Middlemarch

Wrench’s Resentment

Wrench subsequently declined further involvement with the case, refusing to submit to what he perceived as professional humiliation. He harbored the expectation that Lydgate would eventually fail himself, particularly regarding Lydgate’s controversial stance against drug-selling among practitioners. Wrench dismissed Lydgate’s methods as “flightly, foreign notions” and his cures as cant promoted by credulous people.

Town Gossip

The situation became the subject of widespread Middlemarch conversation. Some townspeople condemned the Vincys for their behavior toward Wrench, while others praised Lydgate’s providential intervention and skill with fevers. Mrs. Taft, a knitting enthusiast who gathered information haphazardly, propagated particular rumors about the connection between Lydgate and Bulstrode.

The Bulstrode Rumor

Mrs. Taft had developed a theory that Lydgate was actually Bulstrode’s natural son, a notion that seemed to confirm her suspicions about evangelical laymen. This rumor circulated alongside beliefs that Lydgate’s arrival in Middlemarch had been orchestrated by Bulstrode himself.

Mrs. Farebrother’s Clarification

When Mrs. Taft shared her theory with Mrs. Farebrother, the latter promptly reported it to her son Camden. Mr. Farebrother laughed explosively at the absurdity, asserting that Lydgate came from a good Northern family and had never heard of Bulstrode before arriving in town. Mrs. Farebrother accepted this clarification regarding Lydgate but suggested the rumor about Bulstrode might apply to some other son.

CHAPITRE XXVII.

During Fred Vincy’s illness, his mother abandons her usual bright appearance and spends her days in anguished devotion beside his bed, while Lydgate becomes a frequent visitor whose gentle manner with the family and professional skill gradually transforms her grief into relief. Rosamond, left much alone as her mother tends Fred, develops an intimate understanding with Lydgate based on mutual shyness that slowly evolves into conscious flirtation, each encounter laden with meaningful glances that neither can easily dismiss. The narrator presents a philosophical parable comparing our egoism to a candle whose light creates the flattering illusion that events arrange themselves around us, suggesting Rosamond sees her own Providence in Lydgate’s presence while Lydgate believes he remains wisely unengaged. Lydgate frequents the Vincy household during this period, enjoying Rosamond’s beauty and accomplishments while dismissing the provincial taste exemplified by the Keepsake magazine, and he relishes displacing rival suitors like Ned Plymdale who represents the conventional Middlemarch gentleman. Rosamond, whose thoughts constantly occupy house-furniture and social position, regards Lydgate as nearly perfect and believes their intimacy signals a future engagement, though Lydgate’s resolutions against marriage gradually weaken under the pressure of circumstance and her watchful blue eyes. The chapter closes with Lydgate’s professional reputation expanding as he is called to attend important houses like Lowick Manor, signaling his growing influence in the district despite the medical feuds his success has provoked.

The Pier-Glass Parable

The chapter opens with an extended metaphor comparing a pier-glass’s scratched surface to life’s random events, which only gain apparent meaning through the “candle” of personal egoism. The text applies this parable specifically to Rosamond Vincy, who perceives the circumstances of Fred’s illness and Mr. Wrench’s mistake as divine arrangements designed to bring her into proximity with Lydgate. Rosamond refuses to leave her parents’ home during Fred’s illness, staying at Mr. Vincy’s despite their wishes for her to go elsewhere—particularly because Lydgate deemed the precaution unnecessary. This self-serving interpretation of providence reveals her characteristic tendency to arrange circumstances around her own desires.

Mrs. Vincy’s Distress

Mrs. Vincy’s distress during Fred’s illness becomes overwhelming, dimming her usual brightness and rendering her unconscious of her appearance. Her initial outburst against Mr. Wrench gives way to quiet desperation as Fred’s delirium seems to pull him beyond her reach. She clings to Lydgate, pleading for him to save her boy and reminding him of Fred’s goodness to her. The chapter emphasizes the deep maternal fibres stirred by this crisis, noting how Lydgate’s gentle manner with her connects her to her earliest maternal love. Lydgate responds with reassurance, carefully leading her to tea or broth and working with Rosamond to care for her, creating an understanding between doctor and daughter-in-waiting that extends through the illness.