Three Love Problems was spent largely exposing the faults of the men in Middlemarch. The women have faults of course—Dorothea is oblivious and Rosamond is needy and blind to the dangers in front of her. But the men, while they undeniably had issues in the previous books, where roasted in this book.

Mr. Casaubon is stuck in a rut of territorial jealously. He is isolating Dorothea from Ladislaw because he sees Ladislaw as a potential enemy. In reality, Ladislaw is a foil for Mr. Casaubon. Ladislaw is young, intelligent, and understands new ideas and concepts. Mr. Casaubon is bogged down with age, and while he is intelligent, he is facing the knowledge that his research may be obsolete before he even sets pen to paper for an academic work. Ladislaw listens to Dorothea and treats her like her words have value—something Dorothea does not find in her husband. Ladislaw is everything Mr. Casaubon wishes he was or could be again. This is a problem that will only grow and it betrays Mr. Casaubon as a frightened old man, scared of losing Dorothea—his nurse, secretary, and maid. The cracks in this character are deepened considerably in this book, though the faults are, on the whole, pitiable.

Ladislaw does not escape unharmed. He specifically stays in Middlemarch for Dorothea. He wants to save her from her folly in marrying Mr. Casaubon, and therefor interjects himself into her society with much gusto. However, his actions put a tremendous pressure on the Casaubon’s marriage. It is undeniably selfish for Ladislaw to ignore his uncle (and benefactor) so completely for such selfish reasons. In the end, it will be Dorothea who will suffer the wrath of Mr. Casaubon, and she will not even understand why he will be angry with her. It is Ladislaw’s youthful belief in his ability to right wrongs and be a savior that show him to be misguided and selfish.

And then there is Fred. I really hate Fred. His behavior is constantly pardoned by everyone—his parents, the Garths, and Middlemarch society in general.   Even Mrs. Garth finds herself “ready to think well of him again when he gives [her] good reason to do so” though it was merely a quirk of fate that kept the Garths from feeling the unfriendly effects of the loss of the money for Fred’s debts. Fred send the vicar as “an envoy” to tell the Garths that “he is going away, and that he his miserable about the debt…, and his inability to pay, that he can’t bear to come himself even to bid [them] good by”.  Fred cannot bring himself to apologize or inform the garths himself that he is leaving. Sending an envoy highlights his cowardly nature and is inexcusable. Fred leaves knowing that he will be leaving behind a family is tight financial straits and a damaged future. I feel like he will see the good fortune of Mr. Garth’s new position as fate intervening on his own behalf and settling his debts, rather than remaining in the debt of the Garths. Fred has no right to be relieved because he seriously messed up. He is fundamentally a coward who relies on fate to bolster him. He feels entitled to a good life. I hope he grows up, but I am not holding out much hope.

Interpersonal relations remain a struggle for the people in Middlemarch. They are becoming real people rather than characters—they have disappointments, good characteristics, bad habits, health problems, and struggle with money. I hope they also have the capacity to grow.

-Valerie Harrison