Hi Middlemarchers, hope your summer is going well. This chapter was a change of pace and where we got a new perspective on things through a minor character. Interested to hear the community’s thoughts! Questions will be in the comments.

Lydgate is facing growing unpopularity among different social classes due to his unconventional ideas about reforming medical practices. This began when he expressed his preference for not always prescribing medication to a local grocer and escalated when he requested to perform an autopsy on an elderly woman's body. Rumors started circulating, suggesting that Lydgate has sinister intentions. These rumors, combined with the disapproval from established medical professionals in the area who dislike his association with Mr. Bulstrode, have created a divide between Lydgate and the locals. Despite being the only professional in Middlemarch involved in the New Hospital project, it appears that things are not going as smoothly as expected for Lydgate. At present, he is somewhat oblivious to the rumors, and Bulstrode enjoys being the sole investor in the New Hospital until Dorothea made her offer in the previous chapter. Both Lydgate and Bulstrode appreciate the control they have over this new institution.

However, those close to Lydgate are concerned for his well-being. Farebrother advises him to distance himself from Bulstrode and be mindful of his expenses, while Rosamond openly brings up the rumors in their conversation at the end of the chapter. Despite these concerns, Lydgate refuses to change his practices or alter his ambitions. He mentions to Rosamond that one of his main inspirations is Vesalius, a pioneer of modern physiology who was known for stealing bodies from graveyards to study human anatomy. Rosamond tries to be supportive but is shocked by this revelation.

References:

• The epigraph is quote from Sir Thomas Browne’s ‘Pseudodoxia Epidemica’ (Vulgar Errors)
• Burke and Hare were two murderers who sold the bodies of their victims for medical research.
• An Accoucheur was a term used for a male midwife.
• St. John Long was a quack/fake doctor who was convicted of manslaughter in 1830 after two of his patients died under his care.
• Francois Vincent Raspail (1794 – 1878) was a French chemist, physiologist and radical political figure.
• Andreas Vesalius (1514 – 64) was the founder of modern physiology. He was condemned to death by the Inquisition but received a reprieve.
• Experto crede – means ‘believe one who knows from experience’ and is a quote from the Aeneid.
• Claudius Galen (131 -201) was a Greek physician and systematizer of medical knowledge. He was seen as the traditional authority on medical knowledge for centuries.