Lydgate and Rosamond’s marriage has been tested by their family debt. Despite the ruthless rejection by Sir Godwin, Lydgate seemed to have accepted Rosamond’s secrecy and her pursuit in life. With the following passage from chapter 65, what does Lydgate’s monologue tell us about his changed attitude towards his relationship with Rosamond that eventually rendered him “mastered”? More interestingly, how does this new side of Lydgate shed light on his transformation as a person as the story unfolds?

He only caressed her; he did not say anything, for what is there to say? He could not promise to shield her from the dreaded wretchedness, for he could see no sure means of doing so…he told himself that it was ten times harder for her than for him: he had a life away from home and constant appeals to his activity... He wished to excuse everything in her if he could - but it was inevitable that in that excusing mood he should think of her as if she were an animal of another and feebler species. Nevertheless, she had mastered him.

The end of this chapter underlines the current dynamic of the Lydgate couple - Rosamond overtaking Lydgate. This is particularly curious because it departs from the male-dominating family tradition in the Victorian era. Nevertheless, we can still see Lydgate’s implicit male ego works hand in hand with his affection for Rosamond. On one hand, they lead to Lydgate’s losing his bargaining power over the relationship; on the other, they contribute to his dreading struggle in willing himself to fully submit to Rosamond. 

To provide context, this passage first reveals the root problems of their challenging relationship: the lack of communication and the limitation of a common language. While both of them are passionate speakers, their affection can only take form in body language “caressing” which is rather mild instead of verbalization because they can only agree on the bright side of their life. When there is only sorrow - what is there to say? Acting as a rhetorical question, it brings out the desperation and unspoken anger within Lydgate. Such despair derives from his loss of Rosamond’s love as she refuses to live a humble life with him and his shame of failing to “shield” his wife from the grimness in life. Under the law of marriage, he undertakes full responsibility for Rosamond. Consequently, his inability to meet Rosamond’s standard sentences him to voicelessness to even speak to his wife, rendering him powerless in the relationship.

Acknowledging the need to yield, Lydgate remains fundamentally reluctant as he endeavors to rationalize with reality. He tries to exaggerate the suffering of Rosamond that is ten times harder and lists out their distinct ways of upbringing and areas of interest. She has always lived a care-free and well-tendered life as opposed to his well-trained independent life. She does not have a passionate career. Despite the quantity and compelling quality of his reasons, they remain “excuses”. As confessed by himself, there is an inexcusable truth that he must accept: Rosamond is a different animal and a more precious and fragile species. This marks the stark difference among the couple not only as persons but creatures. It is reflective of their oppositional values and priority in life: Lydgate is a pragmatic rooting for independence while Rosamond is an idealist feeding on social status. The struggle between retaining his medical practice or his wife’s happiness is always there. To firmly give in to such a life would be a betrayal to his standing. Therefore, fully assimilating into Rosamond’s mindset die-heartedly without war will be merely “wishful” thinking. On top of that, one is not to omit Lydgate’s male ego in retaining his master position: “it would have…been a vain boast in him to say that he was her master”. 

But the last line marks a sudden turn of events that seals Lydgate’s fate: “Nevertheless, she had mastered him”. Despite his reluctance, why would he succumb? While the passage does not provide much explanation, this line works as a foreshadow or prediction from the protagonist. Indeed, as the story progresses, one would find more “Rosamond factor” in Lydgate’s transformative yet contradictory decisions, be it his urge to gamble and recklessness in receiving Bulstrode’s financial aids. Although we are yet to encounter Lydgate’s ending, perhaps it can be argued that for now, it is Lydgate’s affection for Rosamond that drives him to excuse for her, to override his line of scientific reasoning and immediately give in to her shed of tears. His commitment to the relationship, like his time and effort invested in Middlemarch, has grown over time and is almost too hard to forgo. Therefore, he willfully surrenders himself to the relationship, as well as the rules of Middlemarch.