You know that no matter what you do, there is always a consequence. Some of them are good consequences others not so good. For example, you touch a hot stove you get burned. You speak before you think sometimes your filter won’t be turned on and you could say something completely ridiculous. If you help someone of your own free will your karma will come back and you could be rewarded. If you don’t manage your money well you could end up in debt like Freddy.
Freddy thought he would receive a large sum of money in an inheritance. Without hesitation he spent everything he had and also took out a large loan. Thinking that he would have the money through the inheritance, and with a poor back up plan, he found himself in deep debt because his inheritance was revoked. On top of everything he does not want to go into the church so he can marry his childhood sweetheart Mary. Mary does not seem to really love Freddy since if she did love Freddy she would not really mind if Freddy listened to his parents and went into the church. Freddy could also move up in society if he was in the church and they could gain respect from more people since the people of Middlemarch love the church. Since having upper social status is what Freddy’s parents want for all their children.
Dorothea also did not think everything through her marriage to Casaubon. For example, she was in the honeymoon phase throughout her entire courtship. She was blinded by her idea of love and devotion, having spirited debates with her husband. She also thought that she could be an equal to her husband, and be his devoted scholarly helper so he could write his book that was meant to help man kind. In her blind emotions, she did not see how cold her husband was and how miserable her life was going to be. She also skipped the actual honeymoon phase on her real honeymoon since Casaubon was always gone. Dorothea was left alone in their apartment all the time craving companionship and love, while he was off doing his own thing that was meant to help him with his book.
Dorothea had spent her entire life in Middlemarch. What the men in Middlemarch saw while looking at her was probably the little girl she had been her whole life and could not really see how she had grown up. Ladislaw can see that Dorothea is “a charming and adorable creature” to quote him and cannot help, but wonder why she married Casaubon who is old enough to be her father. For some reason Ladislaw keeps visiting Dorothea when Casaubon is not home. It also seems like Ladislaw has no set future in the book. Ladislaw seems to be living his life on Casaubon’s dime. Every time Ladislaw has a new idea or some new fetish Casaubon has to pay for it. Ladislaw and Casaubon seem to constantly be at odds with each other.
Casaubon wants Ladislaw as far away from his wife as physically possible. It does not help the fact that Dorothea likes Ladislaw as a friend. Casaubon also seems to think to highly of himself. For him everything Dorothea wants to do is silly and pointless, while everything he wants to do is for the good of mankind. He also insulted Dorothea’s portrait and thought he himself looked like a god when he saw his portrait. In reality he is just as immature as Ladislaw and will loose his wife if he does not come off of his high horse and try to connect with his wife.

Julia Rogan