An Analysis of and excerpt from Middlemarch by George Eliot

1. An Analysis of and excerpt from Middlemarch by George Eliot “Anyone who says he can see through women is missing a lot.” – Groucho Marx

2. Theme Statement The narrator’s attitude toward Dorothea shifts from sympathy to criticism as she understands her complex personality but at the same time is wary of Dorothea’s attitude toward life, much like the relationship a mother would have toward her child.

3. Literary Elements • Compound - Complex Sentence • Parallelism • Juxtaposition • Ironic religious imagery • Exclamatory Statement • Rhetorical Question • Loose Sentence • Tone

4. Compound-Complex sentences are used to show the depth and complexity of Dorothea’s character • Lines 2-10: “Her hand and wrist were so finely formed that she could wear sleeves not less bare of style than those in which the Blessed Virgin appeared to Italian painter; and her profile as well as her stature and bearing seemed to gain the more dignity from her plain garments, which by the side f provincial fashion gave her the impressiveness of a fine quotation from the Bible, - or from one of our elder poets, - in a paragraph of today’s newspaper.” • Lines 23-30: “Her mind was theoretic and yearned by its nature after some lofty conception of the world which might frankly include the parish of Tipton and her own rule of conduct there; she was enamored of intensity and greatness, and rash in embracing whatever seemed to her to have those aspects; likely to seek martyrdom to make retractions, and hen to incur martyrdom after all in a quarter where she had not sought it.”

5. Parallelism is used to show the sympathetic attitude and familiar understanding of the narrator • Lines 23-30: “Her mind was theoretic and yearned by its nature after some lofty conception of the world which might frankly include the parish of Tipton and her own rule of conduct there; she was enamored of intensity and greatness, and rash in embracing whatever seemed to her to have those aspects; likely to seek martyrdom, to make retractions, and then to incur martyrdomafter all in a quarter where she had not sought it.”

6. Juxtaposition/Contrast shows the narrator’s awareness of Dorothea’s complex character • Lines 34-41: “With all this, she, the elder of the sisters, was not yet twenty, and they had both been educated since they were about twelve years old and had lost their parents, on plans at once narrow and promiscuous, first in an English family and afterwards in a Swiss family at Lausanne, their bachelor uncle and guardian trying in this way to remedy the disadvantages of their orphaned…” • Bachelor family vs. Religious family • Swiss vs. English • Orphan vs. Educated • Narrow vs. Promiscuous

7. Exclamatory statement shows sympathetic tone • Line 46 – “Poor Dorothea!” • Compares her to her sister • Playful (sympathetic tone) • Exclamation: hint of tonal change

8. Ironic religious imagery acting as simile • Lines 44-46: “Celia was amiable and innocent-looking, while Miss Brooke’s large eyes seemed like her religion, too unusual and striking.” • Lines 55-56: “when her eyes and cheeks glowed with mingled pleasure she looked very little like a devotee”

9. Third-person limited point of view gives mother to child effect • Whole passage is third person limited, outside perspective from mom, but doesn’t know Dorothea’s thoughts

10. Iron-etorical question is used to contrast Dorothea’s modesty with her arrogance • Line 79: “How could he affect as a lover?” • Irony in Dorothea’s personality makes the author also feel conflicted toward her • Narrator, therefore, see’s her as a child

11. Loose Sentence with satirical elements shows how the narrator downplays her criticism of Dorothea’s childlike ignorance • Lines 80-82: “The really delightful marriage must be where your husband is a sort of father, and could teach you even Hebrew, if he wished it”

12. Tonal change represents author’s attitude – from praise to criticism • Lines 2-10: comparison between Dorothea and Virgin Mary, having more dignity from wearing plain clothes, impressiveness and grandeur • Line 71: Dorothea “retained very childlike ideas about marriage”

13. Selection of detail shows change narrator’s attitude of Dorothea • Changes from addressing her as “Ms. Brooke” to “Dorothea

14. How I can relate • Debate (humble arrogance) -> complex attitudes among those who struggle, work hard, and are talented • Tiger mom – (extreme criticism) – Amy Chua • Regina’s mom – (extreme caring) – Mean Girls