- Dorothea’s power: “…and this strange unexpected manifestation of feeling in a woman whom she had approached with a shrinking aversion and dread, as one who must necessarily have a jealous hatred towards her, made her soul totter all the more with a sense that she had been walking in an unknown world which had just broken in upon her.” (ch.81)
- “There are natures in which, if they love us, we are conscious of having a sort of baptism and consecration: they bind us over to rectitude and purity by their pure belief about us; and our sins become that worst kind of sacrilege which tears down the invisible altar of trust. “If you are not good, none is good”—those little words may give a terrific meaning to responsibility, may hold a vitriolic intensity for remorse.” (ch.77)
Q: How is women represented in Middlemarch? One one hand, they seem to be of a restricted and less important status as compared to men. On the other hand, they also display strong sense of agency and the power to influence events and people. How do we to understand the role of women in the society of Middlemarch?
It isn’t uncommon to hear Middlemarch men uttering some sexist statements that belittle women, differentiating them from men by skill, ability, and intellectual power etc. Mr Brooke is a leading example of this chauvinism, often heard saying that the female brain is only fit for drawing and singing and not politics. Dorothea’s depressing life under marital restraints also exemplifies the sacrifices women have to make in a relationship. But in the last couple chapters, we come to see the power and influence the female characters of Middlemarch have over their male counterparts and over the general development of events and the story itself. For example, the influence Mary Garth has on Fred Vincy leads to Mr. Farebrother exclaiming over “the part one little woman can play in the life of a man” (ch.66). The manipulative Rosamond also has Lydgate under her control in every quarrel, in which Lydgate finds himself succumbing to his wife’s argument and tears, and even begins to feel sorry for her when she is being completely selfish. Dorothea, the much oppressed Mother Teresa, also has her highlight moments in Chapter 81 where she basically succeeds in subverting Rosamond’s nature and to an extent turning their marriage around. Lydgate, too, is surprised at how “these few words of trust from a woman should be so much to him” (ch.76).
Judging from the general picture of Middlemarch, women do seem to enjoy less freedom than men. They are under much more restrictions than men. Marriage is a must, a default final goal for every woman. However, Middlemarch gives women power that are unseen on the surface, that is the power to affect emotions and consequently people’s decisions and the course of events that ensue. The women pertinent to this discussion would be Mary, Dorothea, and Rosamond.
Mary and Dorothea’s good virtues and the power they have over people are similar. They can bring the good out of people. Dorothea’s sympathy and ardor are so infectious and influential they resemble “a sort of baptism and consecration”—in other words, her virtues and emotional influence are sacred and can be compared to religion’s ability to purify and convert. Indeed we see in her exchange with Rosamond, where a previously egotistical, unsympathetic girl gives up her pride and begins to see the world differently. Elliot uses a touching episode like this one to illustrate the powerful tenderness that women possess, which also adds to the characterization of Dorothea as the (unrealized) Mother Teresa of Middlemarch. The first and second quoted paragraphs are a song of praise to Dorothea.
It is also worth noticing that Dorothea’s freedom seems to have increased since the death of Mr. Casaubon. Despite Mr. Casaubon’s will that still binds her to an extent, Dorothea appears to have become freer. She regains the space to express her passion, whereas before it is on her husband where all her energy and emotions are spent. The few chapters where Dorothea has a great influence and an important role in the course of events also in a way reflect the constraints marriage has put on her before. The changing status and influence Dorothea displays over the course of the novel are suggestive of the restrictive nature of marriage Middlemarch tries to portray.