middlemarch

Arthur BrookeDorothea Brooke Celia Brooke Sir James

ChettamEdward Casaubon

Will Ladislaw

Julia Casaubon (grandmother/aunt)

Nicholas Bulstrode

Harriet Bulstrode

Walter Vincy

Lucy Vincy(2nd

wife)Joshua Rigg

Peter Featherstone Fred Vincy Rosamond

VincyMary Garth Tertius

Lydgate

Sir Godwin

Captain Lydgate

Susan Garth

Caleb Garth

FamiliesKey

SiblingsSpousesChildrenRelatives

(1st wife)

Selina Plymdale Ned Plymdale

Rosamond Lydgate Dorothea

Casaubon

Will

NaumannMiss Noble

Camden Farebrother

Walter Tyke

BulstrodeRaffles

HarrietSelina Plymdale

Social Relationships

Key

Feuds

Alliances

Spouses

Mr. Wrench

Humphrey Cadwallader*

Tipton Grange & Freshitt

Elinor Cadwallader

Lowick Parish

Mrs. Farebrother Miss Noble

Camden Farebrother

*

Winifred Farebrother

New Hospital

Walter Tyke*KeySiblingsSpousesChildrenRelatives

Clergymen* and Family

List of Minor CharactersMr. Bambridge

Mr. ChichelyMr. Dagley

Jonah FeatherstoneSolomon Featherstone

Martha Cranch (Featherstone)

Jane Waule (Featherstone)

Mrs. FitchettBen and Letty Garth

Mr. HorrockDr. Sprague

Borthrop TrumbellMr. Wrench

Mr. Bambridge

Bambridge deals horses in Middlemarch. Fred Vincy becomes indebted to him after poor business transactions. Raffles reveals Bulstrode’s past to him at a horse-fair.

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Arthur Brooke

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Arthur Brooke is a miserly old man who becomes the guardian of Dorothea and Celia after his brother’s death. He is known for being the worst landlord in the county as he is careless about maintenance to his tenant houses. He is strong-willed and opinionated, but he is also bumbling and far from intelligent. When he runs for parliament, his own tenants cause him to withdraw.

Celia Brooke

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Celia is Dorothea’s younger sister. Unlike Dorothea, she is conventional in every manner. After Sir James loses interest in Dorothea, he marries Celia.

Dorothea Brooke

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Dorothea Brooke is the elder of two daughters in her family. She and Celia were raised by their bachelor uncle, Mr. Brooke. She is wealthy but also intelligent as she aspires to use her talents to build cottages for the tenants of her uncle. She marries Edward Casaubon, who is many years her senior, and finds that he cannot take her seriously. When she befriends Casaubon’s cousin, Will Ladislaw, the marriage quickly falls apart due to trust issues. After Casaubon’s death, it is revealed that his will to Dorothea could be revoked if she were to marry Will. Eventually, Will and Dorothea do marry and move to London to raise their family.

Nicholas Bulstrode

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Nicholas Bulstrode is a very wealthy and pious Methodist married to Mr. Vincy’s sister, Harriet. He carries out his profession as a banker very well. He is desperate to hid his scandalous past, which is brought to light after his old business partner, John Raffles, comes to Middlemarch. This desperation becomes more evident when he and Dr. Lydgate come under suspicion for killing Raffles. Eventually it is revealed that his first wife was Will Ladislaw’s grandmother, Julia Casaubon. Raffles was hired to find Julia’s child and grandchild, but he was paid to keep quiet when he did find them.

Harriet Bulstrode

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Despite being married to Nicholas Bulstrode, Harriet is a good, upstanding woman. She strives to be honest and faithful, even to her overbearing husband. She likes to give advice, and talks to Rosamond about getting married.

Elinor Cadwallader

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Elinor is a gossiping busybody who fancies herself a matchmaker. She knows what’s going on in all of Middlemarch.

Humphrey Cadwallader


Mr. Cadwallader is the rector of both Tipton Grange and Freshitt. He and his wife are good friends of Sir James.

Edward Casaubon


Casaubon is obsessed with finishing his life’s work The Key to All Mythologies, which is later revealed to be useless due to his ignorance of current German texts. He marries Dorothea for convenience, leading to a loveless marriage. He becomes jealous of Dorothea’s apparent attentions toward his cousin, Will Ladislaw, and uses his will to forbid them to marry.

Sir James Chettam

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The novel opens with Sir James’ attempts to court Dorothea. After showing him no interest and getting engaged to Casaubon, Dorothea is pushed aside in his mind for her sister, Celia. He adopts Dorothea’s plans for building cottages for the poor tenants. His marriage with Celia is a happy one, and he eventually becomes friends with Dorothea.

Mr. Chichely


Mr. Chichely is the Middlemarch coroner mentioned only in chapter 16.

Mr. Dagley


Mr. Dagley is one of the poor tenants of Mr. Brooke. When his son is caught poaching on Brooke’s land, Mr. Brooke’s pays Dagley a visit to ask him to reprimand his son. A drunk Mr. Dagley replies that he will not reprimand his son and tells Brooke that all of Middlemarch has seen the Trumpet’s editorial blasting Brooke’s campaign.

Camden Farebrother



Farebrother is a Vicar who makes very little money. He takes up gambling to support his family, consisting of his sister, mother, and aunt. He is very humble, but his sermons are liked by many of the townspeople. He becomes friends with Lydgate, but he loses the election for the chaplaincy at the New Hospital after Lydgate votes for Tyke. Lowick parish is given to him after Casaubon’s death. He is in love with Mary Garth, but he helps Fred Vincy in his efforts to court her.

Mrs. Farebrother


The widowed mother of Camden and Winifred Farebrother is both lively and precise.

Winifred Farebrother


Winifred is the unmarried older sister of Camden Farebrother.

Jonah, Solomon, Martha, and Jane

Featherstone


None of these siblings get along with each other or with Peter Featherstone, their other brother. All of them attend Peter’s funeral in the hopes of receiving something from his estate. Peter leaves nothing for them in the will.

Peter Featherstone

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The miserly owner of Stone Court is a manipulative, elderly widower. He was married to both Caleb Garth’s sister and Lucy Vincy’s sister, but he had no legitimate children. He uses his wealth to push people around. He wrote two wills – one left his estate to Fred Vincy, and the other left his estate to his illegitimate son, Joshua Rigg. He asks Mary Garth to burn the one for Rigg, but she refuses.

Mrs. Fitchett


Mrs. Fitchett is the Middlemarch lodgekeeper.

Ben and Letty Garth


Ben and Letty Garth are Susan and Caleb Garth’s youngest children. In addition to one other student, they are what remains of Susan’s students.

Caleb Garth

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Mr. Garth is an honest, hard-working businessman who earns money by managing estates. He is not a rich man, but he treats people well. When Fred Vincy gets into financial trouble, Caleb loans him money to help him out. The entire family has to pull together when Fred is unable to repay his debt. Eventually Caleb gains more business, and Fred becomes his apprentice after resolving his debts.

Mary Garth

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Mary is the intelligent eldest child of Caleb and Susan Garth. She works for Mr. Featherstone at Stone Court and refuses to burn his will as he is dying. She refuses to court several young men. She is in love with Fred Vincy, but she encourages him to improve his life before she will consent to marry him.

Susan Garth

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Susan Garth is a former schoolteacher and the wife of Caleb Garth.

Mr. Horrock


Mr. Horrock is the horse-savvy business partner of Mr. Bambridge.

Will Ladislaw


Will Ladislaw is the young, artistic cousin of Edward Casaubon, but the two do not get along due to Will’s side of the family tree. He is the grandson of Casaubon’s disinherited aunt. Upon meeting Dorothea, he is immediately enamored with her. He loves travelling and beautiful things. Eventually he marries Dorothea, after Casaubon’s death, and the two have a child together.

Doctor Tertius Lydgate


Dr. Lydgate came to Middlemarch in the hopes of introducing new medical techniques. He wants to emphasize scientific breakthroughs in the new hospital. He was raised by his uncle, Sir Godwin Lydgate, after the death of both of his parents. Eventually Lydgate gets addicted to opium. He gets caught in the scandal with Bulstrode surrounding the death of Raffles after accepting money from him that looked like a bribe. He and Dorothea are good friends. He marries Rosamond Vincy, but her elaborate lifestyle pulls them into debt.

Sir Godwin Lydgate

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Sir Godwin is the uncle of Dr. Lydgate, whom he raised after the death of the doctor’s parents.

Captain Lydgate

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Captain Lydgate is the wealthy, none-too-bright cousin of Dr. Lydgate. The doctor does not being around the captain, but Rosamond adores him. He takes Rosamond horseback riding, in spite of her pregnancy, and she miscarries as a result.

Adolf Naumann


Naumann is the artistic friend of Will Ladislaw. He shows interest in painting Casaubon as Thomas Aquinas in order to get Dorothea into his studio.

Miss Noble



Miss Noble is Camden Farebrother’s aunt. She steals food to give to the poor. She and Will Ladislaw become friends.

Ned Plymdale

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Ned attempts to court Rosamond, but she refuses him.

Selina Plymdale


Mrs. Plymdale is good friends with Harriet Bulstrode. She is very proud of her son, Ned, and boasts about him continuously. She becomes very bitter toward the Vincys when Rosamond rejects Ned.

John Raffles


Mr. Raffles is the shady old business partner of Bulstrode. He was paid by Bulstrode to keep the existence of Will Ladislaw and his mother a secret from Julia Casaubon before her death so that Bulstrode could inherit all of her wealth. When Raffles returns to Middlemarch to talk to his stepson, Joshua Rigg Featherstone, he tells anyone who will listen about Bulstrode’s shady business deals. When he falls ill because of alcohol poisoning, Bulstrode indirectly kills him by giving him more alcohol.

Joshua Rigg Featherstone

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Joshua is the illegitimate son of Mr. Featherstone. He receives all of Featherstone’s fortune under the condition of changing his last name to Featherstone. He sells Stone Court to Bulstrode. Raffles is his stepfather.

Dr. Sprague


Dr. Sprague is a Middlemarch doctor who appears in Chapter 16.

Borthrop Trumbell


Trumbell is the Middlemarch auctioneer and a business advisor. He is the only person other than Joshua Rigg to receive something from Featherstone’s will.

Walter Tyke



Mr. Tyke receives the vote for the chaplaincy at the new hospital due to political reasons in the town, beating out Camden Farebrother. Bulstrode supports him.

Fred Vincy

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Fred Vincy starts off as a very irresponsible young man. He constantly gets himself and others into financial trouble. His father sent him to college to become part of the clergy, but he does not want to work in the church. He loves Mary Garth and eventually marries her in spite of her lower social standing.

Lucy Vincy

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Lucy is the materialistic mother of Fred and Rosamond.

Rosamond Vincy


Rosamond Vincy is simple-minded and materialistic. She has a very high standard of living, which causes she and her husband, Dr. Lydgate, to fall into debt. She loves attention and often does things to spite her husband. Against Lydgate’s wishes, she rides horseback and causes herself to miscarry their child. She does not have a happy marriage because she expected her husband to be rich.

Walter Vincy

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Mr. Vincy is the husband of Lucy Vincy and the father of Fred and Rosamond. He is the Middlemarch mayor and also a cloth dealer. He and his family are very wealthy due to his business. He is a hard worker, and his family’s extravagant tastes make him angry. His sister is Harriet Bulstrode.

Mr. Wrench



Mr. Wrench is another Middlemarch doctor. He becomes enemies with Lydgate after misdiagnosing Fred Vincy’s illness. Lydgate helps cure Fred’s illness so the Vincy’s fire Mr. Wrench.

Julia Casaubon

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Julia, Edward Casaubon’s aunt, was disinherited from her family when she ran off to marry a Polish man. The family was involved in some shady business along the way, and Bulstrode, Julia’s new husband, inherited that money instead of honestly giving it to Will Ladislaw and his mother.

middlemarch

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