Nineteenth-Century British Novel

Study Questions

Middlemarch

Opening Questions:

• Why does Eliot begin her Preface with a reference to Saint Theresa? What does Theresa represent for Eliot? What issues / questions does her figure raise for the rest of the novel?

• What is the significance of the epigram that heads up the first chapter? Do you think it applies to Dorothea?

• What is the significance of the epigram that heads up chapter 2? How does it apply to the novel’s characters and its ideas of individual perception?

• What is the significance of the epigram heading chapter 9? How does it apply to the events and characters of the novel?

• On page 84, the narrator launches a defense of Casaubon. What are the points she makes in his defense? Are they convincing?

• On pages 128-131, Vincy and Bulstrode have an argument. What is this argument about, both ostensibly and implicitly? What principles and values does each man stand for?

• Why does Mary Garth refuse to marry Fred Vincy and what does her refusal say about her attitude toward husband-wife relations / obligations (vs. Dorothea’s or Rosamond’s)? Do you think her reasons are justified?

• On page 191, Will Ladislaw tells Naumann that language is superior to paint as an artistic medium. What are the elements of his argument, and why does he think language is particularly superior in capturing women? What does this say about Ladislaw’s view of women versus Casaubon’s or Lydgate’s?

• What does Will mean by “fanaticism of sympathy” (219)? How can sympathy be a negative emotion? What is Will’s philosophy of life?

• At the beginning of chapter 27, Eliot uses an extended metaphor that is perhaps the most often quoted passage from Middlemarch. What is the significance of this metaphor and how does it apply to the characters, events, and / or style of this novel?

• On page 274, Eliot states that “marriage … had not yet freed [Dorothea] from the gentlewoman’s oppressive liberty.” What does this comment mean? How can liberty be oppressive, and why is it so particularly oppressive for Dorothea?

Debate Questions:

1. Choose a side:

• In Middlemarch, characters’ lofty intellectual, spiritual, and / or romantic ideals blind them to reality and hinder their self-realization.
• In Middlemarch, characters’ lofty intellectual, spiritual, and / or romantic ideals evidence their insightfulness and strength of determination and ultimately promote their self-realization.

2. Choose a side:

• Middlemarch supports the idea that there is a fixed set of moral principles that determine the difference between right and wrong, good and evil, regardless of particular circumstances or situations. Moral dilemmas stem from characters’ inability or unwillingness to choose the right / good course of action.
• Middlemarch supports the idea that the difference between right and wrong, good and evil always depends on the particular circumstance at hand. Moral dilemmas stem from the absence of a fixed set of moral principles.

3. Choose a side:

• Middlemarch argues that individuals should base their decisions and actions on their personal desires and feelings. One’s responsibilities and obligations lie first and foremost to one’s self.
• Middlemarch argues that individuals should base their decisions and actions on their social and personal obligations to others. One’s responsibilities lie first and foremost to others.

4. Choose a side:

• Middlemarch argues that money and material gain / loss must and should play an important role in deciding matters of the heart.
• Middlemarch argues that money and material gain / loss should not play an important role in deciding matters of the heart.

5. Choose a side:

• Middlemarch argues that there is an objective reality and that it is not only possible but necessary to perceive this objective reality.
• Middlemarch argues that reality is shaped by personal perception and subjective opinion.

6. Choose a side:

• Middlemarch supports the idea that women are born with certain innate characteristics, tendencies, desires, and susceptibilities that are irrefutable and that fit them for marriage, motherhood, and domesticity.
• Middlemarch refutes the idea that women are born with certain innate characteristics, tendencies, desires, and susceptibilities. Instead, the novel argues that each woman defines her womanhood according to the personal, individual choices she makes through her life.