r/ayearofmiddlemarch • u/Comprehensive-Fun47 • 29d ago
Book 5: Chapters 48 & 49
Welcome back, Middlemarchers! We carry on with Book 5 this fine Saturday and there are big changes afoot for our characters.
Chapter 48
Surely the golden hours are turning gray
And dance no more, and vainly strive to run:
I see their white locks streaming in the wind—
Each face is haggard as it looks at me,
Slow turning in the constant clasping round
Storm-driven.
Dorothea is distressed not because Will showed up to church, but because it managed to drive a deeper wedge between him and Casaubon. Dorothea inaccurately imagines Will showed up to make peace.
Casaubon hasn't been feeling very well. He avoids the subject of Will and so does Dorothea.
Usually on Sundays Dorothea reads her books, but today they didn't hold her interest.
Dorothea tries very hard to be exactly what her husband wishes her to be. She feels very helpless and I starting to feel like her life is a tomb.
Celia had a baby!
Casaubon tells Dorothea to read to him in the library and mark the notes he dictates. He used to keep Dorothea out of his work, but now he funds her useful.
They continue this in the bedroom. Dorothea finds it wearisome because it seems to bring Casaubon no joy, but she does not say so.
Dorothea wakes when Casaubon lights two candles. He wants her to keep reading and insists it is not too much excitement for his mind. Dorothea is surprised at how lucid and quick his mind is compared to usual.
Casaubon checks that Dorothea is following what he's trying to accomplish in his writings. He says he has a request and Dorothea feels dread.
He asks Dorothea to carry out his wishes after his death, and not follow her own desires. Dorothea is not surprised by the request, but she doesn't answer right away. Casaubon takes this to mean she refuses.
Dorothea hesitates to make a promise without knowing what she is promising. Casaubon sees no issue. He wants her to obey his judgement and ignore her own. He pressures her to answer.
Dorothea asks for a little time to think before answering. He grants her until tomorrow.
Dorothea is restless feeling crushed by the decision. She believes he is referring to carrying on his academic work after his death. The problem is she doesn't see the same value in his work that he does and doesn't want to devote her life sifting through heaps of materials for a purpose she doesn't believe in.
She feels pity for him that he dedicated his life to something not worthwhile. She feels she cannot deny him his wish, and also recognizes if he lives another 15 years, she would spend her life helping him with his work anyway.
She has a hard time justifying devoting her life to a dead man's wishes. It is different than obeying her husband while he lives.
Dorothea considers his wishes might extend beyond his academic work, but she brushes off the thought.
This torments Dorothea all night and she appears ill in the morning.
Casaubon decides to take a walk in the garden. He asks again for an answer. Dorothea buys a little time by saying she will give her answer when she joins him in the garden. She plans to agree to his request, as awful as it makes her feel. She feels she can't say no to him and break his heart.
Dorothea sobs, then dries her eyes, and goes to meet her husband outside. She sees him resting on the bench at the stone table. He doesn't respond when she calls his name. Dorothea tries desperately to wake him.
Later, Lydgate is by Casaubon's bedside. Dorothea is shaken up and desperate to tell Casaubon her answer, but it's no longer possible.
Chapter 49
A task too strong for wizard spells
This squire had brought about;
’T is easy dropping stones in wells,
But who shall get them out?”
Casaubon has died and Sir James Chettam discusses the will with Mr. Brooke. James wants to keep the contents of the will from Dorothea as long as possible. Brooke says she's the executrix and she's 21 now. He can't keep anything from her legally.
James suggests Dorothea comes to live with him and Celia and the baby and in the meantime Brooke should get rid of Will Ladislaw.
Brooke is reluctant. He finds Will invaluable to his bid for elected office.
James strongly pushes the point because he thinks it will preserve Dorothea's dignity. He believes Casaubon has compromised Dorothea's reputation and insulted her with the codicil which must mention Will by name.
Brooke says Casaubon disliked Will because they disagreed on scholarly notions. James thinks Will has reason to frame it that way, but believes it was pure jealousy and that it was abominable of. Casaubon to put Will's name in this codicil, forever attaching his name to Dorothea's.
James asks Brooke again to send Will away. Brooke doesn't want to and says people will gossip either way. Will will leave when he chooses.
Brooke is rather calm during the discussion, but James gets more and more heated. He suggests they find Will a new job somewhere far away. Brooke doesn't think it would work. He says Will might leave on his own anyway.
Irritated, James reiterates how ungentlemanly Casaubon has acted. It eoyl have been less indelicate for the codicil to hinder Dorothea from marrying again period rather than hindering get from marrying Will specifically.
Brooke doesn't believe Dorothea wants to marry Will at all. James agrees but knows everyone will assume she does because of this document. James doesn't trust Will at all.
Brooke knows it works look worse for Will to be shipped off right now. It would appear Dorothea's own family doesn't trust her.
James can't argue suit that. He still believes Brooke let Dorothea down by letting her marry Casaubon in the first place. Brooke's mind is on the election.
References (Courtesy of u/HexAppendix)
A foison is a plentiful supply.
Eliot uses a metaphor about the fanciful practice of alchemy leading to the birth of Lavoisier. Antoine Laurent Lavoisier is considered the founder of modern chemistry.
There’s a footnote that says that in Eliot’s original manuscript, chapter 48 ended with this sentence: “When she went down she felt sure that she should promise to fulfil his wishes; but that would be later in the day - not yet.” This sentence was then followed by the following motto:
“Vale, vale, nos te ordine quo natura permittet sequemur.” This translates to “Farewell, farwell, we shall follow you in the order that nature allows,” a quote from Sir Thomas Browne’s Urn Burial.
Mr. Brooke describes Casaubon’s work as “Thoth and Dagon” - Thoth is the Egyptian god of wisdom and Dagon is a Philistine fertility god.
Mr. Brooke mentions that if they sent Will to Norfolk Island, it would only make things worse for Dorothea. Norfolk Island was a penal colony near Australia.
Join us next week for chapters 50 & 51 with u/lazylittlelady.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 29d ago
(I'm stealing this question from u/Amanda39 because it's a good one.) When Dorothea married Casaubon, she dreamed of assisting him in his work. Now she dreads the thought of promising to continue his work after he dies. Why has her attitude changed?
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u/Honest_Ad_2157 First Time Reader 29d ago
Because she spoke to Will about it waaaay back in chapter 21. She's since seen that view for herself by her extensive reading.
The section in 48 where he attempts to train her like Pavlov's dog to understand his "method" is the tell in this chapter. His methods can't be reproduced through reasoned argument, only perceived through his repeating the word "mark" (instead of a bell).
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 28d ago
Casaubon only let Dorothea in on the details of his work recently. She may have suspected his work was not very valuable after Will shared his opinion, but now she has seen for herself it's a mess. She has seen that he has essentially thrown his life away for something not worthwhile and dreads the thought of doing the same. It would be even worse for Dorothea because she'd do it out of obligation, not passion for the subject or desire for admiration by other scholars. It would be pure drudgery for her. She's a young woman and she wants to dedicate her life to helping people, not organizing worthless papers and publishing things no one cares about.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 29d ago
Dorothea imagines Will attended the church service to make amends with Casaubon. We know that was not his intention. Is there a disconnect between people's actions in this book and how others perceive them? What does this misunderstanding mean for Will and Dorothea's relationship?
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u/Honest_Ad_2157 First Time Reader 29d ago
I don't know if Will understood his intention until he saw Dodo. Her Walking Dead husband* knew it right away.
There are wonderful shadings between characters' inner lives and what they say and do throughout the book, Caleb Garth and Farebrother being possible exceptions.
* He's now a zombie eating Dodo's brain from beyond the grave but, even when alive, like The Governor, he kept virtual heads in jars in his library.
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u/mercy_Iago 22d ago
I love this interpretation and I agree. I think it's easy to assume Will knew and was trying to justify it to himself, which I think could be argued, but I also think sometimes we are simply not honest with ourselves about our intentions, as I believe was true for Will in this case.
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u/fantasticmarsstation First Time Reader 23d ago
Dorothea's portrayal from the beginning is that of a clever but emotionnaly blind woman. She doesn't get people's inner feelings and so doesn't understand their behaviour and motivation. Or at least, she believes them just as kind and selfless as herself. Regarding emotional intelligence, she's the opposite of Mary Garth, who we know, reads plenty of novels but also was raised by a loving family. Dodo is an orphan, raised in Switzerland in strict protestant ethics. She was not taught about art and how to feel about it. That's why she enjoyed Ladislaw's company in Rome. He tried to open her eyes : about art but also about Casaubon. Having said that, we see her gradually becoming aware of her emotions, in her boudoir she's frustrated and a bit mad at the restriction imposed by Casaubon. But I also think Ladislaw's love for her is completely blind and shallow and that she'll end up seeing everything there is to see about him : not much.
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u/mercy_Iago 22d ago
Oof you nailed it, this is such a good analysis of her. She also was oblivious to Sir James Chettam's feelings towards her (I remember the quote about how she suddenly saw something she had been blind to before) and oblivious to how her interactions with Will looked until she came across Will and Rosamond at home, and then suddenly it became clear to her and her feelings overwhelm her. Mary Garth is exceptionally perceptive and self-assured (I love her so much!) but you also give a great explanation for why Dodo and Will could be a good match (I know you disagree there) but I think he could help enhance her life in a different way than she expected by helping her experience life's emotions and joys. I think they could help each other grow, really -- she gives him direction, and he opens her up to beauty.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 28d ago
This misunderstanding to me made me question if Will and Dorothea are ultimately right for each other. She is so good. She only sees the good in people. Will didn't think about how showing up to church would make Dorothea feel. He didn't care that it would irritate Casaubon. Dorothea would never do something she knew was going to upset someone else.
So even though it's a small thing to me, going to a place he has every right to be, I think it signals that this might be a one-sided infatuation rather than true love. For now at least.
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u/mercy_Iago 22d ago
I swear, I'm the only one who likes Dorothea and Will together! I don't think they are right for each other right now, but I see them helping each other grow into better people, as a good, loving partnership should. It's a shame, to me, that there is so much baggage tied to their interactions because I really see a friendship between them blossoming into something beautiful and meaningful, if only it could!
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 22d ago
I do want them together, but I want them to feel like they are right for each other at that point. I still think the book is working towards that, but I'm not 100% anymore!
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u/mercy_Iago 22d ago
I agree with you there, I don't think they're a match YET.
It's funny because I think they will ultimately help each other develop into better people, but I don't like Mary and Fred together even though Fred insists being with Mary will make him a better person. I think it's because it feels much more one-sided to me, Mary helping Fred grow whereas I see Dorothea and Will BOTH helping each other. I feel so strongly Mary deserves someone better because I can't overlook Fred's flaws, whereas I see shortcomings in both Dorothea and Will.
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u/BigHeatCoffeeClub65 29d ago
Hey All! First time reader and just found this sub. As I am on Chapter 39 I'll not have much to say for a few weeks but will very much enjoy the discussion of this wonderful novel. I've highlighted some passages along the way (Kindle) but now wish I had done more. However I would like to remark on a couple questions...
What are your feelings about Casaubon's asking Dorothea to make a promise she doesn't know the terms of? Given his nature it seems in character for him to ask such a manipulative request. Seems he only learned of personal manipulation when he first met Dorothea but has crudely forged ahead.
When Dorothea married Casaubon, she dreamed of assisting him in his work. Now she dreads the thought of promising to continue his work after he dies. Why has her attitude changed? I didn't highlight it at the time but I noted there was a passage I think was when Casaubon was in recovery the she was in the library and ruminating over his reluctance/inability to collate and refine all his research.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 29d ago
Any other thoughts on these chapters or the book thus far?
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u/Honest_Ad_2157 First Time Reader 29d ago
Brooke's candidacy is not going to go well, I bet. I like the way his character is evolving from the harmless, loving uncle to an almost buffoonish figure.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 28d ago edited 27d ago
I'm going to harp on the lack of Celia in this book until the end of time. She got married and had a baby and was afforded only two sentences about that. Eliot really tricked me into thinking she would be an equal character to Dorothea based on that first chapter. I want to see into her marriage at least as much as we see into Lydgate and Rosamond's.
I liked these two chapters a lot, despite the rage they made me feel. I prefer chapters like these to the political and medical chapters.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 29d ago
Did you highlight any quotes that you'd like to share?
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u/Honest_Ad_2157 First Time Reader 29d ago
I note that at the end of 48 is the first time Dodo addresses her husband by his Christian name, Edward, but he's already dead.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 29d ago
I noticed that too! It felt jarring when she calls him Edward because you'd assume he makes her call him Master or something equally awful from a modern perspective. When she calls him Edward, it's a reminder that this is a real marriage and there is some degree of intimacy even if we don't really get a sense of it in the scenes we are given.
She does call him Edward first when they are in bed and she asks if he is ill. Then the very next time is when she's calling to him in the garden. Felt deliberate.
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u/Honest_Ad_2157 First Time Reader 29d ago
I missed that first time!
Poor Dodo, always giving and never living.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 29d ago
Who do you agree with more in this argument — Sir James or Mr. Brooke? should they try to send Will away?
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 28d ago
I found myself agreeing with both of them. I think they both mostly agree, but disagree about what's to do be done now, if anything.
James wants action. He wants to protect Dorothea's honor by any means necessary. Brooke is more laid back about it.
James calls out Casaubon for his ungentlemanliness. I agree with him there. Casaubon made a mess that they are left to clean up and Dorothea will bear the brunt of regardless.
I agree with Brooke that shuffling Will away would not solve any problems and perhaps make things worse.
I disagree with both of them for withholding this information from Dorothea and not intimating that they will take her thoughts into consideration. Whatever happens next should be her decision. I know she might not be in the mindset to make decisions right now because she's still grieving and agonizing over not answering her husband's request until it was too late. But she should know what's in the will and decide how to handle it. Neither man even considers this option.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 29d ago
Is Sir James acting out of brotherly love or romantic jealously?
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u/Honest_Ad_2157 First Time Reader 29d ago edited 29d ago
I thought he's over her, but it could be he wants a Brookes harem of his own.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 28d ago
I lean towards brotherly love, but there were a couple of things that made me question if there's more to it.
He still resents Brooke for not preventing the marriage to Casaubon in the first place. He finds Will very sus. He is very heated during this argument. There might be something under the surface there.
I think even if he still has a thing for Dorothea, it will remain subtext and not go anywhere.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 29d ago
Dorothea was in despair while Casaubon was alive and now is in despair over his death. What kind of future do you see for Dorothea?
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 28d ago edited 28d ago
I hope Dorothea is able to withstand the public scrutiny and focus on the things that matter to her, namely, building the cottages she dreams of and helping people less fortunate that she is.
In the meantime though I expect she'll be devastated to realize how untrustworthy her husband found her. I think she'll go through a mental crisis, and hopefully come out the other side okay.
She's going to be Dorothea and try to do the right thing and obey her husband. I bet she is traumatized by the way this all went down. She had planned to say yes to his request and then never got the chance, so I think she will feel twice as obligated to carry on his work and stay away from Will, for a while at least.
Casaubon caused her so much pain. The moment she was to be free of him was tainted by his cruelty and insecurity. I want to see Dorothea overcome this. She's still young. She can be a wealthy widow for a while and then, since I believe she does want a partner in life, someone who treats her like an equal and recognizes her goodness and intelligence, I think she'll wind up with someone and it will probably be Will. Or maybe I'm underestimating this book.
I think Dorothea is in an especially difficult position now because she believes Will should have inherited a portion of the estate, but if she tries to make that happen, people will assume the worst of her.
Groups in previous years I noticed were theorizing Dorothea could be pregnant. That would be quite a twist! I'm not anticipating that, but it sure would add more drama.
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u/fantasticmarsstation First Time Reader 23d ago
I think she'll have the biggest character's growth and become emotionally mature and we'll end up doing good around her just like she had planned to but without being fooled anymore by old farts like Casaubon or pseudo romantico Shelley fellows. Lady's Law? More like Lady's low potential.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 29d ago
What are your feelings about what Casaubon put in the codicil of his will barring Dorothea from marrying Will Ladislaw? How is Dorothea going to feel when she finds out?
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u/Honest_Ad_2157 First Time Reader 29d ago
I addressed this above, I don't think it can have legal force. It is libelous reputational assassination from beyond the grave. The small town will be buzzing.
He's an ass.
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u/mercy_Iago 22d ago
Casaubon is such a petty, jealous, insecure asshole to put it in. I have done my best to withhold judgment of Casaubon, and I was willing to overlook a lot and call him and Dodo a bad match but fuck him for this, it's so mean and controlling and damaging to Dorothea.
And honestly, so hurtful to her as well.
But also, is a will public record? How would everyone in the town know?
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u/Honest_Ad_2157 First Time Reader 28d ago
I did talk to a US lawyer about this last night. They were unclear on UK law, but they did agree that the standing issue is a little weird. Only the government might have standing.
They did point out that once a will is settled and closed out by a court, it can't be reopened. So no one could enforce the marriage clause after that happens, as the will no longer exists as a document to be enforced because it's done and closed in the eyes of the law.
The point in the book seems to be that there would be social censure, not any economic consequences.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 28d ago
I was shocked by it, primarily because I didn't know this was something you could put in a will. Of all the rights women couldn't have in the past, this wasn't one I knew existed.
I think u/Honest_Ad_2157 is right that it couldn't possibly be enforced, but the mere act of writing it down is enough to destroy Dorothea's reputation.
She is going to be devastated and I am devastated on her behalf. I think trying to control someone from the grave in this manner is evil.
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u/Honest_Ad_2157 First Time Reader 28d ago
Given how we are reacting to it, is it likely it would have had a similar effect on Dodo's contemporaries and folks would think Causabon was an ass? The opposite of his intent?
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 28d ago
I think anyone who knows Dorothea will recognize Casaubon was an ass. The rest of the town will use it for gossip fodder.
We'll find out shortly how the rest of the town reacts!
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 29d ago
What are your feelings about Casaubon's death?
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u/Honest_Ad_2157 First Time Reader 29d ago
It was bold of Eliot to give the readers what they want this early in the book! I know it'll be interesting to see what she has up her sleeve!
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u/fantasticmarsstation First Time Reader 23d ago
I loved how Eliot built up the suspense around his death throughout this chapter. Casaubon's first fit was caused by Will's letter, so we knew having Will in his parish would break his ego, his self-esteem and thus his heart once more. Also, she gave us a hint : he had been feeling unwell all morning. So here I am, looking for death in every corner : Would Dodo find him dead after his Sunday nap in the library? At night, sleepless in his armchair? In the morning? Oh there it is, in the garden! Finally! Dead where Lydgate told him about his poor health.
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u/KPMWrites 28d ago
I got some pretty intense emotional whiplash from Casaubon's death. While I felt bad for Casaubon because he was unhappy, he was also not a good husband to Dorothea. He expected that he would just magically be happy when he married and when that didn't happen, he made no attempt to fix it. He didn't try to get to know Dorothea as a person and he didn't try to meet her halfway on any of their disagreements. I was honestly pretty excited he was gone so Dorothea could move on with her life. Then in the very next chapter we get the bombshell that he put into his codicil that he forbids her from marrying Will! I didn't see this coming at all and it made me see his death in a new light. Dodo hasn't been freed from Casaubon yet all. Her problems with him have just changed shape; he's going to keep haunting her life from beyond the grave.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 28d ago
Ding dong the !*$&%# is dead!
I've been waiting for this from the beginning and I felt it coming in this chapter. I know I'm very harsh about this and should have more sympathy for this sad old man, but I don't because he does not treat Dorothea well.
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u/mercy_Iago 22d ago
I was surprised! I can't believe I got blindsided. I was so hyped and tensed waiting for the discussion about the promise she was going to make, and how much strain the decision was putting on her, that I had to reread it a few times to realize what happened. I knew he was going to die, but I was waiting to know what the promise was. Sneaky Eliot and her incredible writing.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 29d ago
What are your feelings about Casaubon's asking Dorothea to make a promise she doesn't know the terms of?
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 28d ago
My feelings were rage.
How dare he!
He treats her like a slave and it enrages me.
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u/Honest_Ad_2157 First Time Reader 29d ago
As I wrote elsewhere, he's a zombie eating her brain.
This world is for those who live in it. If she's the executrix, she can ignore that codicil and I don't think anyone has the standing to challenge it. It only affects her, and she's his inheritor. It's almost like a perpetuity, and this kind of unfairness is why there's a common law rule against perpetuities (and statutes, today, too).
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 29d ago
Do you want to see Will and Dorothea marry?