Middlemarch | Book 8

Welcome to this final episode of Middlemarch by George Eliot. In this episode, Rhea and Shari discuss the arcs of the characters—in particular, they re-visit Rosamond’s arc (or not); the role of honor, duty, desire, societal expectations, and—of course—marriage and Middlemarch as the “home epic.” They talk about Eliot’s great use of irony throughout the novel, but in particular, her conversation and expression of “candour,” among Middlemarchers. They talk about the differences between how Rosamond, Dorothea, and Harriet Bulstrode each handle their “dark night of the soul,” and the final effect of each one’s suffering when the sun rises the next day. They talk at length about Eliot’s long quote from Pilgrim’s Progress in the Ch. 85 epigraph and how it brings a certain enlivening to Bulstrode’s character, and greater notes of grace undergirding the entire story itself. They go back to their beginning and look at how they might answer some of the questions they began this home epic with. Finally, they wonder what those “determining acts” are in their own lives; and the difference between an “ideal beauty” and the more remarkable, everlasting beauty found in those “un-historic acts” done by those “who lived faithfully a hidden life and rest in unvisited tombs.” Thank you so much for joining us these past eight months as we closely read Middlemarch! We do hope you’ll join us for the Harry Potter Series next!Here is the outline for this final Middlemarch episode. It is full of discussion questions, and personal journaling and study opportunities. Thanks for listening to this episode of The Reader & the Writer! If you liked this post, please ❤️ it and pass it around.The Reader & the Writer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our literary work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to The Reader & the Writer at thereaderandthewriter.substack.com/subscribe