Middlemarch · Chapter
XVII explained
Lydgate visits the Reverend Camden Farebrother at his home, meeting his mother, sister, and aunt.
What happens
Lydgate visits the Reverend Camden Farebrother at his home, meeting his mother, sister, and aunt. The conversation reveals Farebrother's intellectual hobbies, his strained relationship with Bulstrode over the hospital chaplaincy, and his frankness about his own shortcomings. Lydgate learns of the local political and religious factions, and Farebrother warns him that supporting Bulstrode may make enemies.
Themes in this chapter
Ambition and Frustration
Lydgate's single-minded focus on medical progress contrasts with Farebrother's compromised career as a clergyman who finds solace in entomology.
Social Class and Provincial Life
The parsonage's faded gentility and the intricate social networks of Middlemarch are highlighted through Farebrother's family and his rivalry with Bulstrode.
Selfishness and Moral Compromise
Farebrother's frank admission of his own weaknesses and his pragmatic acceptance of Bulstrode's hospital project illustrate moral compromise in pursuit of practical good.
Characters to notice
- Tertius Lydgate
Visits Farebrother at the parsonage; discusses his medical ambitions and his indifference to religious factions, valuing Bulstrode's practical support for the hospital.
- Camden Farebrother
Hosts Lydgate; reveals his passion for natural history, his awareness of being a 'makeshift' clergyman, and his opposition to Bulstrode's clique while acknowledging Bulstrode's usefulness.
- Mrs. Farebrother
The Vicar's mother, a lively and opinionated old lady who dominates conversation, disapproves of metaphysics, and insists on plain truths and proper upbringing.
- Henrietta Noble
Mrs. Farebrother's sister, a tiny, meek old lady who secretly saves sugar and small food items for the poor children she visits.
- Miss Winifred Farebrother
The Vicar's elder sister, well-looking but subdued, who attends to her mother's wants during the visit.
- Nicholas Bulstrode
Mentioned as Farebrother's opponent in the hospital chaplaincy dispute; Lydgate considers him a useful ally for his hospital plans despite religious differences.
Key passages
“The clerkly person smiled and said Promise was a pretty maid, But being poor she died unwed.”
The epigraph suggests that good intentions or potential (personified as 'Promise') often come to nothing when lacking material support.
Sets a tone of unfulfilled potential, echoing Farebrother's situation.
“One must be poor to know the luxury of giving!”
Only those who have little truly appreciate the joy of giving to others.
Reflects Miss Noble's secret charity and the theme of generosity despite poverty.
“I look for the man who will bring the arsenic, and don't mind about his incantations.”
Lydgate cares only about practical results (the arsenic), not the religious or ideological trappings (incantations) of the person who provides them.
Illustrates Lydgate's utilitarian approach to allying with Bulstrode.