tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8533677737021490096.post4836562528772493099..comments2024-03-28T09:00:59.909+11:00Comments on The Vince Review: 'Middlemarch' by George EliotPaula Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02079952414990463270noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8533677737021490096.post-35688086258282737032018-04-27T18:42:09.516+10:002018-04-27T18:42:09.516+10:00Hi Sne, you're absolutely right. I do think it...Hi Sne, you're absolutely right. I do think it's the sort of book that sticks in readers' hearts because she highlights such a varied cross-section of a community, and delves right into their psyches, so we're bound to find aspects of ourselves in there somewhere :) I loved Dorothea too. What a great heart she had! And it's so surprising that we can feel such sympathy for Casaubon (because we do, in spite of that terrible codicil), and Will, even though they'd consider themselves enemies who are poles apart. And poor Lydgate, having to put up with Rosamund all that time. <br /><br />I wish we could do as you suggest, because we wouldn't run out of things to say. And I'm sure George Eliot would love to think such chats are happening too, after the colossal effort it must have been for her to write this book. I look forward to re-reads down the track too, because the last one was too long ago. Paula Vincehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02079952414990463270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8533677737021490096.post-54344874637951854672018-04-27T10:54:58.687+10:002018-04-27T10:54:58.687+10:00I am so overjoyed on reading this blog post Paula!...I am so overjoyed on reading this blog post Paula! You have managed to give such penetrating insights into this wonderful book, I was nodding in agreement at so many of the lines above :D The point you made about it acting as a magnifying glass to our own buried attitudes is spot on! Initially i too did feel how could a tale set in a countryside be so highly held in esteem by Woolf no less.....I was so wrong...And the more i read the more I realized how brilliantly George Eliot reads people and human nature. I also love your inter-textual connections to Owl and Veruca Salt ( I could totally visualize Rosamund as Veruca throwing a fit :D ) It definitely leads us to a maturer understanding of both ourselves and others I believe ....and I have never truly felt this about any other fiction so far. Dorothea was so noble, I loved her despite her initial misjudgment. I think that's another thing about this book right? All the characters are flawed but we end up seeing a part of ourselves or other we know , in them....and they are not entirely bad, or good.....it is so real. I cannot admiring this book enough! I loved reading your summing up of the novel. Wish we were within walking distance of each other so I could bug you with a non-stop chatter on each of the nuances of this book :) I look forward to re-reading this in the years to come. inkless.snehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12366062972432478669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8533677737021490096.post-55166227600188803372017-09-19T10:25:25.589+10:002017-09-19T10:25:25.589+10:00Hi Jaymi,
Oh yes, I'm sure the amount we can ...Hi Jaymi, <br />Oh yes, I'm sure the amount we can find to talk about in it is enough to fill another book the size of MM itself :) I love the quote you just mentioned, which shows GE's kind way of encouraging us to treat everyone gently, including ourselves. The way she gets into the heads of such characters as Bulstrode and Casaubon helps us do this too.<br /><br />Yes, I think Lydgate was one of my very favourites this time around. The way he said, 'I'd never gamble for money,' or 'I'd never ask anyone for hand-outs,' when what he really meant was, 'I've never found myself forced into the position to do these things.'His story really shows that despite our best intentions, life can get in the way. And through it all, he was such a good husband to Rosamond, I thought. <br /><br />Yes, I do love the way Eliot kept things real. Even Dorothea, who was likened so often to a saint or angel, was still restrained to do things the way normal Victorian ladies had to do them. Why should we expect any different in our times?<br /><br />Always a pleasure to compare ideas :)Paula Vincehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02079952414990463270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8533677737021490096.post-23553330007532892322017-09-19T09:46:28.950+10:002017-09-19T09:46:28.950+10:00This review and discussion makes me so happy, the ...This review and discussion makes me so happy, the way you summed it up with the characters winning their small victories makes me want to read it again! I feel like we are the same in being completely enamoured by every part of this book. Fred's story is so important and needs telling. One of my favourite take aways from her book was "After all, people may really have in them a vocation which is not quite plain to themselves may they not? They may seem idle and weak because they are growing. We should be very patient with each other, I think." The way you described Lydgate is so interesting; that he is a stand in for anyone who says 'I would never do this', I think we can take all their tales as cautionary, but his is the one that probably hits hardest for the 'modern' reader. Having so much ambition, seeing so many opportunities before you, and being pushed back in pursuits by people who are insolent. I could talk about these characters all day, I agree with you, this is definitely one of the best British novels ever and one of the most important. George Eliot must have been a smart cookie!Jaymihttps://suspectnarglesblog.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com