Recent Criticisms of Middlemarch

Summary: 
   I looked at two pieces if criticism about Middlemarch--Women, Energy, and Middlemarch written by Lee R. Edwards and Middlemarch as a Religious Novel, or Life Without God written by T.R. Wright. 
   Edwards' (1972) writing was very interesting because she looks very deeply into the way that Eliot writes the character of Dorothea. She calls Middlemarch, "a novel about imaginative energy". Meaning that Eliot wrote about "a mental power to envision a self and a society as yet unformed in the given world" (623). Edwards begins her criticism by talking about how the novel has this energy that is concerned with society and how she believes that Eliot wrote this novel as a reflection, or an ideal rather, of her own life and time in society that could not yet be achieved (in other words she would like to see society in the context that she writes of in the book). Edwards tells about how the book "became a book of her life" (624) because she could see herself in Dorothea. She later changes that idea and explains that she can no longer see it as a book of her life because it causes her to be "angered, puzzled, and finally depressed (630). She feels this way because of what Eliot chose NOT to do, rather than what she did do--thus, driving her to this opinion. 
   Wright's criticism on the other hand was less criticizing and more explanatory of his own portrayal of Eliot's writing. He theorizes that it was indeed a religious text, but without the religious language or context. He observes that Middlemarch, "never for a moment suggests that God might exist", but that it is a religious novel in the sense that, "it is concerned with religious need, the desire to find unity, meaning and purpose in life, in a world in which God (641-642). He continues his criticism by supporting, analyzing and giving credible reasons why and how Eliot wrote this novel as a religious piece of literature. He also predicts (believes) that the Christian undertones and beliefs of the book strongly reflect how Eliot may have felt in her own religious light (because she, herself, had lost her faith in God). So Wright, like Edwards, thinks that Eliot was showcasing or displaying her own ideals of how she hoped real life could be through her writings of Middlemarch. 

Analysis: 
I found both of these criticisms very intriguing, however I have to say that I found Wright's take on this novel much more insightful. He really supported his thoughts and found ample amounts of textual evidence to help persuade his thoughts about believing Middlemarch to be a religious text. He gave a sales pitch, supported it, and now I can completely see how he views Eliot's writing in this fashion. Edwards thoughts were interesting as well, but she seemed a bit wishy-washy about her overall thoughts on the book. She begins by saying she likes it and how it reflects her own life and then changes her mind by the end. I do agree with her portrayal of the characters. She talks about how each character is different, but that Eliot writes them each in a way that makes you have to HAVE some kind of emotional reaction towards. For instance, Edwards writes about how Rosamond is the character that, " is a heroine worthy of her hate" (624), which was probably the feeling of most of Eliot's readers--but she intended it this way. I didn't disagree to any psychotic level from either of these critics, in fact, I thoroughly enjoyed reading their thoughts and agreed with the majority of their opinions (especially Wright's, like I said, because that is a really interesting take on this novel that I had not considered before)!