DeepSummary
The episode begins with a commercial for Mint Mobile featuring actor Ryan Reynolds. David Runciman then introduces the topic of the episode, which is George Eliot's novel Middlemarch, published in 1872. He discusses the significance of the novel being set in the period of 1829-1832, around 40 years before its publication, a period that marked the beginning of major changes in England like the coming of railways, understanding of cholera, and loss of religious faith.
Runciman analyzes how the provincial setting of the novel allows Eliot to explore broader themes like the relationship between morality and power through the lens of individual human relationships and personal struggles. He focuses on the character of Dorothea Brooke, a young woman who makes the catastrophic decision to marry the miserable scholar Reverend Edward Casaubon in the hopes of finding grander purpose.
Runciman argues that contrary to Nietzsche's criticism of Eliot as simply reinforcing Christian morality, Middlemarch in fact presents a Nietzschean exploration of the human will to power, even in acts of self-negation like Dorothea's marriage to the embodiment of nothingness that is Casaubon.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Middlemarch, though set in a provincial English town in 1829-1832, explores grand philosophical themes about morality, power, religion, and the human will.
- The disastrous marriage between Dorothea Brooke and Edward Casaubon represents a microcosm of the struggle between moral idealism and the will to power.
- George Eliot presents a deeply Nietzschean perspective in Middlemarch, contrary to Nietzsche's own dismissal of the novel as moralistic.
- The 40-year gap between the novel's setting and publication allows Eliot to explore historical shifts like the coming of railways, scientific understanding of disease, and loss of religious faith.
- Middlemarch contains multiple interweaving plots and stories beyond just the central marriage tale, suggesting a philosophically rich narrative tapestry.
- Runciman argues the novel transcends its provincial English setting to grapple with universal human questions about meaning, truth, and the tension between morality and power.
- Eliot's genius lies in bringing grand philosophical perspectives alive through finely rendered personal stories and character psychologies.
- The episode presents Middlemarch as a Great Political Fiction exploring the political realities emerging in Victorian England against the backdrop of individual narratives.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “She says, because she believes in the glory of his intellectual project and she wants to serve him. She actually sees her marriage as a form of service, not of penance, but of service, because she thinks that he has a great vision.“ by David Runciman
- “And Ladislaw, who's not much of a scholar, but he's a well informed man of the world, young man of the world, who knows his own mind, says to her, don't you even realize that this project isn't going to work because he can't read German. He actually hasn't read the Germans who are doing this for real.“ by David Runciman
- “Dorothea and Casaubon are only two of the characters in this book. There are many, many others, many other plots, many other stories, and one other truly terrible marriage.“ by David Runciman
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Episode Information
Past Present Future
Ben Walker
5/23/24
Our series on the great political novels and plays resumes with George Eliot’s Middlemarch (1872), which has so much going on that it needs two episodes to unpack it. In this episode David discusses the significance of the book being set in 1829-32 and the reasons why Nietzsche was so wrong to characterise it as a moralistic tale. Plus he explains why a book about personal relationships is also a deeply political novel.
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Next time: Middlemarch (part 2) on marriage, hypocrisy, guilt and redemption.
Coming soon on the Great Political Fictions: Phineas Redux, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Time Machine, Mother Courage and her Children, and much more.
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