WE DID IT!! I actually can't believe I got all the way to the end of Middlemarch, possibly the book that's been on my TBR longest AND ACTUALLY LOVED IT. This post may be full of capitals, you have been warned.
In summary; pretty much everybody got the ending I wanted for them. Will and Dorothea are happy, Fred and Mary are happy, other people I like are...not unhappy? Or dead, in the case of Lydgate but you know, Rosamond was only ever going to be a burden to him anyway so I'm not too sad for him. My particular favourite thing about this last section was Sir James relenting on the whole 'we're never speaking to Dorothea again' thing because Celia cried at him. I love how easily flustered he is.
I really don't have too much to say about the last bit, except that everybody behaved as I expected them too and I'm definitely going to be getting myself the Clothbound edition to add to my collection. I will really miss these characters!
How did you find it? Have you finished? Who ended up your favourite character? (Mine is Dorothea I think. Or Will. Or maybe both of them. But I think Sir James is probably the most underrated. Such a worrier, bless him.)
THANK YOU for reading this gigantic book with me. I might have to read some more stuff Eliot wrote now!
Link up your last (sob) posts below!
Well, I was not happy about all of the resolutions. You mentioned Lydgate, but I can't believe he, of all doctors, would die of diphtheria. I supposed because I like him that just made me sad as well as made. But then I think his death showed how superficial Rosamond stayed when she married a rich old guy. She would outlive him and have all the money. Just what she wanted.
ReplyDeleteI think one of my favorite characters was Mary Garth. She was steady, true and didn't let her love for Fred cause them to marry until he could prove he could support her. And frankly though, I think she was too good for him. I also liked Farebrother and Caleb Garth.
I plan on writing up a proper review sometime this month. There is a LOT to think about!
I laughed out loud at the bit where Sir James gives in to Celia. Honestly, he's so in love with her. It's endearing enough that I'll forgive him for disapproving of my BFF Dorothea :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! I really enjoyed the readalong. I am just sorry I missed weeks 4 and 5 of posting. I was smothered at work.
ReplyDeleteI think the character I ended up admiring the most was Lydgate. While he had me worried when he decided to try his hand at gambling, I have to confess that he is a far better human than I am. Rosamond would have had a lot of genuine things to complain about had she done all that to me. He might have been fooled by her pretty face, but I felt he chose to handle her in an excessively mature way (instead of ranting and raving and physically knocking sense in to her head). He was also the most tragic character. Everyone else (or at least, of those that I cared about) got a happy ending. He got that wench for a wife.
Goood reading
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