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 - 'Three Love Problems' (Lecture Four) (Patreon)

Published:
2022-07-21 19:16:07
Imported:
2026-06
haven't archived this post yet. have a subscription? use the importer!

Content

“We have no right to come forward and urge wider changes for good until we have tried to alter the evils which lie under our own hands.”

In the fourth instalment of George Eliot's masterpiece, we continue to see the grand interplay of individual lives, how they intertwine, and how seemingly small events can exert significant ripple effects.

Timestamps:

  • 0:00 ‘Three Love Problems’
  • 1:50 returning to Middlemarch
  • 3:50 the neuroscience of reading
  • 5:50 Featherstone’s funeral
  • 9:10 vultures at the burial
  • 10:00 images as brood of desire
  • 12:00 Dorothea’s vision of society
  • 15:00 the epochs of our lives
  • 20:00 the lives of our neighbours
  • 22:43 on knowing how to class others
  • 26:30 vultures on the ark
  • 29:00 meeting Joshua Rigg
  • 30:00 forming an incomplete world view
  • 32:50 the unlived epic of Dorothea
  • 34:00 George Eliot’s dramatic irony
  • 37:00 Featherstone’s two wills
  • 39:00 “all emotion must be conditional”
  • 43:00 past, present, and future in Middlemarch
  • 45:00 realism and parable
  • 49:00 the first Reform Act of 1832
  • 50:20 removing the rotten Burroughs
  • 52:00 how to write about current issues
  • 53:30 love-making in society
  • 1:00:00 idealisation vs reality
  • 1:05:20 reform & the end of the world
  • 1:09:00 Mr Brooke’s newspaper
  • 1:12:00 Will as byronic protagonist
  • 1:14:00 the romance of Will & Dorothea
  • 1:18:00 Mr Brooke as ‘bad landlord’
  • 1:20:00 reform should start at home
  • 1:23:00 softening influence of fine arts
  • 1:33:00 Dorothea on helpful beliefs
  • 1:37:00 returning to the Garth family
  • 1:41:00 elevating “low” subjects
  • 1:43:10 George Eliot vs Charles Dickens
  • 1:45:00 the end of this instalment

Here is the content to date for our Middlemarch reading journey:

Questions to Consider:

1) When was the last time one new fact changed your world view?

2) Do you sympathise with Dorothea’s desire to know more about the lives of others?

3) Should reform start at home? If so, what would that look like?

Happy Middlemarching, folks!

Files

Previews only

George Eliot's Middlemarch - 'Three Love Problems' (Lecture Four)

0:00 ‘Three Love Problems’ 1:50 returning to Middlemarch 3:50 the neuroscience of reading 5:50 Featherstone’s funeral 9:10 vultures at the burial 10:00 images as brood of desire 12:00 Dorothea’s vision of society 15:00 the epochs of our lives 20:00 the lives of our neighbours 22:43 on knowing how to class others 26:30 vultures on the ark 29:00 meeting Joshua Rigg 30:00 forming an incomplete world view 32:50 the unlived epic of Dorothea 34:00 George Eliot’s dramatic irony 37:00 Featherstone’s two wills 39:00 “all emotion must be conditional” 43:00 past, present, and future in Middlemarch 45:00 realism and parable 49:00 the first Reform Act of 1832 50:20 removing the rotten Burroughs 52:00 how to write about current issues 53:30 love-making in society 1:00:00 idealisation vs reality 1:05:20 reform & the end of the world 1:09:00 Mr Brooke’s newspaper 1:12:00 Will as byronic protagonist 1:14:00 the romance of Will & Dorothea 1:18:00 Mr Brooke as ‘bad landlord’ 1:20:00 reform should start at home 1:23:00 softening influence of fine arts 1:33:00 Dorothea on helpful beliefs 1:37:00 returning to the Garth family 1:41:00 elevating “low” subjects 1:43:10 George Eliot vs Charles Dickens 1:45:00 the end of this instalment

Comments

Jonathon Glover

The book starts to absolutely sing by this point. Another wonderful video Ben. I’m enjoying going through the back catalogue very much. Dorothea is such a wonderful character. But all of the characters seems fully realised and the relationship between the micro - the families and their relationship, and the macro - the widespread reform creates so many layers. Your guidance through this novel has added wonderfully to my enjoyment and it is now becoming very difficult to delay satisfaction until the next book is ‘released’.

David Holmes

A thought-provoking video Ben as always. As I’ve mentioned before I’m not reading the novel as a serial. I am currently on Chapter 51 which is near the end of installment five. I have already established for myself that “Middlemarch” is the greatest novel in the English language of the 19th century. I think you’re doing a very great job pointing out why that is true in your videos. 1. When was the last time one new fact changed your world view? It didn’t take me very long to realize what the answer to this question was; although I don’t think about such things very often. For me it happened a couple of years ago when I finally put the last link in the chain of events in my life that made me who I am through years of therapy. With the chain complete, my life, relationships, and “world view” have taken a decidedly turn for the better. To “know thyself” is quite profound. 2) Do you sympathise with Dorothea’s desire to know more about the lives of others? I see this desire of Dorothea’s as a reflection of her unhappiness in her own situation. 3) Should reform start at home? If so, what would that look like? Yes. In our home we focus on what we can do to lower our ecological footprint and help do our part to reduce climate change and environmental pollution. We buy cars that use efficient gas mileage, schedule our driving to minimize the number of miles we drive locally, we follow recycling guidance, we buy products that are “environmentally and ecologically friendly” to the best degree possible and avoid those that are not. We set our thermostat higher than most in the Summer and lower than most in the Winter to minimize energy usage. We schedule high energy usage such as cooking and laundry during times when demand on the grid is low.

hardcoreliterature
>>88769100

Thank you, David. Whilst Middlemarch makes for a wonderful read, it's also such a masterpiece that it's one of the most difficult works to exercise portion control with. One simply wants to read on, continue living in the world, and see how these relationships develop. I'm completely with you on it being the greatest English language novel of the 19th Century! Thank you so much for your meditations here - I take the same approach as you when it comes to ecological reform starting at home. It's definitely one of those things where, if everyone exerted effort where they could in their lives, I believe we would see a lot of positive change happen very swiftly.