Middlemarch · Chapter
Chapter XXVII explained
Lydgate and Rosamond's flirtation deepens as Lydgate dismisses the literary tastes of his rival, Ned Plymdale, and Rosamond delights in the jealousy she provokes.
What happens
Lydgate and Rosamond's flirtation deepens as Lydgate dismisses the literary tastes of his rival, Ned Plymdale, and Rosamond delights in the jealousy she provokes. Lydgate remains absorbed in his medical work and the growing feud with other doctors, while Rosamond begins to see their relationship as an assured engagement.
Themes in this chapter
Ambition and Frustration
Lydgate's ambition in medicine and his rivalry with other doctors contrasts with the social frustrations of provincial flirtation.
Gender Roles and Women's Agency
Rosamond uses her beauty and accomplishments to secure a desirable match, while Lydgate underestimates her active role in shaping their relationship.
Characters to notice
- Tertius Lydgate
Flirts with Rosamond, dismisses the Keepsake as silly, and remains focused on his medical work and rivalry with other doctors.
- Rosamond Vincy
Enjoys Lydgate's attention and the jealousy it provokes in Ned Plymdale; inwardly considers herself as good as engaged to Lydgate.
- Ned Plymdale
A rival suitor who brings the Keepsake to impress Rosamond, but is humiliated by Lydgate's scorn.
- Fred Vincy
Mentioned as recovering slowly; Lydgate recommends he go to Stone Court.
- Sir James Chettam
His servant summons Lydgate to attend a patient at Lowick Manor, a sign of Lydgate's growing practice.
Key passages
“To Rosamond it seemed as if she and Lydgate were as good as engaged. That they were some time to be engaged had long been an idea in her mind; and ideas, we know, tend to a more solid kind of existence, the necessary materials being at hand.”
Rosamond already considers herself practically engaged to Lydgate, and her persistent thoughts are shaping that reality.
Highlights Rosamond's determination and the power of her imagination in advancing the relationship.
“If a man could not love and be wise, surely he could flirt and be wise at the same time?”
Lydgate believes he can engage in light flirtation without compromising his serious intellectual pursuits.
Reflects Lydgate's self-deception about the depth of his involvement with Rosamond.