Quotes from bookMiddlemarch
Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life is a novel by the English author George Eliot , appearing in eight instalments in 1871 and 1872. Set in a fictitious Midlands town from 1829 to 1832, it follows distinct, intersecting stories with many characters. Issues include the status of women, the nature of marriage, idealism, self-interest, religion, hypocrisy, political reform, and education. Despite comic elements, Middlemarch uses realism to encompass historical events: the 1832 Reform Act, early railways, and the succession of King William IV. It views contemporary medicine and examines reactionary views in a settled community facing unwelcome change. Eliot began writing the two pieces that would form the novel in 1869–1870 and completed it in 1871. Initial reviews were mixed, but it is now seen widely as her best work and one of the great novels in English.
“It is always fatal to have music or poetry interrupted.”
George Eliot book Middlemarch
Source: Middlemarch
“He distrusted her affection; and what loneliness is more lonely than distrust.”
George Eliot book Middlemarch
Variant: What loneliness is more lonely than distrust?
Source: Middlemarch (1871)
“Miss Brooke had that kind of beauty which seems to be thrown into relief by poor dress.”
George Eliot book Middlemarch
First lines.
Source: Middlemarch (1871)
“It's a father's duty to give his sons a fine chance.”
George Eliot book Middlemarch
Source: Middlemarch
George Eliot book Middlemarch
Source: Middlemarch (1871), Chapter 1 (misprinted as "Some people did" in some editions, such as Penguin Signet Classics).
“But what we call our despair is often only the painful eagerness of unfed hope.”
George Eliot book Middlemarch
Source: Middlemarch (1871)
“What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult to each other?”
George Eliot book Middlemarch
Middlemarch (1871)
Context: What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult to each other? I cannot be indifferent to the troubles of a man who advised me in my trouble, and attended me in my illness.
“Blameless people are always the most exasperating.”
George Eliot book Middlemarch
Source: Middlemarch
“A prig is a fellow who is always making you a present of his opinions.”
George Eliot book Middlemarch
Source: Middlemarch
