Gender Issuea in Middlemarch

                                

Name: Joshi Deepti M

Paper: Victorian Literature

Topic: Gender Issues In Middlemarch

Submitted to: Department of English, M.K University,Bhavanagar

 

                                       Gender Issues in Middlemarch

George Eliot’s novel “Middlemarch” is widely hailed not only as one of the greatest novel of the Victorian Age but also one of the great novels ever written. As the novel is written by the woman, reader sees everything form women’s point of views. In this novel we see how women were overpowered by the men in 19^th century. And as novel is more about woman, it has been mainly studied from feminist perspective and novel very much revolving around Gender issues, and there can be no mistake that gender issue is one of the major concerns of the novel.

However the novel centers around two failures-the failure of Dorothea and Dr.Lydgate. Both of these characters are described as ardent throughout the novel and both are involved in the struggle to make the world a batter palace. But they both fail to achieve their high ideals and their lives become stepped in mediocrity. And somewhere gender inequality is also one reason of their failure and it is observed by critics even.

Middlemarch begins with the portrait of a young, innocent and very naive Dorothea Brook who is full of idealism and want to help poor people. But in those days women were not given enough freedom and opportunities for education and other activities to fulfill their dreams and desire. When she met the old Mr. Casaubon she felt that Mr.casaubon can help her to fulfill her aspiration and this idea leads her to marry with Mr.casaubon.  Here we think that Dorothea just used Casaubon to fulfill her aspiration but she actually loved him and we also find that how women have to be dependent on men even for charity work. And this shows Women’s place in society during Victorian time. 

Even some female critics have also criticized Dorothea’s decision to marry with Will Ladislaw as they think that Dorothea could has set an ideal example by living her life single not dependent on men. But they don’t think of her time when marriage was necessary and one hope for women to fulfill their aspiration. And one more thing is that even Eliot want to do same with Dorothea that she has done in her life. Here we find that how society and men empowered women and how marriage is the only option for women to fulfill their aspiration.

However Karan Chase argues that one can find masculinity and feminity in the character of Dorothea and Ladislaw.Ladislaw is described in feminine term while Dorothea is described and compared with the masculine. She is described as comporting herself “very much with the air of handsome boy”. This androgyny is furthered can be found in Dr.Lydgate. Chase explains how “the novel is rethinking sexual identity’ through these two characters:

“Indeed, Dorothea and Lydgate are the two characters in whom the term   “ardour” takes deep not, and in both cases it suggests a form of psychological energy that sublimates sexual energy and that can carry personality beyond the usual restriction of Gender.Dorothea’s ardour takes her beyond the region of feminine domesticity, much as Lydgate’s ardour lets him escape the commonness with blood, furniture and woman”

So the marriage of Dorothea to Ladislaw represents the continuation of gender inequality. On the other side Dorothea and Lydgate symbolize the evolution of the feminine and masculine beyond tradition roles.

One of the most amazing passages of the work comes in chapter 29 when Eliot moves the perspective from Dorothea to Casaubon. Here Casaubon develops a richness of character that fully rounds him out, make us under5stand him, sympathize with him and pity him.

  We think that novel is written by woman so novel Middlemarch depicts gender issues from female perspective but novel depicts from both perspective female and male. The androgyny of the novel and the androgyny of the writer break down the artificial constants of gender difference, and get to the heart of the matter that there is no real difference between men and women; the physical difference is natural and exist but there is no mental difference between men and women. In fact if women are given opportunity to join any field of work than she surely give magnificent response to any work. So this difference of is an evil created by society by the limitation that placed on women. But in Middlemarch true to Eliot’s genderless perspective, she depicts to both woman and man. And the androgyny is a sign of evolution away from these destructive limitations.

Furthermore in novel, the importance of Dorothea’s marriage to Mr.casaubon should not be overlooked in answering Eliot’s feminist detractors.In the opening chapter of novel we see that Dorothea is being courted by Sir James Chettem, but she does not see James as a suitable husband.Dorothea is a serious young woman full of idealism and straggling to find chance to do something best in her life but as a woman she finds difficult to fulfill her aspiration.Dorothea can’t see beyond the gender constrains of her time and that is why she sees being a helpmate to a husband as her only option. And that is why she thinks that her husband should be en older, scholar figure whom she can aid and who can be her teacher. When she meets Mr.casaubon she thinks that he is an ideal man to marry.  But here she is wrong in her decision that what a husband should be and thinking Casaubon meets up to her expectations.

Casaubon can also be read as patriarch because when he comes to know about Dorothea and Will Ladislaw’s relationship, he behaves like patriarch and even when he comes to know that soon he will die because of ill health, he made a property papers and his condition is that If Dorothea marries to Ladislaw than she will not get his property. Here we find that Casaubon is typical man because he could not give his time to her wife but if another man wants to do so he could not accept it.

The gender issue is further illustrated through the marriage of Dr.Lydgate and Rosamond Vincy.Lydgate is also a central character in Middlemarch. Like Dorothea he also wants to do something for society and as doctor he wants to improve the medical practice in England but same happened with him that happened with Dorothea.

Lydgate although keenly aware of the flaws of society in terms of its backward medical practice, is completely unaware of it’s backwardness in terms of social inequalities. Just as the young Dorothea thinks and accepted gender inequalities, Dr.Lydgate have also adopted that idea that wife should merely be a pretty ornament-an ornament with no vocation other than the care of her husband and children. He finds this object in Rosamond and decides to marry with her. But Rosamond does not understand Lydgate’s ardour and passion for his work and mostly admires him for his aristocratic family connection. Here one can not blame only Rosamond somewhere Lydgate’s lack of wisdom is choosing an inappropriate bride, by his false perception of a woman’s place in society makes him equally at fault.

Both marriages were bad matches from the beginning as they were fostered by flawed ideas concerning the relative roles of and women in society. Here both marriages are example of the damaging effects, on both individuals and society of the traditional gender roles. Lyod Fernando Explains:

“The crisis in each marriage consists essentially of the downfall of the man from his self-assumed position of Lord, contributor to the world’s knowledge, and guardian-in a way that goes near the bone….In other words, in both marriages the force of “intellect”, the traditional preserve of the man ,is baffled by grinding female skepticism aroused partly by undervalued potential.”

Like Dorothea and Lydgate, Rosamond is also a target of feminist criticism .And perhaps it i8s true because she is neither intelligent nor ardent like Dorothea.She has completely adopted the idea that woman should be an ornament, an ideal woman. And because of this she is also criticized by feminist criticism. Even Eliot has also commented on Rosamond through Dorothea- 

 

“I used to despite woman a little for nit shaping their lives more and doing better things”

Conclusion:

However, George Eliot’s relationship with gender issues is still problematic. Even when novel was published at that time, it was reason of debates over social, political and philosophical ideas. And it was the one of the issues of that time. During Victorian Era the feminist movements was spreading and by the time Middlemarch was written by George Eliot.