In this blog I will be summarizing a contemporary review of George Eliot's novel Middlemarch by Henry James titled "George Eliot's Middlemarch."
Summary:
Henry James's review both praises and ridicules Eliot's novel. He opens up his article stating, "Middlemarch is at once one of the strongest and one of the weakest of English novels." In terms of praise James focuses on Eliot's ability to include an abundance of detail and historical accuracy about rural life but he calls the book 'an indifferent whole.' He then goes on the praise Eliot's character Dorthea. He calls Dorthea the greatest achievement of the book but then goes on to say her character is wasted. His claim is that the fate of Dorthea is anti-climatic and he feels the novel spends to too much time building her up, only to let her fizzle away. But in a final praise of Middlemarch Henry James writes, "The author has desired to be strictly real and to adhere to the facts of the common lot, and she has given us a powerful version of that typical human drama, the struggles of an ambitious soul with sordid disappointments and vulgar embarrassments.
Analysis:
I chose this review to focus on because I had a really hard time agreeing with it. I kept asking myself, "does a novel have to build up to one climatic event for it to be successful?" I admit at times I wished Dorthea would leave Causabon and run away with Will but if she had, then Eliot's best quality would be lost. Her portrayal of real life and historical details are what make her novel great. Social class was how people thrived and marriage was very serious. I do agree with James when he says that life is full of sordid disappointments because it is true. Even though Dorthea is a wonderful character, reality would dictate that life is often full of disappointments.
Katie,
ReplyDeleteIn my own post regarding this same review, as you saw, I had originally disagreed with this. However, now that I have read your point of view, my opinion has been swayed a little. I didn't think that Eliot's anticlimactic plot was effective, but you've proved a good point in saying that Eliot's portrayal was very realistic. However, I want to point out that the ease with which the characters are unburdened with the death of Casaubon, or the death of Raffles is just a bit too convenient, which takes away from the "realistic" aspect of the novel.
I like your view point that a real life suffers from disappointment. That is an interesting take on the comments of James. Maybe Dorothea's seemingly anticlimactic characterization is intended to show her loss of potential and disappointments brought through marriage. I also agree with Marcy in that the major events of the novel seem to pass through with little comment of consequence, like the death of Causabon. Both readings are fun to toy with and regardless I think James provides proactive thoughts.
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