Heart vs. Head: "Middlemarch"

George Eliot’s novel Middlemarch has been called “the first novel written for adults” because of its complexity and attention to realism. The novel follows three main plotlines which intertwine at various junctures throughout the story. We’ll only be looking at one of them, which is the plotline that follows the beautiful young lady, Dorothea in her journey of self-discovery. 

Dorothea and her sister Celia Brooke are very much like Sense and Sensibility’s Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. Where Celia and Marianne are impetuous and emotional, Elinor and Dorothea are deliberate and thoughtful. When Dorothea refuses the proposal of Sir James Chettam, Celia (who has been gaga over him all along) immediately snatches him up. 

Dorothea then decides to marry the dusty old academic, Reverend Edward Casaubon. Her attraction to him lies not in love for his looks (he is, as I said, ollllld), nor his sense of humor (which is nonexistent), nor even for his noble character (he is a proud, preening, persnickety prat who thinks he’s smarter than everyone). No, the reason she agrees to marry him is for his intellect. Rather than enrolling in some classes at the local community college, she decides to marry Casaubon so that she can learn from him and help him with his work, which is to write a panoramic encyclopedia of all religions and myths.

Against everyone else’s better judgment Dorothea marries Casaubon, who takes her to Italy for a honeymoon (i.e., a research trip). There Dorothea meets the attractive, trouble-making, and passionate Will Ladislaw, who is coincidentally the cousin of her new husband. Ladislaw immediately falls for Dorothea, but doesn’t act on his feelings.

For her part, Dorothea first thinks of Ladislaw as a friend, and seeks to help him.  But her marriage to Casaubon begins to go downhill almost as soon as it starts. Dorothea is eager to help him finish his book, The Key to all Myths, but since the subject material is something he can never finish, Casaubon sees her attempts to assist him as meddling, nagging, and trying to steal his genius. Casaubon also sees Dorothea’s friendship with his cousin as a threat, and jealously forbids her from seeing him. When he falls ill and realizes he is about to die, he makes it clear in his will that if Dorothea marries Ladislaw she will lose all his wealth she would inherit.

So Casaubon (FINALLY*) dies, and Dorothea goes into mourning like a dutiful wife, living with Celia and Sir James.  Since her marriage Celia has become increasingly annoying and self-centered, and when the prospect of Dorothea remarrying comes up she is opposed to it…because she wants Dorothea to babysit her spoiled toddler full-time instead. 

Now Dorothea has the choice again, whether to follow her heart or her head.   Marrying Ladislaw will mean alienating herself from her sister**—and perhaps society as a whole if they suspect she had been having an affair with Ladislaw while Casaubon was alive—and losing her financial independence.  Dorothea marries Ladislaw. 

Verdict: Heart Wins

*This isn’t my favorite book, but I did enjoy it. Nevertheless I can’t help but feel it would have been more interesting had Dorothea been poisoning Casaubon and in a twist ending be revealed to be a black widow murderess with Ladislaw as her next victim…alright yes I’ve definitely been watching too much Murdoch Mysteries.

**Which reminds me of a song...you're welcome for getting that in your head!