It is a book that has stayed with me over the years. Tolstoy and Eliot are tied in showing the importance of marrying a moral and intellectual equal. (I so badly wanted to be a Dorothea and realized to my amazement I had become Celia/Natasha some years back. The pull of the nursery is a powerful force, and now that I am not keeping a baby alive minute by minute I feel a zest for the larger world returning.)
I first read Middlemarch around 40 years ago, the holiday before going to university. I have re-read it every five-six years since, so the characters feel like old friends. It is one of the books where the structural threads interweave and eventually form a rich skein of humanity, and whilst that final page stays with me, there are so many characters and human stories that also resonate with me. Eliot is so perceptive in depicting the flaws in good people and the chinks of grace in bad people, but what I like is that she is clear that when we are weighed in the balance, we generally tip the scales in one direction or another. No equivocation.
Thank you for prompting people to read this great novel! It's also so true that the real energy in the humanities seems to be outside the academy. I am on Substack (and write about literature) to try in a small way to bring those communities together.
Loved "Middlemarch". Found a lot of this book in the film "Eddington", which is also about a small town on the cusp of change. Thought this would be my favorite novel read of the year -- but followed it up with "Moby Dick" -- and well, Melville is the king.
I've seen many good reviews and added to my TBR. Then, one of the Booktubers, whose taste is similar to mine, said it doesn't worth the hype that much. But now reading this, I'm curious about it again. Thank you! I also like the way you breakdown your analysis into bullet points.
Retired after 25 years in primary education. Yes, reading will improve if kids put in the hours. We can make it so much better if we spend the time, recruit the volunteers and have the resources. Yes reading aloud, at home as well as at school, is important. Teachers introduce new types of reading and model many reading skills. There’s a persuasive theory that kids improve who see the text and read along with an adult! School boards and ministries need to provide the funds and buy good and varied materials, much more than one might think. I remember a poor grade 1/2 teacher telling her class that rereading was good for them! You need a lot of books to support 18 kids reading for say 30 minutes a day, five days a week. That’s just reading, not including reading to learn subject-specific content. Publishers are printing excellent early reading materials but in-class and take-home programs are time consuming to implement and monitor. Grade level non-fiction appeals to many, especially boys. For grade 3-4 and younger, the artwork is often beautiful and that’s a draw for many. Something successive teacher ed taught me that surprised me is that reading is improved in very small increments; both decoding and comprehension. There's a sweet spot in the 90+% area if the goal is to build comprehension; as well, the materials have to be very largely decodable make gains.
Writing lags behind reading in younger years and kids need lots of practice. Choosing not to give them time to become proficient printers is guaranteed to yield few competent, expressive writers.
Perfect. And to add to your list of reasons—because Middlemarch reaches you in different ways at different points in your life. I have so much more sympathy now for Casaubon as a middle-aged reader than I did as an 18yo.
Oh yes. And because Eliot’s concept of “fellow-feeling,” or sympathy, doesn’t carry the same political baggage as “empathy.” And it’s just a better conceptual framework for how to live a moral, good life, anyway.
I saw the viral presentation about how "50,000 Art Hoes Will Save San Francisco", and my first thought was "this is exactly the mistake Lydgate makes about Rosamund!" Though of course Lydgate would not use such crass language.
To be clear, the video was definitely satire, but I suspect some will think this is a genuinely good idea. Those people should definitely read Middlemarch!
I work in DC and I just started reading Middlemarch a week ago.
Yay! Make sure you tell us what you think when you finish
I will.
It is a book that has stayed with me over the years. Tolstoy and Eliot are tied in showing the importance of marrying a moral and intellectual equal. (I so badly wanted to be a Dorothea and realized to my amazement I had become Celia/Natasha some years back. The pull of the nursery is a powerful force, and now that I am not keeping a baby alive minute by minute I feel a zest for the larger world returning.)
The greatest novel written in the English language
I first read Middlemarch around 40 years ago, the holiday before going to university. I have re-read it every five-six years since, so the characters feel like old friends. It is one of the books where the structural threads interweave and eventually form a rich skein of humanity, and whilst that final page stays with me, there are so many characters and human stories that also resonate with me. Eliot is so perceptive in depicting the flaws in good people and the chinks of grace in bad people, but what I like is that she is clear that when we are weighed in the balance, we generally tip the scales in one direction or another. No equivocation.
Thank you for prompting people to read this great novel! It's also so true that the real energy in the humanities seems to be outside the academy. I am on Substack (and write about literature) to try in a small way to bring those communities together.
For Middlemarchers who just can't get enough, I wrote an essay about it here: https://clairelaporte.substack.com/p/poor-mr-casaubon-narratorial-guidance
Loved "Middlemarch". Found a lot of this book in the film "Eddington", which is also about a small town on the cusp of change. Thought this would be my favorite novel read of the year -- but followed it up with "Moby Dick" -- and well, Melville is the king.
I've seen many good reviews and added to my TBR. Then, one of the Booktubers, whose taste is similar to mine, said it doesn't worth the hype that much. But now reading this, I'm curious about it again. Thank you! I also like the way you breakdown your analysis into bullet points.
Read it and make your own mind up, don't let them tell you!!
What a coincidence, I just acquired a used copy of Middlemarch yesterday. I had no idea there was anything about it brewing in the cultural zeitgeist.
Excellent do report back
Reading takes time but one can find the relevance which you clearly wrote. Thank you.
Retired after 25 years in primary education. Yes, reading will improve if kids put in the hours. We can make it so much better if we spend the time, recruit the volunteers and have the resources. Yes reading aloud, at home as well as at school, is important. Teachers introduce new types of reading and model many reading skills. There’s a persuasive theory that kids improve who see the text and read along with an adult! School boards and ministries need to provide the funds and buy good and varied materials, much more than one might think. I remember a poor grade 1/2 teacher telling her class that rereading was good for them! You need a lot of books to support 18 kids reading for say 30 minutes a day, five days a week. That’s just reading, not including reading to learn subject-specific content. Publishers are printing excellent early reading materials but in-class and take-home programs are time consuming to implement and monitor. Grade level non-fiction appeals to many, especially boys. For grade 3-4 and younger, the artwork is often beautiful and that’s a draw for many. Something successive teacher ed taught me that surprised me is that reading is improved in very small increments; both decoding and comprehension. There's a sweet spot in the 90+% area if the goal is to build comprehension; as well, the materials have to be very largely decodable make gains.
Writing lags behind reading in younger years and kids need lots of practice. Choosing not to give them time to become proficient printers is guaranteed to yield few competent, expressive writers.
Because every civilised person should
Perfect. And to add to your list of reasons—because Middlemarch reaches you in different ways at different points in your life. I have so much more sympathy now for Casaubon as a middle-aged reader than I did as an 18yo.
Oh yes. And because Eliot’s concept of “fellow-feeling,” or sympathy, doesn’t carry the same political baggage as “empathy.” And it’s just a better conceptual framework for how to live a moral, good life, anyway.
We all live in Middlemarch and we are all Middlermarchers. This book should be required reading for everyone.
I saw the viral presentation about how "50,000 Art Hoes Will Save San Francisco", and my first thought was "this is exactly the mistake Lydgate makes about Rosamund!" Though of course Lydgate would not use such crass language.
To be clear, the video was definitely satire, but I suspect some will think this is a genuinely good idea. Those people should definitely read Middlemarch!
Miss Brooke would approve of all this ardent study.
Love this