scenes.
12:35Featherstone's greedy relatives gather for the spoils.
12:41The book ends with the description of Dorothea.
12:44She happens to have gone through upheavals in her life and now there is a kind of calm.