Saturday, March 3, 2012
Dorothea Making a Stand
Many of us have voiced the question as to why Dorothea constantly stands up for Lydgate and other men without standing up for herself. I feel that Dorothea's heart is in the right place when she seeks to help Lydgate and his relationship with Rosamond. If you had the power to help a friend from a socially ruining situation, wouldn't you help? While it's hard to understand how a female character can focus on people other than herself, I think that helping others through the course of Middlemarch is what gets her the ending that she wants. We may not consider her marriage to Will to be a good ending in terms of her own independence, but I really think that Dorothea wanted exactly what was given to her. Sometimes it's hard to remember that most characters are supposed to be like real people.
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I see your point. I guess I just think it's sad how her dreams changed; I feel there's a subconscious mind-fucking by the patriarchy within our society, done through misogynist language and advertising, all of which is dehumanizing to women, hence the societal pressure of being an, "ornament." That's not to absolutely say that housewives, or "ornaments," for all intents and purposes of the word, are brain-washed. A choice is a choice is a choice, and it's yours. However, it's important to own that choice.
ReplyDelete(I apologize for that run-on sentence.)
Basically, it may be what she wanted in the end, sure. But was she brain-washed into wanting it?
I love it! My thoughts exactly Stephanie! I just finished reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie. One of the female characters wants to be an architect because she wants to leave behind something of herself. That is what Dorothea did with her buildings. She has left something that will last! Just because we do not think she has been fulfilled because she got…ewww, married, doesn’t mean that she is not satisfied with her life! Being a wife and mom is a pretty satisfying thing! Unfortunately I cannot underline or italicize the title of the book!
ReplyDeleteNot to mention the legacy of her children!
ReplyDeleteoh wow...too many exclamation points....
ReplyDeleteAnother good post, followed by some good comments (and exclamation points and profanity...good times!).
ReplyDeleteI really like Stephanie's idea that doing the right thing for Lydgate--standing up for him--helps her achieve a sense of accomplishment for her life. It parallels the way Lydgate stands up for Farebrother or Farebrother stands up for Fred.