Middlemarch And The Medical Issues In The Mid-Victorian Provincial Areas

Middlemarch is the masterpiece of the famous British Victorian realist George Eliot and since its publication it has become the critical focus of critics. For one century and a half, critics have approached the novel from various perspectives like artistic features, themes, thoughts, styles along with interpretations from different critical schools and interdisciplinary perspectives to expand the rich meaning of Middlemarch. The narration and description related to medical issues, though not abundant, disclose the realistic medical condition of the mid-Victorian provincial areas faithfully. The exclusion, jealousy and oppression among doctors, fund-insufficient New Fever Hospital and the struggling medical reform in the novel provide research possibilities into the medical condition of the mid-Victorian provincial areas. The medical issues are mainly represented by the characterization of the marginal characters, dialogues of characters, pieces of narrations in the novel. The novelist’s attitudes and viewpoints towards these issues can also be traced from her diary entries, journal articles, essays and commentary works. Therefore, the research method of Wellek’s extrinsic study, close reading and New-historicism can be adopted to interpret the medical issues in the novel. The above-mentioned research perspectives and methods are to be adopted to interpret in detail these medical issues manifested in the novel centering on doctors, medicine and medical reform. The unique perspective and research method will expand the research into Middlemarch to a wider social dimension and further unearth the rich meaning of this masterpiece.The thesis consists of three main chapters, the introduction and the conclusion. The introduction gives a general introduction to George Eliot’s life and literary career and her masterpiece Middlemarch and the summery of previous researches on Middlemarch. In addition, the central argument, research methodology and research significance is also stated in the introduction. Chapter One mainly discusses the condescending yet rising status of doctors in the mid-Victorian provincial areas from three aspects: gentlemanly Lydgate’s unique medical profession as a general practitioner, general practitioner Lydgate’s disputes with his medical practitioners within the tradition tripartite medical hierarchy, and doctors’ rising authority the brought about by progress in scientific and technological development. Chapter Two mainly analyzes the represented medical reality from the perspectives of medical disciplinary education and medication: inflexible and outmoded medical education full of blindness in design and teaching practice, the prevailing overuse on useless strengthening and patent drugs, a lack of legal regulation and oversight in drug sales, the repeated attacks of epidemics and the forthcoming chronic diseases. Chapter Three explores the failed medical reform in Middlemarch in light of Middlemarch’s New Fever Hospital, the 1832 Anatomy Act and the implied possible reforms in medical ethics concerned with medical experiment. The conclusion summarizes the whole thesis and major findings of the thesis.