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?

Despite the depiction of Lydgate as an intelligent and self-made bachelor who escaped freedom and independence from Middlemarch, near the end of Book II, he voted for Tyke as the new chaplain in support of Mr. Bulstrode instead of his genuine preference. Regarding the following passage, how do we make sense of Lydgate’s decision considering the importance of the “web” in Middlemarch? How does such action reflect and affect the dynamic between Lydgate and Middlemarch?

The relevant passages are extracted from chapter 15, 17 and 18:

"He did not confess to himself...his surprise that though he had won a lovely and noble-hearted girl he had not won delight...". How does Mr. Casaubon come to such realization that he cannot gain happiness from the marriage? How will this affect his future marital relationship with Dorothea?