Dorothea’s Struggling for Her Identity——An Analysis of the Heroine from Middlemarch

◆崔 悅

(沈陽藥科大學(xué))

As George Eliot＇s seventh novel，Middlemarchis considered as one of her most successful novels.The second title，A Study of Provincial Lifeshows us clearly what the novel is about.Dorothea is no doubt thecentral character in Middlemarch.Being a girl under strict Puritan education，she is rather religious.Modeled after the Saint Theresa as the authorsaid in the introduction，the heroine was depictedas a soul who"aspires to epic life"，but only finds disillusion in the end.Dorothea is struggling between her dream and reality.What she is pursuing is not in the morals or the values that thesociety definesat the time.She had grand dreams about the spiritualand intellectualissues，and her"self－definition as an assistant to Casaubon＇s work"forms her illusion and finally makes her disappointed.Through thedetailed analysisof the character Dorothea，we will see thatshe is in the painful process of awakening.

As a French intellectual，Simone de Beauvoir is primarilyknown for her famous work The Second Sex，in which she analyzed thesuffering and slavery of female in the male dominated world.The Second Sex brings out a new idea of feminist existentialism.In thebook，Beauvoir argues that it is men who made women the“Other”and by setting a false value for women，theymade women accept their definition as theOther.Gender，she argues it is only an excuse thatmen used to stereotypewomen and organize the society.

ⅠDorothea as the Saint

Dorothea’sPuritan spirit as well as her desire for knowledge shows us how different she is as a female living in19thcentury.She wants to go after grand religiousgoals and finds her identity in theintellectual world.However，the social values at thattime determine thatit is impossible for her to enter theworld which is dominated by men.Thus，Dorothea tries to define herselfas the helpmate of theold scholar Edward Casaubonand hope that by helping Casaubon，she can find thegrand goal with him and fulfill her dream.Dorothea Brooke in Middlemarchis in theprocess of awakening.She does not want to be the wife and mother in thehouse.She desires to find her place in the society.Her marriage with Casaubon shows us her great aspirations to define herself，and also plants the seed of her future failure.

Dorothea Brooke，as pictured in the beginning of the novel，is a beautiful young girl with fairly good family background.However，the pretty appearanceis"thrown into relief by poor dress".Nevertheless，"her profile as well as her stature and bearing seemed to gain more dignity from her plain garments."If the distinctive characteristics in Dorothea makes it possible for her to find her place in thesociety，her desire for knowledgemay be thedirect reason that she attemptedto enter the intellectual world.Dorothea thinks knowledgeas a great instruction whichcan help her achieve the grand goal.As the19thcentury Saint Theresa，she is full of sympathy and ardent religious feelingswhich should be under command，and the best guidance is knowledge.However，in the world dominated by men，there is no way that she can enter that world.Dorothea’s uncle，Mr.Brooke once commented that Dorothea should not get“too learned”for a woman.According to Mr.Brooke’s definition，thefeminine mind should be light and only consider music and fine arts.That is to say，theoretical thinking is not suitable for a woman.Even though Dorothea desires to acquireknowledge，she would not be able to acquirethem by herself.Furthermore，Dorothea herself also accepts the judgmentthat a woman＇s mind would not be able to learn Latin and Greek.Thus，she put herselfin theposition as thehelper of theold scholar Casaubon and hopes that by assistingCasaubon，she can enter the world with him.

ⅡDorothea’s Illusion

Dorothea’s illusion about Casaubon and her position in the marriage will clearly show us the cause of her suffering and the difficulty for women to find her self identity in the world.She wants to be something more than a wife and a mother，and whatshe desires is not in the family.This is why she becomes attracted to the scholar Casaubon and determined to marry him.Misled by the social surroundings，Dorothea believes that she cannotrealize her dream by herself.Being Casaubon＇s assistant is the only waythat she can enter theintellectual world.It is obvious that Dorothea mistakenly takes Casaubon’s dream as her dream and put her self in the position of the Other.Before marriage，Casaubon’s image in Dorothea’s eyes is colored withher own imagination.As the author described，she fills all the blanks with her interpretation and all theperfection about Casaubon is only an illusion，which causes the"tragic error"of Dorothea＇s marriage.Dorothea＇s idea about marriage reveals us the positionshe put herself in.The kind of marriage that attracts her is theone that"would deliver her from her girlish subjection to her own ignorance，and give her the freedom of voluntary submissionto a guidewho would take her along the grandest path.”Dorothea is willing to take the guidance of an elder man.Theimage of Casaubon as well as the perfection of marriage is only an illusion thatDorothea creates for herself.Her self－ definition as thehelp mate of Casaubon is a compromise between her dream and reality.However，in the world dominated by men，this compromise is also a dream that can never be realized.She is absolutely the"Other"in her marriage.

Ⅲ Dorothea’s Disillusion and Her Returning to Womanhood

Dorotheais not aware of the harsh surroundings thatwomen face and that is why she has all these illusions about Casaubon and marriage.However，as readers，we can seeclearly thatthe social values set for women in thenovel are unfavorablefor women.Brooke and Casaubon give us good examples of how the world is dominated by men.According to them，female should only stay in thehouse and never enter theintellectual world.Moreover，even in thehouse，thehusband is always themaster who controls the wife both spiritually and economically.As time goes by，Dorothea gradually sees the ridiculousnessof her union with Casaubon.She finds that Casaubon cannot respondher feelings and being Casaubon＇s assistant will never help her find thetruth thatshe is pursuing.She realizes that Casaubon＇s book will never be published and marriage should not be like this.WhenDorothea becomes disappointed to her marriage with Casaubon，Ladislaw becomes more and more important to Dorothea＇s life.Moreover，themarriage between Dorothea and Ladislaw turns out to be a very conventional one."［Many］who knew her，thought it a pity that so substantive and rare a creature should have been absorbedin the life of another，and be only known in a certain circle as a wife and mother”.Dorothea abandonswhat she has been pursuing so long and finally accepts her position as a wife and mother in thehouse.

To conclude，Dorothea’s distinctive characteristicsand her passion for religion and knowledgemakes her different.She is aware of her individualityand she tries hard to pursue what she wants.However，she believesthat her only way to pursue thetruth is throughhelping Casaubon.Even though she knows that she wants to be something more than a wife and mother，she still puts herselfin theposition of theOther.It never occurs to her thatshe can be independent.The illusion is soon broken after Dorothea＇s marriage with Casaubon.She gradually finds that being the assistantof Casaubon will not lead to thetruth thatshe is pursuing，and Casaubon’s“great book”will never be published.In the world dominated by men，there is not a place for women except the domestic sphere.As a woman，she is under theprocess of awakening.She has struggled for her identity，and her returning to theconvention shows us that in themale－ dominated society，it is almost impossible to find her identityin thesociety.

［1］Eliot，George.Middlemarch:an Authoritative Text Backgrounds Criticism［M］.Ed.Bert G.Hornback.New York:W.W.Norton ＆ Company，2000.

［2］Beauvoir，Simone De.The Second Sex［M］.Trans:H.M.Parshley.London:Jonathan Cape，1956.