Middlemarch

CHAPTER LX.

Chapter LX opens with an epigraph from Justice Shallow and centers on Edwin Larcher’s public auction at the end of August, a social event that draws nearly everyone of consequence in Middlemarch. The sale serves as the backdrop for Mr. Bulstrode’s request that Will Ladislaw appraise a painting for Mrs. Bulstrode, an errand that forces Will to confront his deferred departure and his defiant self-image before the town’s eyes. The auction proceeds through furniture, curios, and prints, climaxing in the bidding for a “Supper at Emmaus” attributed to Guido, which Will secures. As Will exits for a drink of water, he is accosted by a florid stranger, Mr. Raffles, who opens by asking the name of Will’s mother.

Justice Shallow Epigraph

The chapter is prefaced by the epigraph: “Good phrases are surely, and ever were, very commendable,” attributed to Justice Shallow.

Edwin Larcher’s Auction Announcement

A few days later, at the end of August, Middlemarch is stirred by the announcement of a sale conducted under the auspices of Mr. Borthrop Trumbull, disposing of the furniture, books, and pictures of Edwin Larcher. Unlike sales that signal depressed trade, this one celebrates Larcher’s prosperity in the carrying business, which has enabled him to purchase a Riverston mansion already furnished by a Spa physician. The handbills highlight pieces such as hall furniture with carving by a contemporary of Gibbons, offering purchasers a fine opportunity.

Middlemarch Auctions as Social Festivals

In Middlemarch of this period, a large sale is treated as a festival, complete with cold eatables and cheerful drinking to encourage bidding on otherwise unremarkable articles. Mr. Larcher’s sale is especially appealing because the house lies on the London Road near the New Hospital and Mr. Bulstrode’s residence, the Shrubs, drawing all classes with leisure. Some bidders raise prices for sport, and on the second day “everybody” attends, including Mr. Thesiger, Mr. Bambridge, and Mr. Horrock. Middlemarch ladies sit around the dining-room table while Trumbull presides, and a varied crowd of masculine faces moves between door and bow-window.

Bulstrode Requests Will Ladislaw’s Art Appraisal

Mr. Bulstrode is absent, his health unsuited to crowds and draughts, but Mrs. Bulstrode covets a “Supper at Emmaus” catalogued as by Guido. At the last moment, Bulstrode calls at the “Pioneer” office, of which he is a proprietor, to ask Will Ladislaw, as a favor, to use his knowledge of pictures to judge this painting—adding the polite proviso that attendance at the sale should not interfere with Will’s imminent departure.

Will Ladislaw’s Conflict Over Leaving Middlemarch

The proviso about Will’s imminent departure refers to an arrangement made weeks earlier with the paper’s proprietors allowing him to hand over management to his trained subeditor whenever he pleased, since Will wishes finally to quit Middlemarch. Yet indefinite ambitions weaken against habitual ease, and Will secretly wishes his resolve might prove unnecessary; he lingers, telling himself there is no point going to London out of season when the Rugby men who would remember him are absent. When Bulstrode speaks to him, Will is torn between a strengthened resolve to go and an equally strong desire to see Dorothea once more, so he agrees to attend the sale.

Will’s Defiant Mood at the Larcher Auction

At the sale Will wears a defiant look, stung by the suspicion that onlookers regard him as a schemer whose designs on property have been frustrated. Like others who assert their unconventionality, he is quick to quarrel with anyone hinting that personal reasons lie behind his opinions. Under this irritating impression he goes about for days with a defiant air, the color shifting in his transparent skin as if he were on the qui vive. The expression is especially noticeable at the auction, where, having previously been seen only in moods of gentle oddity or bright enjoyment, he now stands conspicuously near the auctioneer, hands in pockets and head thrown back, declining conversation despite Trumbull’s cordial welcome of him as a connoisseur.