Friday, February 17, 2012
Casaubon's Trophy
I might be beating a dead horse, but the relationship between Casaubon and Dorothea can be chalked up to nothing more than a typical older man/younger woman relationship. He wanted a trophy, and like many of the women I've read about, Dorothea married Casaubon because he was more of a father figure to her than anything. He admired how submissive she was to him, how eager she was to learn from him to please him. He finds, however, that she has a strong will and she's opinionated, much to his frustration. Her relationship with Ladislaw is increasingly frustrating to him, and he becomes jealous. I myself have never been interested in old guys, but I imagine this is a typical problem that these relationships run into. Dorothea is unhappy with his lack of interest in her, except to have her learn from him. I found it humorous how calculating he was when he decided to marry; he was disappointed to find that he didn't experience the bliss he thought he would. Such is the problem when you marry for all the wrong reasons
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I agree that Casaubon and Dorothea married for the wrong reasons, but I think Casaubon's decision was more mathematical and calculating than anything else. I somehow doubt it had all that much to do with age.
ReplyDeleteI agree but also Casaubon uses family honor as something to hide his true feeelings and reasons for asking Ladislaw to leave Middlemarch. He tells Will that his profession reflects badly on him, but his real reason for wanting Ladislaw to leave is jealousy and insecurity. He feels as though Dorothea has become a critical wife. Dorothea's strong interest in Will's future makes Casaubon feel as though she is drawing a comparison between them and that is stressing him out.
ReplyDeleteI think Ladislaw continues to cause Casaubon to confront his mortality. Casaubon doesn't seem so jealous of the relationship forming between Dorothea as much as he seems suspicious of their intentions... which, he believes, are to take his money when he dies and therefore discredit his research. We already know that Ladislaw doesn't support Casaubon's ideals, and now we see how threatened Casaubon is by that. Dorothea is a trophy, yes, but she is also, as Brandi said, a critical wife. Essentially, he doesn't want his research to end, therefore, he cannot end. Being presented a younger man, as a dying man, would freak me the hell out, too.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I wish these people had shorter, less complex names.
Great post and comments!
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