Home
Creators
Search Recent Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register Favorites Keys Review DMs Logout
Community
Telegram ThePornDude
Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout

George Eliot's Middlemarch - 'Waiting for Death' (Lecture Three) (Patreon)

Published:
2022-05-22 18:18:14
Imported:
2026-06
haven't archived this post yet. have a subscription? use the importer!

Content

We are now members of Middlemarch.

George Eliot's people have a consciousness all their own, her world feels wonderfully lived-in, and we find ourselves yearning to know: What happens next?

In book three, we learn what post-honeymoon life is like for the new Mr and Mrs Casaubon. We shiver with fever along with Fred Vincy. We see the engagement of Lydgate and Rosamond. We sit with Mary Garth at Featherstone's bedside. And, all the while, George Eliot's distinctive voice rings out. 

Lecture Timestamps:

  • 0:00 George Eliot’s year of composition
  • 2:30 living in Middlemarch
  • 4:00 our relationship with Eliot’s characters
  • 5:00 opening with Fred Vincy
  • 6:40 Fred Vincy and Caleb Garth
  • 7:10 how Eliot reveals character
  • 8:20 Eliot’s authorial intrusion
  • 11:00 a master brushstroke from Eliot
  • 12:50 Jack and the Beanstalk
  • 14:00 fairy tales vs realist novels
  • 15:00 horses in great literature
  • 19:53 Eliot’s love of Shakespeare’s sonnets
  • 21:50 how to approach epigraphs
  • 24:00 does sorrow mend an injury?
  • 25:30 the novels of Sir Walter Scott
  • 27:00 George Eliot’s mottoes
  • 31:40 Eliot’s reading of Shakespeare
  • 32:00 Dorothea as Richardsonian heroine
  • 32:54 “the theatre of all my actions is fallen”
  • 35:00 viewing another as they could be
  • 37:00 George Eliot’s epic tone
  • 37:40 Mrs Garth and Fred Vincy
  • 44:30 Fred faces Mary Garth
  • 51:00 Fred is struck by typhoid fever
  • 53:00 how Fred and I were ill at the same time
  • 55:00 Lydgate “cures everyone”
  • 56:00 the gods of the 19th Century
  • 59:00 reform on the provincial level
  • 1:00:00 George Eliot’s candle parable
  • 1:03:00 Rosamond and Lydgate
  • 1:06:35 Lydgate vs Ned Plymdale
  • 1:11:37 the humour and poetry of Eliot
  • 1:12:10 Dorothea and Casaubon return
  • 1:20:00 extending sympathy to Casaubon
  • 1:28:00 Lydgate’s prescription
  • 1:31:00 the great bell of Middlemarch
  • 1:32:15 Rosamond and Lydgate engaged
  • 1:33:00 the death of Featherstone
  • 1:34:00 Mary Garth’s meditations
  • 1:38:00 the next instalment of Middlemarch

Questions to Consider:

1) What do you make of the epigraphs for each chapter? Do they enhance your reading experience? Why do you think George Eliot uses them?

2) If we take George Eliot to be a moral writer, what do you think she is trying to teach us?

3) What are George Eliot’s greatest strengths? And would you say she is a difficult writer?

4) Which character arc are you enjoying the most? Who do you relate to? Can you see that changing?

Happy Middlemarching, folks!

Files

Previews only

George Eliot's Middlemarch - 'Waiting for Death' (Lecture Three)

0:00 George Eliot’s year of composition 2:30 living in Middlemarch 4:00 our relationship with Eliot’s characters 5:00 opening with Fred Vincy 6:40 Fred Vincy and Caleb Garth 7:10 how Eliot reveals character 8:20 Eliot’s authorial intrusion 11:00 a master brushstroke from Eliot 12:50 Jack and the Beanstalk 14:00 fairy tales vs realist novels 15:00 horses in great literature 19:53 Eliot’s love of Shakespeare’s sonnets 21:50 how to approach epigraphs 24:00 does sorrow mend an injury? 25:30 the novels of Sir Walter Scott 27:00 George Eliot’s mottoes 31:40 Eliot’s reading of Shakespeare 32:00 Dorothea as Richardsonian heroine 32:54 “the theatre of all my actions is fallen” 35:00 viewing another as they could be 37:00 George Eliot’s epic tone 37:40 Mrs Garth and Fred Vincy 44:30 Fred faces Mary Garth 51:00 Fred is struck by typhoid fever 53:00 how Fred and I were ill at the same time 55:00 Lydgate “cures everyone” 56:00 the gods of the 19th Century 59:00 reform on the provincial level 1:00:00 George Eliot’s candle parable 1:03:00 Rosamond and Lydgate 1:06:35 Lydgate vs Ned Plymdale 1:11:37 the humour and poetry of Eliot 1:12:10 Dorothea and Casaubon return 1:20:00 extending sympathy to Casaubon 1:28:00 Lydgate’s prescription 1:31:00 the great bell of Middlemarch 1:32:15 Rosamond and Lydgate engaged 1:33:00 the death of Featherstone 1:34:00 Mary Garth’s meditations 1:38:00 the next instalment of Middlemarch

Comments

Jonathon Glover

I have been looking forward to jumping back into Middlemarch. After just finishing up ‘War and Peace’ and waiting for ‘Brothers K’ to kick off, Theo’s felt like a rather casual sojourn into the English countryside. It’s amazing how the pacing of the novel disguises a rather active plot. Listening through this lecture had me reflecting on all the little events of each of the characters and how much we get to learn their motivations and reactions to those around them. I was completely absorbed with Dorothea in Rome in the last part, and while this wasn’t as striking as that part, it definitely created a real sense that we are a part of a really community, with both its generosity and charity, as well as its superstitions and selfishness. I may have misread the part but I thought that Eliot was rather clever with her use of the title, as it was not always clear whose death we were waiting for. I thought it added great tension to Fred’s illness and The Vicar’s fainting, before settling in for the death of Featherstone. Last two things. Firstly, I also agree that this novel is rather funny, in that very bleak British way, and had me laugh a couple of times in this section (Solomon and his wife). Secondly, I thought that the final pages of this were incredibly powerful and have me completely invested in Mary Garth as a character. Loving going through the back catalogue! This lecture was excellent. I’ll see you in Part 4 sometime in April.

Laura Smith

I am absolutely loving Middlemarch! I love how Eliot shows the ways the characters contradict themselves (as we all do) and how they navigate the tension between who they want to be and external pressures that influence that. I think my favourite character so far is Celia. Shes emotionally intelligent, and because she’s present, she notices what’s going on for others.