I have been doing some research on Middlemarch. I really enjoy knowing random information about the books and authors I am reading. I came up with two discussion questions, that are random, but got me thinking.
1)Middlemarch was orginally supposed to be called Miss Brooke. Why do you think Elliot decided to change the name?
2)Why do you think that Elliot refers to "egoism" so often in the book?
Cool questions, Jennifer. I really like thinking about the title one--and it actually seems related to the second question. Calling the book Miss Brooke would (maybe) predispose it to giving just one perspective/story. Calling it Middlemarch gives it a wider scope and avoids focusing on just one person (ego).
ReplyDeleteRight-- it also collapses the public/private duality that crops up so often in women's studies material, and that Eliot seems determined to ignore-- she wants us to see everything.
ReplyDeleteI think that Eliot decided to change the name because this book doesn't revolve solely around Dorothea. Middlemarch has so many characters and they are all related in some way. The politics and the gossip of the town are key to text. It makes sense that the title reflects everyone’s story, instead of just one character. I feel like if the title was Miss Brooke, then as a reader, I would not focus as heavily on the other characters, like the Garth’s and the Vincy’s.
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