Middlemarch

Will’s Eccentricities and Friendships

Will’s Eccentricities and Friendships Will’s fondness for small children, his habit of stretching out at full length on rugs in friendly houses, and his social mix of attachments all become talking points in Middlemarch. In families aligned with Reform, his articles and speeches recommend him, though Bulstrode’s household finds his casual talk about Catholic countries unsound. He is a favorite at Mr. Farebrother’s, especially with little Miss Noble, whom he escorts about town in a manner that amuses the ladies.

A Visit to the Lydgates

A Visit to the Lydgates The house Will visits most often, and where he most freely sprawls on the rug, is Lydgate’s. Though the two men are unlike, they agree well, and Will, while sometimes wayward and uncomplimentary with Rosamond, becomes necessary to her entertainment through his music, varied talk, and freedom from Lydgate’s grave preoccupation. On an evening in March, Rosamond in her cherry-colored dress serves tea while Lydgate, tired from outdoor work, reads the “Pioneer” and the house spaniel eyes the rug-usurper with silent objection.

Lydgate and Will Debate Reform

Lydgate and Will Debate Reform Lydgate, skeptical of the public’s superstitious faith in “the bill” and contemptuous of Brooke as a public man controlled by Bulstrode, attacks Will for treating Reform as a universal cure and for supporting any man who carries it, even “voting popinjays.” Will counters that reform must begin somewhere and that the only trustworthy conscience is the mass sense of wrong in a class. Pressed on whether he would work only with immaculate men, Lydgate concedes the point is checkmated, allowing that, whatever the worst opinion of Bulstrode, his effectiveness for the medical reforms Lydgate cares about is the only ground on which he goes with him.

CHAPTER XLVI.

Chapter XLVI presents a tense domestic evening in which an intellectual dispute between Will Ladislaw and Tertius Lydgate over motives, independence, and political alliances is interrupted by Rosamond, and afterward Lydgate privately conceals a financial worry from his pregnant wife.

Ladislaw and Lydgate Dispute Over Collaborative Motives and Personal Independence

Ladislaw takes offense at Lydgate’s implication that he might support Mr. Brooke on personal grounds, turning sharply and insisting on his own independence. Lydgate clarifies that he was only describing his own principle of working with equivocal allies provided one retains personal independence and is not pursuing place or money. Ladislaw pushes back, arguing that Lydgate has no more reason to suspect him of expectations from Brooke than he has to suspect Lydgate of expectations from Bulstrode, and asserts that motives are matters of honor that cannot be proved. Lydgate, surprised and realizing he has annoyed Ladislaw unintentionally, apologizes and attributes to him a romantic disregard for worldly interests, clarifying that his earlier reference concerned only intellectual bias.

Rosamond Intervenes to End the Men’s Quarrel Over Politics and Medicine

Rosamond breaks into the men’s quarrel, declaring both of them unpleasant and professing inability to understand why money had to enter the conversation at all. She remarks that Politics and Medicine are disagreeable enough topics to quarrel upon without that addition. Maintaining a mildly neutral air, she rises to ring the bell and then crosses to her work-table. Lydgate affectionately calls her “Poor Rosy,” suggests she and Ladislaw have some music together, and the dispute is thus set aside as Will departs.

Lydgate Conceals Financial Stress Over Unpaid Furniture Bill from Pregnant Rosamond

After Ladislaw has gone, Rosamond questions Lydgate about what put him out of temper that evening. Lydgate initially blames Ladislaw, comparing him to a bit of tinder, but Rosamond presses him, noting that he had looked cross even before Will arrived and that his demeanor had hurt her. Lydgate, penitent and caressing, concedes that he must have been a brute. When she asks what vexed him, he vaguely answers “outdoor things—business,” withholding the truth that the matter was a letter insisting on payment of a furniture bill. He keeps the financial stress hidden because Rosamond is expecting a baby and he wishes to spare her any perturbation.