Simran kaur’s Reviews > Middlemarch > Status Update

LOL relatable. Okay, my thoughts: the narrator here is laying out the contours of Dorothea's character, stressing that Dorothea is very beautiful, but also a formidable intellect—as well as a very upright, very devoted, if somewhat strict, Christian. In detailing their appearance, the narrator describes the Brooke sisters’ "plain dressing," which I think the narrator believes bears explication because, it's been established that the Brooke sisters are both beautiful and, while not rich, certainly not poor, so, Eliot's contemporary readers would be forgiven for expecting these young women to incline toward showy clothing (what the narrator tells us the Brooke sisters, in fact, view as "frippery," i.e., trivial, useless ornament). The narrator goes on to describe their "well-bred economy," meaning they don't waste money on clothes, and describes "such reasons" as "enough  to account for plain dress, quite apart from religious feeling . . .”. 

(Relevant side note in case you don't know: Miss Brooke will always refer to Dorothea, and never to Celia. In this era, only the eldest daughter would be referred to as Miss [Surname]; younger daughters would be referred to by their first names, or first and last—so, Dorothea is Miss Brooke, and Celia is Miss Celia Brooke, or maybe by more intimate acquaintances, Miss Celia.)

Okay, so, Miss Brooke (i.e., Dorothea) has an additional reason beyond the reasons of economy, "the pride of being ladies," and a distaste for "frippery"—and it is religion. With Dorothea, in fact, all the previously listed reasons pale in comparison to "religious feeling," which, for her, "alone would have determined it." The narrator tells us “Celia mildly acquiesced in all her sister's sentiments, only infusing them with that common-sense which is able to accept momentous doctrines without any eccentric agitation." That is to say, Celia is Christian, yes, but... she's a lot less intense about it than is Dorothea. The narrator quantifies, so to speak, Dorothea's intensity of religious feeling—while also illustrating her intellectual bent—by telling us "Dorothea knew many passages of Pascal's Pensées and of Jeremy Taylor by heart; and to her the destinies of mankind, seen by the light of Christianity, made the solicitudes of feminine fashion appear an occupation for Bedlam." My edition (the Norton Critical edition, which I highly recommend for any and all classics, if you can get your hands on them, because of their extremely helpful footnotes) explains that Pascal was a French mathematician and philosopher, and Taylor was an English prelate and theological writer. This is important because it proves out that Dorothea is the real deal: she is a capital-T Thinker; she is, hashtag, not like other (Regency era) girls. We are meant to understand that she is educated and that she reads and thinks as an avocation: This is intrinsic to who she is. As to the question at hand, we are to understand that Dorothea's Christian values lead her to believe that "solicitudes of," (i.e., care and concern for, investment in), "feminine fashion" are "an occupation for for Bedlam," (i.e. insane; Bedlam refers to Bethlem Royal Hospital, notorious in London as a massive and chaotic insane asylum). 

And, finally, the problematic sentence follows: "She could not reconcile the anxieties of a spiritual life involving eternal consequences, with a keen interest in guimp and artificial protrusions of drapery." Guimp (or gimp) is a woolen or silken braided trim that was often used as embellishment on Regency era dresses (i.e., it is "frippery"). "Artificial protrusions of drapery" refers to that era's bustles, petticoats, and other padding and cloth material used to enhance the shape of women's dress (more “frippery”). So, in light of Dorothea's well read and highly considered understanding of the Christian's duties on earth—and the value she places on the Christian's eternal life hereafter—she cannot understand why women would care about something so frivolous (if not borderline un-Christian) as fashion. Dorothea is operating on another level, drapery be damned.

Oh THANKYOU JACOB! I understand it clearly now. That's very kind of you! Are you a lit grad by any chance? Because that was some impressive analysis.
I am enjoying Middlemarch soo much!

LOL yes you perceive me accurately 😂 I did get an undergraduate degree in English literature (and another in gender studies). I had hoped to go on to grad school to study Virginia Woolf, and then to teach literature at the college level! Alas, and to my great misfortune, I did not go to grad school. Youthful mistakes and distractions. Money. Etcetera. I hope maybe one day I'll get to go back! And in the meantime I just read every book I pick up as if it were for a graduate class haha.

And I genuinely enjoy this kind of analysis and explication and the like, so if you post any more passages or lines that confuse or otherwise elude you, I will do my best to elucidate them, if it's helpful to you. Glad you are enjoying it! Middlemarch is a real journey 😂

Ahhh that sounds fascinating! I really hope you can go back to grad school someday. I will definitely keep posting my confusing middlemarch passages then haha. And I am really glad I found someone who enjoys explaining this stuff!

Thank you, fingers crossed! Luckily, of all subjects, literature is one you really can learn a great deal about outside of the classroom.

Do keep posting; I'll enjoy following your progress! 🤓