Middlemarch   by George Eliot

Fall 2005     Christmas gift from my Literature-addict Mother.

Hmm... A nice paperback novel, I though. It's set in England, in the mid 19th century. And it's the tale of four or more people in one little town. (Perhaps only three of them are very, Very main characters, but the others still have their thoughts and views described at times.) It started a little on the dull side, but continually grew more interesting. So, in the end, I was glad that it is 800 pages long. (I didn't think it was such a long, long book. But after reading it for a month or so, I thought that my progress was very slow. That's when I looked at the last page, and realized that all the pages were very thin. So, although it's not a Thick book, it's still a fairly long one.)

I wonder what else there is to say about it though. It didn't put forth any new ideas or concepts. It didn't open my eyes to some aspect of psychology or sociology that I'd never thought about before. It didn't inspire me with descriptions of great lands, deeds, or events. (Although, I can say that it Did comfort me, with some of the deeds described. It Was... touching, the sacrifices, and magnanimity which were displayed. And the final giving in to great love, even if it was the giving up of everything else. So, Touching, yes. Inspiring, no.)

It was still an all-around interesting book though. And by the end, I was ever so eager to find out how it concludes for all those people. Around 50 pages from the end, Two of the main relationships seem doomed, A different man and his wife seem destined to leave town in disgrace, and one main character seems to have been forgotten, and is just slowly, plodding away at life, and not getting anywhere. All is hopeless. This meant that the last fifty pages were an exciting, thrilling time, when the great resolutions were made.

Ah, yes; there was one thought which this book brought me to: That the old England of that time was much, much too preoccupied with rank. With Caste. With the Social ladder. The picture it gives is a bit annoying, in the way that everyone is concerned about marriages below a person's station, and questions of Good or Bad blood. And a whiff of scandal sets the town in a frenzy, and has the force to ruin a person. It's not the case that I've never heard of such discrimination before, or that I never knew people could be so judgemental when a person with money is in love with someone with little. It's just that this writer really made a clear, concise portrait of such people. And I guess it could be said that she, (George is a pseudonym,) could be said to have really brought the characters to life. They were made Vital. (I only say that now, because "Vital" is such a nice word to use. And it's the right one, besides!)

So then, this was a decent book. And though not Grabbing my attention, it interested me.

And yes, indeed; Vital is the right word. The characterization of the people in those pages was deep. There are quirks of personality, and strange speaking habits, which I now have clear in my memory. I feel as if I've known someone who talks in such-and-such a way. -But in truth, I've only read of such a person. Interesting.