Reader discussion: Middlemarch

Public reader discussion about Middlemarch by George Eliot.

Should I read Middlemarch to the end?

By spring-copper1982

I’m almost 460 pages in, which is over half, and I just don’t feel like it’s worth pushing through any more. I really want to be wrong here since everybody talks about it like it’s one of the best books ever, maybe the best. I do like the characters — Dorothea, Will, Lydgate, and even Mr. Brooke to some extent — and I do love Eliot’s writing, plus the way she captures human feelings is honestly amazing. But even with all that, I still don’t find it all that interesting, and it’s been really exhausting to read. It’s taken me close to 6 months with a bunch of breaks, reading other books in between, just to get to page 460, and the only reason I’m even thinking about continuing is because everyone says it’s a must-read classic. Still, I’m not sure it’s worth it anymore. Am I missing something?

Middlemarch - why is it the greatest English novel in history?

By Stone_Brown1977

I’ve gone through Middlemarch just once, and I really liked it. But people keep calling it the top English novel, and I’m kind of lost on that part. The way it gets into people’s heads is definitely there, and I do like how nobody is just plain good or bad, plus all the mix-ups and wrong impressions are handled really well. Still, I’m not sure what pushes it into that “best ever” spot. With War and Peace, it clicked for me right away why it gets that kind of praise. Middlemarch, not so much. Anyone want to explain what I’m missing?

Hi. I would be grateful, if someone ,who had read Middlemarch, could take explain the bold part in the following paragraph

By lilac_harbor63

I keep thinking we should stop looking at people from the outside and pay more attention to what they say about themselves—how they feel about what they can do, what’s getting in their way day to day, and whether time is making their hopes fade or just digging in some kind of self-deception. And I wonder what kind of struggle they’ve got going against all that pressure life puts on them, even though at some point it’s probably going to get to them. I guess for them their own life feels huge, but we might act like it’s too big because we don’t have enough space in our own heads to make room for it. We’re also so sure God is watching anyway, so it’s almost “noble” for us to expect that from Him, even if we don’t give much ourselves. And honestly, Mr. Casaubon kind of sounds like he lived in his own little universe too. If he thought other people were kind of put here just for him, or judged them by whether they fit into his project—especially with that “Key to all Mythologies” thing—that doesn’t feel completely foreign to me. It’s still one of those needy, misguided hopes people have, and it makes me feel a little sorry for him.

How George Eliot Became a Social Outcast at the Height of Her Fame

By shoreTeacup

She seems really cool, honestly.

I just finished Middlemarch

By luckywindow1990

I really want to talk to everyone about this—have you read it yet? And did you feel like it changed you at all? One thing I kept noticing is how it talks about women and their drive. It’s kind of funny because whenever the author says women are smart or strong, she usually ends the thought with some little qualifier like “in a woman’s way.” Obviously it’d be kind of anachronistic to expect the book to be super straightforward about women back then, but still, it’s comforting to see that women’s inner lives and what motivates them seem pretty much the same years later. I’m also already looking forward to rereading it once I’m a bit more removed from it, so I can see it with fresher eyes.

Middlemarch: should I continue?

By SilverFocus1993

I grabbed Middlemarch because I figured it’d match the whole reading mood I’ve been in after Anna Karenina and Mrs Dalloway. But I’m on page 157 and… wow, I’m just really bored. Everyone feels pretty unlikable to me, and I can’t stand how much it keeps getting stuck on religion/religious politics and medicine talk—it’s all so dry and tedious. Is there a point where it actually gets better, or is it basically like this the whole way through? Edit: Thanks for the replies! I’m gonna keep going for at least another 100 pages and hope it clicks for me 🤞

Stumbling on and fumbling through Middlemarch

By door_rusty92

I’m only around 40% into *Middlemarch* right now, and I keep thinking I’m going to have to slow down and really dig into it more. The ideas are so deep and the writing is so packed that it feels like one of those books where people could spend forever on it—kind of like *Dream of the Red Chamber*, where the serious readers and researchers go way beyond “just reading.” Before I started *Middlemarch*, I actually knew almost nothing about it. The last thing I read was *Wives and Daughters* by Gaskell, which was a lot easier to get through, so I honestly wasn’t prepared for the jolt I got from Eliot. But it’s a good kind of shock. I’m ending up learning about stuff I normally would skip. I usually avoid history, politics, sports, religions—anything like that—but since I started reading more 19th-century lit, I’ve found myself looking into the political and historical background. With *Middlemarch* I even did some quick research on the different religious views and denominations, because it leans so hard on those differences. Without knowing the religious setup in 19th-century England, I feel like I’m missing a lot of the tension in the plot. Like, I don’t fully get why something as specific as running a hospital turns into such a religious contest. It definitely isn’t an easy read, but it’s been pretty rewarding so far.