Middlemarch Lesson Plan

Who is to blame for the difficulties in the Lydgates' marriage? Who do you have the most sympathy for?

Be sure students dig deep into answering this question. It's too easy to say Rosamond is empty-headed and it's her fault that their money problems continue. She, too, attempts to fix their problems by writing to her father and to Lydgate's family. Suppose Rosamond had managed to secure a loan for Lydgate instead of selling their house and furniture--would that have been a better solution? Lydgate is often too proud to ask others for help, and that resistance to asking is why Rosamond pursues her own course. Sympathy for Lydgate might be more easily afforded by the text,...