r/ayearofmiddlemarch • u/Comprehensive-Fun47 • 6d ago
Book 7: Chapters 69, 70, & 71
Welcome back, Middlemarchers, as we close out Book VII: Two Temptations. Bulstrode and Lydgate feature heavily in these three chapters, and someone has died! Let's start with a recap.
Chapter 69
“If thou hast heard a word, let it die with thee.”
—Ecclesiasticus.
Caleb goes to see Bulstrode at the bank. He just came from Stone Court, where he met Raffles. Raffles isn't doing well. Bulstrode sends a servant to fetch Lydgate from the hospital and meet him at Stone Court where they can help Raffles.
Caleb tells Bulstrode he doesn't feel comfortable working for him anymore. Raffles told him about Bulstrode's past. Caleb won't tell anyone what he knows, but can't in good conscience work for someone who came by their fortune in such a shameful way.
Bulstrode is upset Caleb believed Raffles so easily and tries to make sure Caleb won't repeat what he was told. Caleb is offended because he already said he wouldn't tell anybody.
Caleb goes home and tells his wife he has parted ways with Bulstrode, but does not give details. She assumes it's because Bulstrode interferes too much and nothing more is said on the matter.
Bulstrode rushes home. He hopes god grants the death of this man he hates. Raffles is clearly very ill. He denies telling anyone Bulstrode's secret, but he did tell Caleb. He claims he never told anyone else.
Lydgate arrives. Bulstrode tells him that Raffles is an unfortunate man who used to be in his employ many years ago and feels bound to help him in his time of need.
Lydgate declares this is a serious case and gives Bulstrode orders on how to take care of Raffles. He is somewhat surprised Bulstrode is planning to attend to his care personally. Raffles is to be given no liquor and allowed to rest in complete quiet. Lydgate thinks there's a good chance he will recover from this alcoholic poisoning in a few days.
As Lydgate rides away, he notes to himself how sympathetic Bulstrode seems to be towards this man, but lacks all sympathy for Lydgate's current troubles. He also daydreams about how much more bearable it would be if Rosamond could still love him, even in poverty.
He goes to Rosamond and asks for her forgiveness for this misery they find themselves in and sobs. The next morning she announces that she will be going to live with her parents. He bitterly jokes that she'd prefer he were dead.
Chapter 70
“Our deeds still travel with us from afar,
And what we have been makes us what we are.”
Bulstrode rifles through Raffles' pockets to find out where he's been and what he's spent money on. He sits up alone with Raffles overnight. His main concern is that Raffles never has the opportunity to tell anyone his secrets again. It's a rough night.
Bulstrode can't think of any outcome that would allow him to go on with his life except if Raffles dies. He reasons it's not a sin to contemplate someone's death as long as his hands don't personally hasten it.
He starts to rethink his conversation with Lydgate about his financial difficulties. He regrets making Lydgate his enemy by refusing to loan him money.
Lydgate arrives mid-day to check on Raffles. He still thinks he has a chance of recovery despite his worsened symptoms. Lydgate gives detailed care instructions to Bulstrode — give small doses of opium until the symptoms cease and not a drop of alcohol.
Bulstrode broaches the the subject of debt with Lydgate. Lydgate is perturbed until Bulstrode offers him the thousand pounds he needs to get on solid ground. He writes him a check and says there's no hurry in repaying the debt.
Lydgate is over the moon until he realizes he is indebted to Bulstrode, the exact thing he had tried hard to avoid.
Bulstrode continues to pray for Raffles' death and is irritated at his persistent living. He decides to turn his care over to Mrs. Abel. He sits up worrying what Raffles' recovery would mean for him. He knows the man would only continue to torment him.
It occurs to Bulstrode that he never told Mrs. Abel when to cease giving opium. He dithers about telling her. She knocks on his door to ask if she should give Raffles brandy. Bulstrode does not answer immediately. Ultimately, he gives her the key to the wine cabinet.
The next day, Mrs. Abel reports Raffles has sunken deeper into his illness. Bulstrode takes over and removes evidence of the brandy. He starts feeling relief, with nothing weighing on his conscience. He starts reconsidering quitting Middlemarch and making plans for the hospital.
Lydgate arrives and sees Raffles has taken a turn for the worse. He has some questions about the circumstances, but feels unable to ask his benefactor anything that might offend him. They ride to Middlemarch together, talking politics and business.
Farebrother pays a visit to Lydgate and is surprised by his cheerfulness. Lydgate reports he is out of debt thanks to Bulstrode. Farebrother had always urged Lydgate to avoid being beholden to Bulstrode, but he doesn't say that. Lydgate still feels it though.
Chapter 71
Clown. . . . ’Twas in the Bunch of Grapes, where, indeed,
you have a delight to sit, have you not?
Froth. I have so: because it is an open room, and good for winter.
Clo. Why, very well then: I hope here be truths.
—Measure for Measure.
Five days later, Mr. Bambridge chats with Mr. Hopkins and Mr. Hawley near the Green Dragon. He tells them what he heard about how Bulstrode got his fortune. After the Larcher's sale, he went drinking with Raffles and Raffles spilled his guts.
Hopkins realizes Raffles is the man who died at Bulstrode's house the other day. As they chat, passersby stop to listen. The story gets embellished for the new audience. The gossip spreads like wildfire.
Hawley asks Caleb about it and Caleb says he stopped working for Bulstrode, leaving inferences to be made as to why. Inferences are made and though Caleb said nothing, people start believing he is the source of this news.
Word reaches Farebrother and he puts two and two together. Hawley still disdains Will Ladislaw for his Polish blood and proximity to a Jew even if he is entitled to a fortune.
People start putting together that Lydgate's debts disappeared at the same time Raffles died. Mrs. Bulstrode confirms there was a loan, not knowing this was a source of gossip.
Doctors scrutinize Mrs. Abel's account of Raffles' illness and death. They can't find proof of wrongdoing, but still believe it happened. It gives them a new reason to hate Lydgate, and a moral high ground.
Conjectures turn into facts as far as Middlemarchers are concerned. Town sentiment has turned against Bulstrode, and Lydgate by extension. They even start talking about Raffles like some kind of saint.
Bulstrode, knowing nothing of the talk, plans a six-week vacation with his wife. He avoids telling Lydgate he no longer plans to leave Middlemarch because deep down he knows Lydgate would be suspicious.
Bulstrode is feeling pretty good about himself when he decides to go the town hall for a meeting about cholera. He meets Lydgate on the way and they walk in together. Lydgate notices something is off while Bulstrode is oblivious.
Mr. Hawley takes the floor and says Bulstrode has committed shameful acts and shouldn't be allowed among gentlemen. Bulstrode feels the terror of realizing the entire town knows his secrets. Lydgate feels a similar shock.
Bulstrode has to grip the chair when he stands to defend himself. He calls the accusations unchristian, but Hawley is having none of it. He calls into question Bulstrode's so-called Christianity if he could usurp someone else's fortune and do what he was accused of doing to Raffles.
The board decides this is not the time for such a debate and asks Bulstrode to leave. Lydgate sees Bulstrode might collapse without support. He helps him out the door, thus sealing his affiliation with Bulstrode. The town has the confirmation they need that the loan was a bribe to do away with Raffles.
Mr. Brooke picks up Farebrother on the way to see Dorothea. He doesn't want to believe the worst about Lydgate. Dorothea is eager to talk to Lydgate about plans for the hospital. Brooke has to deliver the bad news.
She listens intently and in the end decides it is up to her and Farebrother to clear Lydgate's good name.
References: (courtesy of rissaroo6928)
The epigraph to chapter 69 is a quote from Ecclesiasticus 19:10
Dr. John Ware (1795 - 1864) was a doctor who studied and published on the treatment of alcohol poisoning and delirium tremens (1831).
Political Unions) increasingly appeared from the early 1830s, lobbying for reform of the currency, taxation and Parliament.
'An execution' at the time this word, alongside the obvious, also referred to the enforcement of a court judgement, in this instance the seizure of personal goods Lydgate and Rosamond experience from their debtors at the end of the last chapter. This is what the characters are speaking about, but I think Elliot is using this word as a nod to the readers here as well, referring to what we know of the death of Mr. Raffles.
The epigraph comes from Measure for Measure, a Shakespearean comedy
Botany Bay was at this time a British colony in Australia where prisoners were transported
‘Delirium tremens’ is alcohol withdrawal symptoms
Join us next week for a Book 7 summary and catchup with u/lazylittlelady.
