Adam Bede

Adam Bede 

By George Eliot 

★★★★☆ 

Our title character is a good man and a simple one. He sees the world in black and white. Work hard, take care of your family, and you will lead a good life. He falls in love with an impetuous young woman named Hetty. Unfortunately, Hetty has fallen for the wealthy Captain Arthur Donnithorne, a man above her station, but one who is still susceptible to the young woman’s charms. 

I loved the character of Dinah. She could be perceived as a killjoy or prude, but she never cane across to me like that. She is Hetty’s cousin and is a Methodist preacher who travels the countryside serving in local communities. Keep in mind, this was at a time when it was unusual for a woman to travel about on her own, much less to serve as a leader in the church. She has a fierce strength and independence and doesn’t give into the pleas from her family to give up her calling. 

When she is asked about being a woman preacher, this is what she says… 

“When God makes His presence felt through us, we are like the burning bush: Moses never took any heed what sort of bush it was—he only saw the brightness of the Lord.” 

****SPOILERS*****

Dinah: When she does finally fall for Adam, she still doesn’t agree to marry until he declares that he will never stand in the way of her duties as a preacher and he fully supports her. I was a bit heartbroken from Adam’s brother Seth, since he’s the one who originally pursued Dinah. 

Hetty’s story is so heartbreaking. I can’t imagine feeling so hopeless and abandoned. In the midst of her panic about her pregnancy she didn’t trust anyone with her secret and so she was unwilling to look for other options. Even though her life was spared, her future was still going to be full of grief and guilt no matter what. 

SPOILERS OVER 

BOTTOM LINE: I loved it. It reminded me so much of Tess of the d’Urbervilles and The Return of the Native (both of which were published decades after this one). It’s an intense look at the desperation of one woman and the man who loved her. I appreciated the rich depth of characters like Dinah and Adam. I also liked that Arthur wasn't a one-note cad. He easily could have been, but instead we see the situation from his point of view as well. 

“What destroys us most effectively is not a malign fate but our own capacity for self-deception and for degrading our own best self.” 

“What greater thing is there for two human souls, than to feel that they are joined for life--to strengthen each other in all labor, to rest on each other in all sorrow, to minister to each other in all pain, to be one with each other in silent unspeakable memories at the moment of the last parting?” 

“Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds.”

My Life in Middlemarch

 

It wasn’t planned, but in the last month I read three books in a row that dealt with the personal lives of famous authors. They were: My Life in Middlemarch, Under the Wide and Starry Sky and The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte. Only the first is nonfiction, the second two were well researched fictionalized accounts. It was an unexpected delight to compare the three books. Each author was received in a different way during their lifetime. Each one’s personal life affected their work in a different way. In the end each of the books was a lovely reminder that authors are just people. They make mistakes, deal with grief, and fall in love just like the rest of us.

 

My Life in Middlemarch

by Rebecca Mead

★★★★

 

There are certain books that become part of who we are. For Mead, one of those books is Middlemarch. This is a nonfiction account of her love of the book and experience with it. It is part memoir, part literary analysis and part biography of Eliot. This result is a lovely view of the importance of books in the lives of a reader.

 

Mead explores the context in which Middlemarch was written as she discusses its literary importance. She also talks about different commentaries and literary criticisms that have been written regarding the novel. She explores Eliot’s relationship with her stepsons and with the man who she spent her life with. Their unconventional relationship influenced the way she was perceived throughout the literary world. Eliot’s relationship later in life with a younger man actually reminded me quite a bit of her famous character Dorthea’s situation.

 

One important thing Mead touches on is the way books change for us depending on when we read them. I’ve had similar experiences with this in my own reading and it never fails to surprise me. I can read a book as a freshman in high school and be enamored with the rebellious teenager and their lust for life. I’ll re-read the same book five years later and identify with the older sister who is worried for her sibling. Then I’ll re-read it again after a few years have passed and be blown away by how the parents in the novel are handling the situation. I notice different parts of the story each time, I relate to different characters and experiences depending on what I’ve gone through. It thrills me to think of what I’ll find in my favorite books as I continue to re-read them throughout my life.

 

BOTTOM LINE: I loved Mead’s observations about both the book and Eliot. It made me think of the books that have become part of who I am. It’s also made me want to read all the rest of Eliot’s work and The Mill on the Floss is at the top of my list!

February Classics Club Meme Question

Here’s the question for Classics Club members this month:

 

“Dead white guys” are all too often the focus when it comes to discussions of the Western Canon. We’d love to see members highlight classic works or authors that are overlooked in the canon that deserve recognition.”

 

This question immediately made me think of the incredible female authors who had to publish under male pseudonyms. They were just as talented as their male counterparts, but when they would submit a manuscript to the publisher they were often turned down because of their gender or if the work was published it was assumed to be a light romance because it was written by a woman.

 

George Eliot, the author of Silas Marner and Middlemarch, is actually Mary Anne Evans. Wuthering Heights’ author Emily Bronte published under the name Ellis Bell, while her sisters Charlotte Bronte (Jane Eyre, Villette) went by Currer Bell and Anne picked the moniker Acton. Louisa May Alcott chose the name A.M. Barnard when publishing her thrilling short stories. Jane Austen published most of her work anonymously.  

 

The Dead White Guys stereotype that is associated withe classic western canon is not incorrect, especially considering how many great and successful authors fit that description. But it’s important to realize there are hundreds of other authors out there with just as many wonderful books to their names.

Middlemarch

Middlemarch
by George Eliot
★★★★☆

The small, fictional town of Middlemarch is a tight-knit community filled with people who are kind, pious, romantic or devious. In other words, it’s just like any other small town. Everyone has their own secrets and money problems and everyone knows everyone else’s business. The book looks closely at marriage, especially between two people who are not well-suited.

Now for the meat of the story, spoilers and all...

The main focus of the book is on three separate couples in Middlemarch, but unlike many books, the majority of the story happens after they’re married instead of during the courtship.

First, there’s Dorothea, a young idealistic woman and Edward Casaubon, the scholarly older man she marries. She believes he will do great things and wants to be his helpmate in that process. Unfortunately, he’s not the great man she hoped he would be and she quickly finds herself in a lonely marriage. Then she meets his cousin, Will Ladislaw, and feels an instant connection.

Then there’s the town’s doctor, Tertius Lydgate, who’s bursting at the seams with new ideas for the hospital and experiments to improve the healthcare offered. He falls for the sweet face of Rosamond Vincy and before he knows it, he’s married and she’s spending money faster than he can make it. Rosamond may be beautiful, but she’s also selfish and conniving, always looking for the next angle that will benefit her.

The final couple, Mary Garth and Fred Vincy, tends to be everyone’s favorite. Fred is immature and constantly gets himself into financial troubles. Mary loves him, but refuses to marry him until he gets his life together and finds an occupation that he loves. I loved that Mary wasn’t willing to settle and her decision helped build a happier life for both of them.

The three very different couples show a wide view of marriage. They offer both cautionary tales and sweet love stories. They remind us that you don’t always fall in love with the person you should and that sometimes people aren’t who they seem to be on the surface.

I love classics, but to be honest it usually takes me a little bit it get into them. Once I adjust to the language and get to know the characters, then I’m good to go. This one was completely different. From the first chapter I felt like knew Dorothea Brooks. I didn’t agree with all of her choices or connect to her on every level, but I felt like I “got” her. Her noble aspirations and idealistic nature act as both main strength and weakness. I was rooting for her from the beginning and the final scene between her and Will is one of my absolute favorites.

Sometimes, I felt so involved in Dorthea’s story that it was hard to switch gears and hear about the other people in Middlemarch, like Bulstrode of Dorothea’s sister Celia and her husband, Sir James.

Parts of the story are slow. It’s hard to avoid that when you have 800 pages of provincial life. But I really loved the intricacies of the characters’ lives. Nothing is laid our in black or white. Each character does both good things and bad things, sometimes for the right reasons and sometimes not. Everyone has flaws and makes mistakes. Even our two idealistic heroes (Dorothea and Lydgate) make horrible choices when they pick their spouses. Those flaws make the characters feel very real and relatable, which is what made the book work for me.

So, dig in and be willing to stick with the story, even if it gets slow, and you’ll be rewarded. The story is worth it, but don’t expect quick, constant drama.

“…and had been inclined to regard of himself as a general favorite. We are all apt to do so when we think of our own amiability more than of what other people are likely to want of us.” Middlemarch

“For Rosamond’s discontent in her marriage was due to the conditions of marriage itself; to its demand for self-suppression and tolerance and not the nature of her husband.”

Other reviews…

A Thousand Books with Quotes: “I was astounded as to how much this classic, which explores the many facets of marriages in the provincial town of Middlemarch amazingly parallels the different marriages that still exist today…”

It’s All About Books: “I loved the crazy parts, and suffered through the boring ones.”

ProSe: “At first blush one has this sense of simply being immersed in a rather quiet and pastoral story, but there's really very much more going on here as one turns the pages. …it is the story of human beings, and what it means to be human.”