This document provides an analysis of the themes in George Eliot's novel Middlemarch, which was published in 1874. It discusses the major themes of self-discovery, love, money, social position, marriage, politics, pride, progress, and prejudice that are explored through the characters and stories in Middlemarch. The novel examines how these themes impact the lives and relationships of characters living in a provincial town in England in the 1830s.

1. Name : Kubavat Kishan
Roll No : 11
Semester : 2nd
Paper no : 6
Paper name :Victorian Literature
Year: 2014-15
PG Enrollment No:14101021
Submitted to: Department of English
M. K. Bhavnagar University

2.  Born : Mary Anne Evans
22 November 1819
 Died : 22 December
1880 (aged 61)
 Pen name : George Eliot
 Occupation : Novelist
George Eliot

3. Her works

4. A Study of Provincial
Life.
Publication date
1874
Middlemarch is a
work of Realism.
It is a name of the
Town
Yoke of the marriage.
The novel is divided
into 3 part.

5. Themes in the novel
Themes of
Middlemarch
Self
Discovery
Love
Money
Social
Position
Marriage

6.  There are certain truth which every character learns about
himself in the course of trials, Lydgate and Rosamond find out
more about their characters through their money troubles,
though they do not always adjust accordingly.
 Dorothea makes the most dramatic journey of self-discovery,
and changes a great deal within the course of the novel.
Self Discovery

7.  Social position means a great deal which can be found in
Middlemarch ; it means how much respect a person gets , how
people treat them, how they are regarded etc. people of high
status are generally treated more delicately than people with
little money , like Lydgate and Will Ladislaw. Birth and
connections are also important in determining a person’s place,
and also what benefits they Will receive from society.
Social position

8.  Love keeps people together, or the lack or it lets them drift
apart. Those who are truly In love like Will and Dorothea,
Mary and Fredare bound together by it, and are very alike in
temperament and outlook. Those who lack it like Lydgate and
Rosamond, Casaubon and Dorothea are ill-suited to each other
in marriage, and are very disappointed by their unions.
Love

9.  Love keeps people together in Middlemarch we can see in
the Middlemarch true love between characters like
Ladislaw
Fred Vincy
Dorothea
Mary Garth

10. Marriage
 “Three Love Problems”- but one can understand the novel’s
structure in light of three marriages. Therefore it encounters
many marriages in this novel which makes the book a Romantic
atmosphere.

11. Dorothea &
Mr.Casaubone
Rosamond &
Lydgate
Mary &
Fred

12.  Money is the root of many evils, in the novel. Lydgate gets
desperate for want of it, Fred despairs when he has little.
Dorothea becomes generous when she has too much , and the
Garths save carefully since their money is limited.
 Money has a profound effect on character within the novel ,
and though many people are judged by how much money they
have, many of the best people in the novel, like will Ladislaw
and Mr. Fare brother , have very little.
Money

13. Concept of 4-P
Concept
of 4-P
Politics
Pride
Progress
Prejudice

14.  Everything is political in Middlemarch, with most people
strongly backing the conservative party. Personal alliances and
aversions are based on matters of politics and political
identification. But even political matters, like all things, get
personal; people decide who or who not to support by how they
like them, even more so sometimes than any dependence on
issues.
Politics

15.  The is something which both helps and hinders many people in
the book and is most applicable to Dorothea, Will Ladislaw, and
Lydgate. With Lydgate, pride is a tumbling block, something
that keeps him from putting his affairs in order, and sometimes
doing what is necessary in his marriage and practice.
 Dorothea and Will’s pride is more involved in who they are
personally neither of them likes to be regarded poorly, will
defend themselves and their own course with regards to
everything.
Pride

16.  Much is changing in the world of Middlemarch English society
is evolving in social, economic, technologic areas. Socially,
ideas of gender and class are in flux, as women are proving more
and more competent, and the industrial Revolution is causing a
greater amount of social mobility.
 The economy of England is changing, from an aristocratic,
inheritance- based system of holding wealth and land , to one
based on commerce, business and manufacturing.
Progress

17.  A theme that Lydgate and Will Ladislaw cannot seem to beat.
People in Middlemarch dislike anyone who is not from
Middlemarch , or anyone whose reputation seems questionable
Will and Lydgate are both good people , but it is initial
prejudice , sometimes based on invalid or circumstantial
reasons, that means that they are never liked or accepted in
Middlemarch
Prejudice