Ugh, I am at a loss when I begin to think of Dorthea and Mr. Casaubon. The dramatic irony in Middlemarch reminds me of so many Greek/Roman tragedies. I have caught myself speaking out loud about how obtuse Dorthea can be and she exasperates me to the point that I cannot even feel sorry for her. For example, when William tells her that she is a poem and she just blows it off and says thankyou (223). By the end of Book 2 I kept finding so many parallels between this novel and others that I have read that I find myself linking their traits.
For example a dramatic irony; as you read along and you want to jump into the pages and tell Dorthea that Will is infatuated and idolizes -I would not say love yet-with her and Mr. Casaubon is jealous and worried about their growing relationship. Also, it was apparent in book one that Dorthea had ill-conceived ideas about how her marriage was going to be and she is already changing her personality to morph into what is now her lot in life. But so many little remarks and jumping to conclusions reminds me of Oedipus in her traits. Dorthea ignores the obvious and internalizes the results calling herself stupid and obtuse for not knowing art, literature and music. She does not see the beauty she carries and only believes that her sister has that trait. Oedipus does not see that he is king and the prophecy was only to locate the former king’s murderer, not maim himself and banish himself from his city instead of acknowledging that he could be king of the other city and leave the one to Creon. Dorthea does not mention Will any further when Edward gets grumpy, just as Oedipus drops the accusations against Creon when Jocasta tells him to. Will worships her just as the townspeople of Thebes worshiped Oedipus on the palace stairs as Will wanted to throw himself to her slippers and they lay on the stairs at the beginning of “Oedipus Rex” (221). Will also begs for an opportunity to be in Dorthea’s servitude, just as Thebes embraced Oedipus after he conquered the Sphinx and made him king (224). the many references to Homer and other tragedies – the “Homer bits,” (219) the “tragic chorus, wailing and moralizing over misery,” (219) He would not see the truth and/or did not want to believe it about his father, just as Dorthea does not see the truth about how her marriage will be. The response the Chorus gives acknowledging Oedipus is the same as the townspeople responding in disbelief of Dorthea’s marriage.
In another way, Edward remind me of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Frankenstein left his wife alone on their wedding night similar to how Edward leaves Dorthea alone for most of their honeymoon. This action of Edward’s reminds me of how Frankenstein was so self-centered in his brilliance and egotism that the creature would come for him, just as Edward is so wrapped up in his egotism about his research that he doesn’t thing that anyone will come and take his bride away. But, both men, Frankenstein and Edward, find that someone will take their wife away. Fortunately, Edward acknowledges a threat and spends more time with Dorthea towards the end of their trip in an attempt to “protect his property” as he really sees Dorthea as property instead of a person. Another way that Edward is much like Frankenstein is that both men have God-complexes. Edward appreciates the fact that Dorthea worships and idolizes him. In the same respect Frankenstein created his creature for the sole purpose to be God-like as well. The egos these men have could power a city if it could be captured.
In addition, Will reminds me of a reluctant Horner from “The Country Wife.” He is not really trying to chase Dorothea, but he is pursuing her in a similar way that Horner goes after all the women. While Mrs. Pinchwife is also obtuse, just as Dorthea is, she does bend to Horner’s will eventually. I will have to wait and see if Dorthea does the same, but the similarities between Middlemarch and the other novels and plays I have read is amazing.
Vickie Culpepper