1. Its interesting how both Rosamond and Celia are having babies, but not Dorothea. Why do you think Eliot decided against a pregnancy for Dorothea? (Eww, yeah, I don't want to think about her and Causabon getting it on either, haha)
2. Do you think Will Ladislaw truly loves Dorothea for who she really is? Or do you think he loves the fantasy that he's created around her? Or might it be a bit of both?
1. I think that Dorothea's not being pregnant opens the door to a lot of questions and answers. Dorothea has a lot of male characteristics in the novel. She is an architect, book smart, and she does not really seem to appreciate feminine things the way some of the other female characters do. She may have wanted to have a baby, but not having a baby makes her more masculine because she can now freely pursue her dreams of knowledge and enlightenment.
ReplyDelete2. I truly think that Ladislaw loves Dorothea. He is one of the only characters that is not cloaked in mystery. He is what he is, at least for now, there may be a deep, dark secret, but I think there is no hidden agenda for Will. Don't you think he just lights up the room when he enters?
I think the masculinity/femininity of Dorothea is an interesting question. In Nietzsche's Birth of Tragedy, Dorothea would definitely be the pinnacle of the Apollinean man for her ideals, organized ambition, and individuality. I think the pregnancy thing comes down to what we talked about in class-- that a pregnancy validates or legitimates the marriage in a way that Elliot doesn't want.
ReplyDeleteLove is such a strong word. I think that Ladislaw's intentions with Dorothea are honest and pure. I just don't think that the two have spent enough time together to even get to know each other that well, much less be in love.
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