The Way We Live Now · Chapter
Miss Longestaffe's Lover explained
Georgiana Longestaffe, having accepted a marriage proposal from the Jewish financier Mr.
What happens
Georgiana Longestaffe, having accepted a marriage proposal from the Jewish financier Mr. Brehgert, struggles with how to inform her family and navigate society's prejudices. She discusses the matter with Lady Monogram, who is reluctant to receive Brehgert socially, revealing the shifting but still rigid social lines of London society. Georgiana reflects on her declining marital prospects and resolves to marry Brehgert for wealth and a London life, despite her parents' likely horror.
Themes in this chapter
Marriage as Financial Transaction
Georgiana's engagement to Brehgert is explicitly a bargain for wealth and a London life, mirroring the ticket negotiation with Lady Monogram.
Social Mobility and Class
Georgiana's declining marital prospects and her willingness to marry a Jewish financier illustrate the shifting class and religious boundaries.
Deception and Hypocrisy
Georgiana hides her engagement from her family and plans to pass Brehgert off as Christian, while Lady Monogram uses social excuses to avoid him.
Gender and Power
Georgiana's limited agency forces her to rely on marriage for security; she negotiates with Lady Monogram from a position of weakness.
Characters to notice
- Georgiana Longestaffe
Has accepted Mr. Brehgert's proposal but fears telling her parents; bargains with Lady Monogram over Melmotte tickets and social support.
- Ezekiel Brehgert
A wealthy Jewish widower and partner in Todd, Brehgert, and Goldsheiner; has proposed to Georgiana and been accepted.
- Lady Monogram
Reluctant to introduce Mr. Brehgert socially; bargains with Georgiana over Melmotte tickets and chaperonage.
- Augustus Melmotte
His grand reception tickets are a hot commodity; the Melmottes approve of Georgiana's engagement to Brehgert.
- Adolphus Longestaffe
Georgiana's father, a conservative who opposed Jewish emancipation and would be horrified by her engagement.
- Lady Pomona Longestaffe
Georgiana's mother, old-fashioned and prejudiced against Jews; Georgiana fears telling her.
- Sir Damask Monogram
Lady Monogram uses his supposed social standards as a reason not to receive Brehgert.
- Dolly Longestaffe
Georgiana's brother; she worries about her future when he inherits everything.
Key passages
“The man was absolutely a Jew;—not a Jew that had been, as to whom there might possibly be a doubt whether he or his father or his grandfather had been the last Jew of the family; but a Jew that was.”
Mr. Brehgert was unmistakably Jewish, not a converted or distant descendant, but a practicing Jew.
Highlights the social prejudice Georgiana must overcome.
“She had now been ten years at the work, and was aware that she had always flown a little too high for her mark at the time.”
After a decade of seeking a husband, Georgiana realizes she has consistently aimed above her social station.
Reflects her pragmatic acceptance of a less glamorous match.
“On three things she was still determined—that she would not be poor, that she would not be banished from London, and that she would not be an old maid.”
Georgiana's non-negotiable conditions for marriage: financial security, urban life, and avoiding spinsterhood.
Drives her decision to accept Brehgert.
