Natalie Kopp, Book VI: The Widow and the Wife

Natalie Kopp

AmeriCorps

Natalie Kopp graduated with a degree in English from St. Olaf College in 2016 and is currently working as a tutor in Columbus, Ohio. She first fell in love with Victorian literature in a bookstore, when picking up a copy of A Tale of Two Cities and reading the dramatic 118-word first sentence about living in a world that is both horrible and wonderful (“It was the best of times…”). Thanks to Jon Varese and his essay competition, Natalie first came to the Dickens Universe in 2012 and has returned four times since.


Discussion

Fatima Saravia

I would like to thank you Professor Ward for your explanation on Bulstrode’s plot and Ms. Kopp for your insights in regards to the Middlemarch novel.

I would like to start off commenting on Ms. Kopp’s commercial about book six. To answer the first question about Dorothea, whether she in book six was the same as the one introduced in the very beginning of the novel, I say no. This is because now she is a widowed female in a Victorian society with so much wealth, that she can do as she pleases with the money she has inherited. This inheritance also gives her the power, one she has not had. Her decision to not remarry is significant because I feel that she fears Casaubon’s prohibitions and codicil. Also, on the question in regards to Rosamund and her miscarriage, it seems to me that it was purposefully done. This has to do with the whole reality of her situation. Her marriage seems to be one of those for the transaction of wealth and money. I say this because when Lydgate revealed the fact that he had no money, tension built up seeming as if Rosamund was disappointed in the fact that she will not inherit anything and did not scold him protecting her reputation and dignity. And because she was enamored with Captain Lydgate, she perhaps felt that maybe this Lydgate can give her what she wants.

Now to Bulstrode’s plot, I feel like this is a major turning point in the book. This is because it is dealing with a seemingly minor character, Will, who becomes a major one as he comes into Dorothea’s life. This turning point is significant because instead of Will choosing the money-his money- he chooses to work hard like a real man. It matters because we can see that Bulstrode was married to Sarah Dunkirk for the interest in her money. And unlike what Will aspires to do, Bulstrode’s money is dirty money.

Nancy Hernandez

First of all, I want to thank Natalie Kopp for this very helpful Book 6 commercial. The connection made between the book’s title “The Widow and the Wife”, is very interesting because Kopp explains how a wealthy widow has more power than a wealthy married women because the widow can spend her money as she pleases unlike the married women that spends it under the supervision of her husband. With naming the book “The Widow and the Wife”, the narrator makes the connection between Rosamond and Dorothea even though they don’t interact with each other as often throughout the book.A question Kopp ask was “Is it the same Dorothea in book 6 as the one in the very first book ?”, I personally believe that it is definitely not the same Dorothea the one we see in book 6 compared to the one we were introduce to in book 1. Dorothea was learned which has made her grow into a more knowledgeable person since her marriage with Casaubon didn’t go the way she has dreamed of because she had misconception of who Casaubon really was. After her husband passes away Dorothea says she will never “remarry” but yet this changes in the future. Another very interesting question made by Kopp was “Did being a married woman change Rosamond as much as it changed Dorothea?” I found this interesting because in this book the marriage between Lydgate and Rosamond isn’t at the best place since she decides to do curent things regarding the money owed without Lydgate’s knowing. This casues problems in the marriage. I would say marriage changed Dorothea more than it changed Rosamond because Miss Brooke was looking to gain knowledage and in a way a father figure. Unlike Rosamond, she was only looking to move up the social ladder by her marriage to Lydgate. This was a very helpful commercial recapping key moments in book 6.

Oswerd Xol

Thank you Natalie Kopp for not only a wonderful overcap of book 6 but also a short but useful video on the Bulstrode plot. I very much agree with you that the title The Widow and the Wife refers to Dorothea and Rosamond and how George Eliot wants us to compare these two characters. These two characters represent the both sides of the expectations to a Victorian wife, Dorothea being a good wife that obeys her husbands and fulfills his needs and on the other hand we have Rosamond who disobeys and has a miscarriage which I very much agree with the idea that her miscarriage is a symbol for her soon to be failed marriage. Also, to answer your question on whether I think Dorothea is the same person who was introduced to us at the beginning of the novel, my answer is no. I think this because as you said she now has Casaubon’s inheritance and has much more power than that of her old self and any other married woman because she can spend her money as she pleases. Dorothea has grown more knowledge since her marriage with Casaubon.

Perla Rizo

First of all , I would like to thank you Professor Ward for this amazing commercial on book 6

The widow and the wife. I agree that the identities of widow and wife have changed and affected Dorothea and Rosaumond. They are the most obvious examples. The Main widow in book six is obviously Dorothea since her husband Casaubon past away in book 6. The question Professor ward asked “Is this the same Dorothea at the beginning of book 6 , as the one is the beginning of the entire book” I will have to say that no ,Dorothea is not the same person she was at the beginning of the book.Dorothea faced a new chapter in her life, she was married at some point and now she is a widow. She makes a bold decision that she will not marry again, and I was suprised to hear wealthy female widow in the victorian period has much more power than a wealthy married women due to fact that the widow can spend the money how she pleases than having a man tell you how you should spend your money.

Rosamund faces challenges as a wife , she even had a miscarriage , but thing have changed between the relationship of these two. I feel like Rosamund had no intention because she didn’t expect something like that to happen but I do feel that she shouldn’t have gone horse riding while she was pregnant.I feel like she wasn’t thinking clearly and was being irresponsible.

Adamaris Maldonado

Thank you to Natalie Kopp for her thoughts on Middlemarch! Dorothea in Book 6 is definitely not the same as Dorothea in the beginning of the book. Her identity as a widow changed her life. The “open, ardent and not in the least self-admiring” woman we first met is not the same as the one who saw Celia’s baby’s “behavior is apt to appear monotonous. And the interest of watching him exhaustible.” Dorothea, interested in life and learning, does not care much for a baby. If it was the Dorothea at the beginning of the book, certainly she would be entertained by her younger sister’s child. However, Rosamund’s change wasn’t as deep as Dorothea. Rosamund has always been selfish and socially ambitious. Her miscarriage was just another example of that fact. With Bulstrodes past, both his current wife and Will ladislaw are affected. When she learns of her husband’s actions, she stays loyal and sticks with him through the shame. On the other hand, Will Ladislaw cannot accept Bulstrode’s dirty money. I believe this is in part of his love for Dorothea. He can never do anything he believes Dorothea will deem unacceptable. Dorothea herself is very moral and she wouldn’t accept dirty money. As you can see, the lives of the widows and wives are deeply affected by their identity and relationships.

Sammyy Suarez

Thank you Ms.Kopp for this great insight of Book 6 ! Going straight to the question about whether Dorothea is the same character as she was in the beginning of the book, I personally believe she is not. I believe that after her not so good marriage with Casaubon, her perspective on marriage has been distorted due to the fact that her expectations weren’t fully reached. I believe that Eliot did this the whole having her sit in the same place before and after to make the comparison between the old and new Dorothea. Something that really caught my attention through this chapter was the comparison between the Rosamond and Dorothea, “The Widow and the Wife” . I believe that this portrays some of the differences between social classes. For Dorothea, getting married was all about a way to be able to increase her knowledge, meanwhile Rosamond’s decision upon marriage was more based on the attempt to move up the social ladder. Here the social issue of women inequality is also presented. Both these female characters aspire to marriage to be able to pursue their wants denied by society. Dorothea wants to enhance her knowledge, keep learning, be able to think beyond what women are expected to think, but she isn’t able to because during this victorian time, higher education was not an option if you weren’t a man. Therefore, she marries Casaubon, in hopes that together they will mentally grow. Likewise, Rosamond, is trying to go up the social ladder, and Lydgate seems to be her best option since she believes he has money. As both these female characters set their expectations on the out take of their marriage, their husbands have a total different expectation. As a result both, Rosamond and Dorothea, are stuck in a marriage that follows none of their expectations.

Gabriel Juarez

Thank you Ms. Kopp for your insight on book six! As Ms. Kopp mentions, book six begins with Dorothea sitting in her childhood home with her sister which also happens to be how the first book begins in the first place. She says that Dorothea’s new identity in book six is a clear parallel with Dorothea in the very first chapter. Ms. Kopp then poses a question: is this Dorothea in book six the same as the one in the beginning of the entire book. I would like to argue that it is; the depressed and frustrated Dorothea – which Casaubon spawned – is now gone because Casaubon’s gone. When Dorothea married Casaubon, Dorothea’s identity changed but now it seems to be coming back and I believe that is why Eliot decided to begin chapter six the same way chapter one began, to show that Dorothea’s identity is back. Eliot also compares Dorothea and Rosamund in this book since Dorothea is a widow and Rosamund is a wife. I believe Eliot does this because she wants us to see that Rosamund is going through challenges as a wife just as Dorothea when she was a wife. It almost seems exactly like Dorothea and Casaubon’s marriage, they were both getting frustrated and grouchy, she even wishes she had never married him. This book definitely compares the differences of a wife and a widow hence its name the widow and the wife.

Liliana Mejia

To begin with I would like to thank Natalie Kopp for her wonderful commercial on book six as well for taking her time to do a little diagram for us. All these commercials really help us understand the text better. I would like to answer her question about Dorothea “If she the same Dorothea from the beginning?” I do not think she the same one from the beginning because now that Mr. Casaubon has died she has more power since she inherited much from Casaubon.

Her marriage didn’t go the way she wanted it to go so with that she already has a perspective on marriage and will not see it the same anymore. I also agree that the widow and the wife in how it represent Dorothea and Rosamond because Dorothea is the main widow. However these two characters are very different from each other Rosamond only thinks about herself and what she wants on the other hand Dorothea is the opposite she has in mind Casaubon last wish and hopes to be able to please it.

Yvette Rodriguez

A big thank you to Natalie Kopp for providing us with this commercial and the quick diagram on Bulstrode! Kopp starts off with the title of Book 6, The Widow and the wife. She connects both the widow and the wife, Dorothea and Rosamond, with marriage roles back in the Victorian times. Marriage was known to be a job for the wifes, she compares it with Dorothea and Cassuabons marriage. When Cassuabon passes, Dorothea is left a wealthy widow, she has more freedom to do anything with the inheritance she got from he dead husband. In the victorian times, being a wealthy widow is better than being a wealthy wife, however I see Dorothea in the middle of those two, although she’s a wealthy widow, she’s still limited and under the “command” of her dead husband, as mentioned in Book 6, his will. Due to Dorothea’s marriage, I believe that Dorothea isn’t the same as she was in the begining of the whole novel. Though they both sat at the same place, Dorothea has lost yet gained a new aspect to her that she didn’t have before. Her marriage wasn’t how she imagined a marriage should be. I agree with Kopp’s analysis that Rosomaond might have purposely had the miscarriage. Since her husband is right now going through financial troubles, she would wants to be the center of attention, due to her materialistic side. Rosomond does not fulfill the Victorian wife, since she couldn’t be able to provide the husband with a baby, and yet she doesn’t fulfill her husbands needs. Rosomond cares more of her reputations than Lydgates, whereas a Victorian wife has to think of the husband before themselves.

Maggie Marroquin

Thank you to Natalie Kopp for sharing your insight on book 6! The title, the widow and the wife, does indeed pose some interesting concepts and connections. I believe that life as widow and former wife has definitely transformed certain aspects in Dorothea’s life. Dorothea is introduced as having a false allusion of marriage and by the end of book six, she comes to realize that marriage is not the way she initially depicted it. We see that being a wife does not have the same effect on Rosamond as it did with Dorothea. Rosamond has always been characterized as an aristocratic, venal woman. She has always conformed and lived up to the standards Victorian wives were expected to. She wants nothing more than a luxurious life and marrying a wealthy man while fulfilling the role of a wife would guarantee that. I don’t think she purposely meant to have a miscarriage but I do however, believe that her selfishness and indifference towards her unborn baby is what lead her to have a miscarriage. To conclude, I completely agree with Natalie that many of the issues that are shown in Middlemarch are extremely relevant to our current society.

Allan Garcia

First I want to start off by thanking Ms.Kopp on her wonderful explanation on book 6.In this book we see how their is two wives where it is Dorothea and Rosamund where Dorothea was a wife who obeyed her husband and wanted to help him in his works but as we read in the book Causabon loved his job more than his wife and with rosamundd disobeying her husband lydgate for example the miscarriage she had not wanting to listen to lydgate of going and as a result she lost her baby.As we know we see that Dorothea becomes a widow because unfortunately Casaubon dies. In conclusion this commercial helped me remember some key events from book 6

Michael Carrillo

First of all, I would like to thank Natalie Kopp for the explanation on book 6 and also the video on Bulstrode’s plot. Chapter six talked about “The widow and the wife”. The widow is wealthier then the wife because the widow can choose to please herself by spending her money on anything she wants to and married women has to share everything with her husband and asking for permission. The question is has it changed Dorothea or Rosamond? I will say yes it has changed Dorothea because after her husband Casaubon died she was dressed in all black showing a meaning to her emotions and being depressed, and not only was she not ever wanting to remarry but It has changed her from having a complete life to losing everything, which was killing her from the inside. Even though we’ve seen Dorothea in so much pain Rosamond has been facing more problems then Dorothea since the beginning of the book. Rosamond and Lydgate were a fairly couple, Rosamond she almost became a mother but she had a miscarriage or foolish accident to lose her child on purpose. I would think it was done on purpose because she never listened to Lydgate. Losing that baby in that time Rosamond can be seeing as a failing to live off to a Victorian idea of a good wife. This passage was just not just personal but it has to do with wealth, also the money and profession where your wealth was attained affected by there partners. For instance Bulstrode as being an honest businessman but his money was gained from an illegal business, his dirty money, which has caused a lot of problems to their relationship, has affected his current wife.

Nayib

I would first like to thank Natalie Kopp for the great book six commercial. I want to take under consideration the idea she mentioned about the wife of Lydgate, Rosamond who puts herself in a risky question situation by horseback riding with another man, who isn’t her husband Lydgate, while she is pregnant with Legate’s child, which leads to her miscarriage. Natalie suggests the idea that maybe she wanted to have a miscarriage. I thought this was very interesting because I had not thought about this particular situation in that sense before. I think it makes perfect sense that Rosamond purposely put her pregnancy at risk. It is obvious that she was aware that going horseback riding was dangerous for her and her child. The only answer is why would she risk her child’s life when knowing that the activity she was going to do was dangerous. I believe the only reasonable answer is that she was aware of of the risk that she was putting both, herself and her child, and she purposely put herself in that situation.

Luis Jimenez

Thank you very much Natalie Kopp for informing us of this huge enlightenment of character change in Middlemarch. In the passage as you have stated the title references the main idea of the books overall theme which involves The widow and the wife. This displays a huge contrast among the town on Middle march as it shows the expectation and callings a wife must surpass in the victorian era. We discuss how Dorothea has changed in her ways of viewing things as Ms. Kopp mentioned how in both book ^ and in the beginning of book 1 we see Dorothea in the front of her childhood home but as the time spand between these moments we notice the change she has as in the beginning she wasted to explore life and understand it and all sort of fantasies while book 6 we notice the change the death of her husband has impacted her turning conservative and depressing. We also take a look on the power differences a married and a widow have in which widows despite there loss have gained full control in there decisions while a married woman still has to abide by the mans rules. Over all book 6 has pointed out the effects of becoming a widow but how it affects the community and the character in general in a victorian setting.

Valary Campos

Thank you Natalie Kopp for an overcap of book 6 of Middlemarch and giving me a better understanding of Mr. Bulstrode. Tying in The Widow and the Wife is a great way on the comparison between Dorothea and Rosamond that George Eliot wants us to understand or see. The reason why the name The Widow and the wife is because Dorothea obeys her husband and fulfills his needs but as for Rosamond she has a miscarriage and disobeys many things in which In my opinion, carrying negativity and not obeying others mainly the people she needs to , kind of shows the type of person she is and by this it can determine how your marriage is going to be if it is going to work out or end up being destroyed but in her case a sign of a miscarriage is negative because that is a lose of something and that can lead to her marriage to be destroyed. Dorothea has Casaubon inheritance with a lot more power next to her but has grown some knowledge after marrying Casaubon.

Ashley Avina

Thank you so much Ms. Natalie Kopp for this lovely Book 6 commercial. I want to address the question asked if Dorothea is the same as she was in the first chapter as she is in book 6. I personally believe she is not similar to who she was before in her sense of experience. Before her idea of marriage was intelligence and a perfect husband for her was an intelligent man who could teach her so much more in life. Now she has learned that marriage isn’t all that it is made to be and her marriage was rushed to the point where she was able to meet the true Casaubon. She has gone through difficult decisions and realizations through this marriage that has allowed her to change her perspective on marriage and Casaubon. I will add that I do agree that Rosamond and Lydgate are interested in themselves in their marriage but also I do agree with the idea that her miscarriage was a symbol of her failing marriage. She did go horseback riding, after Lydgate specifically told her not to, but she went with another man which to me seems as a symbol that she refuses to listen to Lydgate which lead to her miscarriage, and as we all know listening in a relationship is very important.

Natalie Montenegro

Thankyou Natalie Kopp for sharing your thoughts with us. I began to think more about the title The Widow and the Wife and I found it interesting how you mentioned how the Widow has more power as well as wealthier because she gets to spend the money however she wants without having someone else watch her every move. I can also see more clearly how marriage plays out in the Victoria Era. Throughout the book, marriages are constantly being built, re-built, and in some cases destroyed. I found it interesting how you proposed the question if we thought Rosemond had her miscarriage on purpose and that she purposely put herself in danger. In my opinion, I feel it goes both ways. It always seems to me how she always seems uninterested and how it feels like Lydgate’s the only one in the relationship. It makes sense how she would want to have a legitimate excuse to describe her miscarriage when in reality it’s her way of destroying her own marriage. Dorothea is not the same person she is now as how she was in the beginning of the book. She has experienced marriage as well as disappointment in which she’s at a point where she doesn’t know exactly what direction to follow in. Dorothea is the same in the way that she is both in the state of loneliness. We are able to see how Rosamond does not value the things in her life while Dorothea does all the right things but in the ends gets hit with all the bad things.

Angelica Vasquez

Thank you so much Natalie for your very detailed insight on book 6! Natalie makes great points about the title “The Widow and the Wife” of Book 6; explaining that there are actually several widows and wives in book 6 l. Examples are Mrs. Dunkirk and Dorothea as widowers and Mrs. Garth, Mrs. Vincy, Rosamond and potentially Mary as wives. In this society, the widowers have more power than the wives because they can do with their money and take actions as they please while a wise still depends on her husband and his actions. Throughout the novel we see marriage being one of the many concepts that keeps repeating itself over and over again; we have Mrs. Garth and Mr. Garth who have the healthiest marriage and then we have Rosamund and Lydgate marriage which is probably the worst marriage in the novel. Rosamund doesn’t even portray the “ideal” woman in Middlemarch, and Natalie mentions that there are different interpretations about Rosamund’s miscarriage; one being whether she lost her baby on purpose. Natalie questions us if we think it’s in Rosamund’s character to actually “plan” her miscarriage by defying her husband’s request of not going horseback riding and I personally think that it is within her character, she would be capable of such things because throughout the novel we can see that she is materialistic person and doesn’t really even care about Lydgate she’s just in love with the idea of a higher class and wealth; also she didn’t seem to care about her baby otherwise she wouldn’t have gone horseback riding with Lydgate’s cousin. Rosamund’s miscarriage further proves her inability to be an “ideal” Middlemarch wife. Once again, thank you so much Natalie for a very detailed video and for the visual representation of Mr. Bulstrode past!

Ricardo Giles

Alright so thank you very much Natalie Kopp for taking your time to share with us your insight on Book 6 of MiddleMarch. Now i really like how you interpreted the title of Book 6, The Widow and the Wife, to the characters of middle march and more specifically, Dorothea and Rosemund. You described the wife being Rosemund and Dorothea being the widow obviously and you posed the question: is this Dorothea the same as the Dorothea in book1?
I believe that it isn’t the same Dorothea as in the beginning. I believe that Dorothea has very much matured in her new values pf having to respect and follow her deceased husband’s wishes and I especially feel like a death of a loved one makes such an important and huge impact on a person. And with that, i feel like dorothea has very much grown as a person, now with the wealth and values of a wife carrying her husband’s honor.

Victoria Garcia-Lopez

First, I would like to thank you Professor Ward not only for your amazing book commericial but as well as for your helpful diagram on Bulstrodes storyline.To dive right into it I found your first question about Dorothea very interesting. Whether she is the same person in the beginning of book six comparing to the beginning of book one. Or also can be before meeting/ or marrying Casaubon and after Casaubon’s death. To answer that question, I believe that Miss Dorothea is certainly not the same person as she was in the intro. I feel like she changed both her character in society and her personally. She is no longer the naive girl who viewed marriage a certain way, after going through seeing her husband in a different light, after seeing marriage in a different perspective all the way to his death. she has gained more self-knowledge about herself rather than the knowledge she thought Casaubon was going to teach her. Besides that I also found the whole Widow and the Wife thing also interesting. We have two characters that are opposites of each other,Dorothea and Rosamund. Both are wives or at least at some point were but they have separate intentions. One wanted to help and be on a intellectual level with her husband while the other cares more about status. I see these two characters also portraying love and lust. Which can be tied to modern day relationships.

Millie Sanchez

First and foremost I will like to thank you Natalie for taking your time creating this commercial! I believe that Dorothea has changed, because death especially of someone like a husband always affects and ultimately changes that person. In her case at first she was so devoted and admired Casaubon almost saw him as a father figure, but once married with him she saw the true Casaubon. A Casaubon whom would push her away when she wanted to participate in him work and whom would start getting jealous of Will to the extent of making her promise his last will before his death. She grew stronger and bolder with her husbands death-this is reflected on her huge design to move back to Lowick and decisively make the choice to never remarry again. This is mirrors her bold feminine side, because although some people wanted her to quickly remarry so that she would not be alone or part of the gossip in middlemarch, she was set firm on her decision was determine to live by it. Rosamund has remained true to her character throughout the novel- she is selfish, self-centered, and controlling. Her selfishness and rebellious self is shown when she refuses to obey Lydgate’s word of not going horseback riding because of the risk of loosing the baby. And as I could predict, she acted based on what she thought was acceptable and went horseback riding-resulting in the lost of her own baby. She also alway is a coward never wanting to confront responsibilities or take blame of her actions, she liked to remain neutral. It was foolish of her and a risky decision which I agree reflects that of her failing marriage with Lydgate because their marriage lacks communication and mutual agreement which is essential in any relationship. I think that the lost of her baby would also relate to her potential inability to be a good mother because of her selfish, foolish, and stubborn character. Once again, thank you Natalie for sharing with us your thoughts on Book 6, it was a great recap!

Salvador Villafana

I did it find it interesting that in book 6 a mishap of further realizations came together, for instance like how in book 6 people in Middlemarch realized that Mr. Bulstrode did indeed do something wrong to get the “dirty money”. I think that the insight of book 6 from Natalie Klopp, in which I really thank her for this great commercial, is that slowly a different type of lens is now being perceived by the middlemarch society towards its residential problems. I really like how that Natalie interpreted with the question that Is Dorothea the same Dorothea that we see and hear from the previous chapters or simply in book 1? I think that Dorothea has changed in the fact that she had now opened her eyes, she had now realized or been realized that her ambitions and intuition for marriage was nothing but a blinded whim. The same applies to Rosamond in the fact that she had a miscarriage, I think, that Rosamond did have a miscarriage in order to show, maybe, that she does not love lydgate the way he does to her. Rosamond married lydagte with the ambition of having a vocation to feel like a higher class women and to as well move up the social ladder, however, in order to make a baby there must be a connection between the two partners I believe. Perhaps the miscarriage represents and can be interpreted as a way to show that Rosamond isn’t an ideal “wife” to that of lydgates perception. However, the realization from lydgate that Rosamond isn’t the way he perceived to be an “ideal wife” is similar to the situation of Dorothea with the death of casuabon. Both lydgate and Dorothea witnessed death, the miscarriage from Rosamond and the death of casuabon, perhaps both are similar in that the loss from the two represents the realization from the two that they were blinded all a long. By having an event such as these, it can create a resolution to the lens that were blurred to lydgate, Rosamond, and Dorothea I think. Thank you Natalie Klopp for everything.

Evelyn Cifuentes

I would like to say thank you to Natalie Kopp for taking the time to create this helpful commercial. In book 6 “The Widow and the Wife” made a connection between Dorothea who was the widow, yet how she had more power than wealthy married women. A widow can spend her money whoever she wants compared to wealthy married women who had to ask their husband. I agree with Natalie Kopp when she says the title relates to Dorothea and Rosamond because they are the characters that relate to that section in book 6. Dorothea was always a good wife that obeyed her husband, in the other hand Rosamond always disobeyed her husband. Lydgate had told Rosamond not got to go horseback riding, yet ignored him and has a miscarriage. I do agree that the miscarriage she had represent the symbol of their marriage falling apart. After reading book 6 I believe that Dorothea is not the same person as she was introduced in the begging of the novel because the marriage she had with Mr. Casaubon gave her the chance to learn new things and has allowed her to expanded her knowledge.

Yasmine Carrera

Thank you to miss Natalie Kopp for the insightful book commercial on book 6 . The idea proposed that Dorothea may have an altered perspective of the people around her and life is very interesting because some changes in her personality are noticable. After the death of her husband she is left a widow, I beilive that going through that experience helped her mature and really discover herself and who she was as an individual, she gained something equally as valuable as the intellectual knowledge she was seeking in her widow experience, she gained self-knowledge. The contrast between Dorothea the widow and Rosamund the wife is very intruiging because it seems to in a way represent the different social classes in middlemarch. For example, Dorothea married in a naive state of mind along with the hopes of increasing her knowledge while Rosamund knew very well what she was getting into and what she wanted from her marriage, she wanted a higher social stance.The comparison between both ladies and marriages helped me to understand in more depth the effects that economic and social status can have on peoples perspectives of themselves and the people around them.

Dayanara Saucedo

Thank you to Ms. Natalie Kopp for her great insight on Book 6 and thank you for the smaller video on Bulstrode. The title “The widow and the Wife” plays a big role in this book because it shows two contrasting characters. As Ms. Kopp mentioned, those two characters are Dorothea and Rosamond. I find it interesting how these two are being connected by the narrator when they haven’t interacted much. This just shows how different the two characters are. In the book, its plain to see that Dorothea and Rosamond are indeed two different people. They both have different wants and think differently as well. As Ms. Kopp had asked, do you believe that Dorothea is the same as she was in the beginning of Middlemarch and now in book 6? I would have to say that she isn’t; it’s clear to see that she was a woman who had her life planned, she knew what she wanted to do in the future. That of course doesn’t go as planned when she married Casaubon. She believed that her life as birth married to Casaubon would have been filled with knowledge and being united. But as we all known, Casaubon never intended to marry a person who wanted to be knowledgeable, since he’s threatened by people smarter than him. I believe that Dorothea became more naive and in some ways a risk taker. Now as for Rosamond and her miscarriage, I believe it was somewhat intentional but at the same time I don’t. Ms. Kopp says that not having children was like “failing to live up to the Victorian ideal of a good wife.” Rosamond cared about her reputation, and if she had a miscarriage, people would start to talk and say things about her. I find it unlikely that, that was her real intention but when it happened I feel like she didn’t complain either.

Yulimar Ramos

I would like to thank Natalie Nopp for her explanation on both the overview of Book 6 and the brief diagram that showed Bulstrodes past and present. I strongly believe that George Eliot uses the title The Widow and the Wife as a representation of Dorothea and Rosamond. Throughout the books we are presented with series of events that show us both Dorothea’s and Rosamond’s marriage: Dorothea a good understanding life while as Rosamond not so much. I truly wanted to believe Dorothea was the same person she was but just cased away by the shadows, she has changed over time due to the events that she has had to overcome such as not talking to Will Ladislaw, not being able to show her true self, and being judged so much because of her ideologies.

Vanessa Zelaya

Thank you very much to Ms. Natalie Kopp for taking the time and reflecting on book six. So she began with a question which stated whether Dorothea, in book six is he same as she was from the beginning of the novel. My response to the question is no, she is not. The reason why i believe she is not is because she has grown in the way she thinks, before she had a image of marriage as though it was a fairy-tale, but when she experienced how it really was, her thought on it changed. As mentioned by Ms.Kopp, the main theme of book six is “The widow and the wife”, due to having Dorothea, now a widow and Rosamond is the “wife”. The reason hat I put quotations for he word wife is because the idea wife is loyal, supportive, and has great relationship with her husband, but in the novel, Rosamond is the complete opposite, not even to mention Rosamond’s miscarriage, which s made in order to keep her reputation. This just makes us, the readers, really challenge and rethink what marriage can be seen like and how sometimes people prefer to have a good reputation and seen fondly in a social society

Klarissa Ayon

I am grateful for Natalie that has provided us with a great commercial on Book 6 and for going deep into the main things that have the biggest turning points , thank you. It has cleared my understanding as to how the title “The Widow and the Wife” have huge differences and how they can be impacted. The difference from my understanding of a widow is that a widow is more powerful when it comes to dealing with money because she is eligible to “please” herself as she wishes without having her husband or soulmate being cautious with what she is doing it the money , meanwhile the wife does not have that same opportunity because her husband is being very controllable and having an eye out on how the money is being used or wasted. To further continue, I would like to answer Natalie’s question: “Is it the same Dorothea at the beginning of book 6 or as to the beginning of the entire book?”. I would like like to argue that she is not due to the fact that she has had several experiences through her life and that she has a lot of knowledge of things that have happened to her to shape her who she is. Another thing that I would like to mention is that Dorothea has matured through the courses that she has been through realizing that it is a big thing to do as you move forward.

Karla Paredes

Thank you to Natalie Kopp for her insight on book 6, her questions really got me thinking about the different relationships going on in the novel. The tile “The Widow and the Wife” really shows how women play a major role in society whether some agree or disagree. Personally I feel that Widows in Middlemarch are more power than Wives because they have more control. A wife sometimes is seen like a minority next to their husbands but a widow doesn’t have a husband she makes choices on her own. A question asked was what we thought about Dorothea now and in the past. I feel like because she was married and then became a widow in such a short amount of time she grew as a person. I feel like at the beginning of the story she was a little bit more naive and ignorant but now that she has had many events go on in her life she has learned and her perspective on how societies work has also changed. Another question was regarding Rosamund and her miscarriage, I do not think she did it purposely I feel like she did was not thinking clearly and let her pride get her judgement fogged up.

Breana Davidson

Thank you to Ms. Natalie Kopp and Professor Ward for your helpful insights on book 6. To answer your question about whether or not Dorothea is the same now in book 6 than she was in the very beginning, I say she is now more aware of herself. In the beginning of the book she was just a young girl in search of something to get her the knowledge and happiness she searched for, she had this image in her head of what she thought the perfect marriage was supposed to be. The image was so strong that she was blinded to what her husband truly was. But, now in book 6 she’s her own person, she’s independent, and she sees who she’s truly in love with, partially thanks to Cassaubon’s death.
Also as far as Rosamund and her marriage to Lydgate goes, it’s clear that she was only with because her thirst for high status. She makes this point clear well Lydgate reveals that he is in debt and she remains neutral to the situation, it shows Lydgate that she never cared about him, and now that his power to give her the high status she seeks is gone she will most likely leave as well.

Bulstrode has proven himself to be a major turning point in the novel because he shows how everyone in Middlemarch have ties to one another and he turns Will, who thought was a minor character, into a major character with a high level of importance to the novel. Will went from being Cassaubon’s cousin to one of the strong and pure characters that we as readers can’t help but admire.