Book 2

It is only Book Two and I am already feeling a little overwhelmed by the number of characters and new developments in the story.  I think my way of coping with this overload was to latch onto one character I found interesting (similar to what I did in Book One), and I think this character is a lot like my favorite from Book One.  What can I say… I’m in the social sciences – I love people!

Tertius Lydgate is certainly a man with a story.  He is the orphaned child of a man who served in the military and he is fascinated with medicine.  Lydgate, like Mrs. Cadwallader, chose to follow his passion despite the feelings of his wealthy family, who do not agree with his desire to become a medical doctor/ research scientist.  Tertius Lydgate goes to Middlemarch to practice medicine and to do his work of discovering an anatomical tissue.

Things go swimmingly for Lydgate at first.  His practice is successful and he is able to open a second hospital.  His reputation as both a good man and a good doctor do Mr. Lydgate well.  His dreams are coming true and his life is pretty great.

In similar fashion to Mrs. Cadwallader, when Lydgate falls in love with and marries Miss Rosamond Vincy, he is following his heart.  Unfortunately for him, Rosamond is a woman with high class aspirations.  She marries Lydgate because he comes from an upper class family and she believes he can provide her with the lifestyle she dreams of.  I do not believe Rosamond to be villainous, but I do think she is a little bit idealistic, almost selfish.  Lydgate finds himself in an increasingly large sum of debt due to Rosamond’s expensive taste.  He is still a good man and a good doctor, but his dreams appear to be slipping as quickly as his finances.

Kailey Murphy, Hollins ‘16