What conflicts do characters experience between their dreams and the
reality that they encounter? Does marriage tie into these conflicts? How
does gender act as a challenge to some character's ambitions?
Why does Lydgate's marriage fail? Why does Dorothea's marriage fail?
Why did they marry Rosamond and Casaubon respectively? Is there any secret
to the "successful" marriages in the novel?
How does Middlemarch represent the rise of the middle class? Does choice
of profession or money matter in Middlemarch?
Money has both advantages and disadvantages in Middlemarch. Consider
the characters of Dorothea, Lydgate, Rosamond, Ladislaw, Bulstrode, Featherstone,
Fred, and the Garths.
There are many types of reformation: personal, legal, industrial, religious...
What types of reformation do the various characters want to accomplish?
Do they achieve their goals, or do they fall short? What causes their success
or failure?
Is there a main hero or heroine in Middlemarch? Middlemarch is often likened
to a web; any ideas on why this image is used? Is Dorothea a heroine?
Middlemarch abounds in secrets, and they move the plot at times. How
do the secrets of Will's family and Bulstrode's tainted past contribute
to the story?
Why is Rosamond manipulative and vain? How does George Eliot make the
reader sympathize with Rosamond; does she have any good points?
How do ordinary people accomplish extraordinary things? How can quiet
tragedies, unhistoric acts of courage, and unrecognized acts of dignity
in daily life be as poignant as those of famous, historical people?
