Appearance
Middlemarch 6d (Classic Fiction)
Eliot in all her work from epic masterpieces like Middlemarch to small novellas like The Lifted Veil has the ability to make intelligent readers stop and re-read lines. However, while occassionally we may stop to marvel at the complexity, spohistication, or elegance of her language it is more often than not the philosophical depths with she is able to illuminate in her most simple phrases and candid characters. The characters in Middlemarch, specifically, are indeed well developed but they are not complex-- rather they play off each other to illustrate to the reader a human composite. Each one seems to have a dominant theme about them that when combined with each other draws a picture of true humanity-- complete with its contradictions and dichotomies. This is the beauty of the novel and why we reread certain sections-- Eliot makes us care about everyone in the piece and all their stories as all are essential in determining our own instrinsic emotional reaction.Middlemarch is not a page turner-- it does require an emotional committment. . .however, it is worth all a reader's energy.
Middlemarch 6d (Classic Fiction)
I have enjoyed this book. I'll save everyone the time and not comment on the characters, (although intriguing and realistic) or the themes and situations (all of which impact the reader). I would only add that the language and rhetoric George Eliot uses is consummate. Truly I didn't know anyone could write THIS WELL until I read THIS BOOK. Others come close in style - Dickens perhaps, but only George Eliot offers clever descriptions and beautiful language which add to the flow of this book. Coming from an 18 year old male, I wasn't sure I would like this book. However, George Eliot offered me a new love for Victorian Literature, and presented characters who are timeless."Our deeds still travel with us from afar, And what we have been makes us what we are.""Even if a man has been acquitted by a jury, they'll talk, and nod and wink - and as far as the world goes, a man might often as well be guilty as not.""Scenes which make vittal changes in our neighbours' lot are but the background of our own, yet, like a particular aspect of the fields and trees, they become associated for us with the epochs of our own history, and make a part of that unity which lies in the selection of our keenest consciousness."
Middlemarch 6d (Classic Fiction)
The BBC miniseries was my first exposure to the world of Middlemarch; then, of course, the novel had to be read. The author was a woman, Mary Ann Evans, writing under a man's penname. And sure, the language is very archaic - this was written in the mid-1800's! At times the density of the prose tried my patience, and the many references to old literature/quotes quite puzzling. But I'm glad I stayed with this Classic (sometimes skipping over very obscure-to-me passages) - why? Because the characterizations and "asides" made me laugh aloud. The insights are just too jewel-like, sprinkled throughout this tale of the complex (and the simple) people of Middlemarch, their friends and mentors, enemies, losses and gains, marriages; their various Loves.The sort-of Epilogue was very satisfying also, to see what "ends" our beloved Middlemarchers come to in the course of their lives - some happy, some not so happy. The last line, describing Dorothea, is a poignant statement of all those who "live hidden lives" - outwardly insignificant, perhaps, but nonetheless as worthy as gold.
Middlemarch 6d (Classic Fiction)
Can't complain about the price--it's free--but the formatting could be better, and there are a lot of typos (or scannos, assuming they're from a scanner).
Middlemarch 6d (Classic Fiction)
Middlemarch is not an "easy" read as it requires attention to the footnotes, and is 800 pages. It is an excellent study of women's places in British society in the 19th century. It made me grateful to live in modern times, and not be subject to the control of a autocratic husband. The long sections on politics did not interest me much, but I found it necessary to follow them in order to fully understand the story. Even so, it is a great novel, and I'm glad I finally got around to reading it.
Middlemarch 6d (Classic Fiction)
"Here, with the nearness of an answering smile, here within the vibrating bond of mutual speech, was the bright creature whom she had trusted - who had come to her like the spirit of morning visiting the dim vault where she sat as the bride of a worn-out life; and now, with a full consciousness which had never awakened before, she stretched out her arms towards him and cried with bitter cries that their nearness was a parting vision; she discovered her passion to herself in the unshrinking utterance of despair."~ George EliotStick with this - from the size, it should be evident that it takes a good while to get completely grounded and involved. After that happens, it is impossible to put down this wonderful book. It's an in-depth discovery of the lives of several people in Middlemarch -- small town rural England during the time of reforms being planned in the 1880s. A time not altogether too different than our own, except for the predicament of women.Dorothea is a fascinating woman, and a window into the lives of the women of those times, and -- through the various men who intersect with her, comes a picture of life as it was, the politics as they were, and the classes as they existed.The talent of this author blazes across the many pages, bringing character after character which is beautifully developed and worked in among the various happenings, all wrapped around an epic design that, time after time, take one's breath. The (female) author chose the name George Eliot with the intention she be taken seriously as a writer. Even with the passage of time and changing of styles, it is impossible not to take seriously this amazing, wonderful book and its creator.Highly recommended!