Middlemarch Characters

There are a lot of major characters in Middlemarch, and even more minor ones, but it's pretty obvious that Dorothea's the heroine. After all, the novel's Prelude and Finale (first and final chapter...

Mr. Casaubon is a late middle-aged, curmudgeonly, self-absorbed scholar. That's all that most people (readers and other characters) see in him. But that's just a trick of perspective, because we us...

Will Ladislaw might not be as complicated as Dorothea as a character, but he's still a tough nut to crack. His mixed heritage makes him feel like an outsider everywhere he goes (his family tree is...

There are an awful lot of characters in Middlemarch that have unrealistic or unattainable dreams, and Mr. Lydgate is no exception. Like Dorothea, he wants to do good work in the world, and, like Mr...

Rosamond Vincy competes with Dorothea as the major female character of the novel. Like Dorothea, she's very beautiful, but her beauty is of a different kind. Dorothea is very womanly and maternal,...

Mary's got something that the other two major female characters don't have: common sense. She's as intelligent as Dorothea, but without Dorothea's unrealistic ambitions. She's been as well educated...

Fred Vincy is probably the least important of the seven major characters, simply because he's the least complicated. He's sincere, blunt, and honest, smart enough to do a good job at most things, a...

Celia is Dorothea's younger sister, but the two of them couldn't be more different. Celia's not all that complicated of a character, and her primary purpose in the novel is probably to serve as a f...

Sir James Chettam is a neighbor of Mr. Brooke. He's a beefy-faced young man – a little too beefy faced for Dorothea, who marries the pale and skinny Mr. Casaubon instead. Sir James marries th...

Mrs. Cadwallader is the town gossip. She's the busybody who tried to set up Dorothea with Sir James Chettam and who always insists on being the bearer of bad news. She's the wife of Mr. Cadwallader...

Mr. Cadwallader is the rector of Tipton, and a good friend of Mr. Brooke and Sir James Chettam. He's pretty laid back about his role as a clergyman – he'd rather go fishing than write sermons...

Caleb Garth is Mary's father. He's honest, discreet, and hard working, and expects everyone around him to act the same way. He has a lot of faith in people, which means that he's often disappointed...

Mr. Bulstrode is a wealthy banker in Middlemarch. He's devoutly religious, and makes a big show of it. Despite that hypocrisy, though, he does do a lot of good with his money. For example, he funds...

Harriet Bulstrode is Mr. Bulstrode's wife and Mr. Vincy's sister. She's an odd character: she likes wearing bright and fashionable clothes and making social visits, but she also tries to incorporat...

Mr. Farebrother is a vicar in Middlemarch. He's a fun guy to hang around – he likes biology more than making sermons, and he's always down for a game of cards. Unfortunately, he's a little to...

Mr. Brooke is the uncle of Dorothea and Celia. After their parents die (before the start of the novel), he's in charge of taking care of them. He's a bachelor, and has always lived by himself, so t...

Mr. Vincy is Rosamond and Fred's father, and the brother of Mrs. Bulstrode. He's a prominent businessman in Middlemarch and fairly wealthy. He's a good-natured guy and likes to throw parties for hi...

Mrs. Vincy is Rosamond and Fred's mother. She's plump and cheerful, but not very bright. Rosamond is occasionally ashamed of her mother's manners. Mrs. Vincy never went to finishing school like Ros...

Mr. Featherstone is the owner of a huge estate called Stone Court. He's been married twice, and has outlived both his wives. But he has nieces and nephews by marriage from both of his wives, includ...

Raffles is a minor character, but he's very important to the plot. He's the only person still living besides Mr. Bulstrode who knows about all the shady dealing of the Dunkirk family. Unfortunately...

Miss Noble is Mr. Farebrother's unmarried aunt. She's a tiny woman whose biggest vice is stealing sugar from the family sugar bowl to give to neighborhood children as treats. She totally adores Wil...

Mrs. Farebrother is Mr. Farebrother's mother, not his wife; so don't let the name fool you. She's an elegant and upright older woman with pretty decided opinions, especially on the subject of the p...

Mr. Bambridge is the Middlemarch horse dealer; he's kind of a scumbag. Think stereotypical used car salesman of the nineteenth century. He always hangs around the Green Dragon (the dive bar and poo...

Sir Godwin is Lydgate's wealthy uncle. After Lydgate's parents died, Lydgate was raised in part by his uncle Godwin. His family never approved of his choice of profession because they considered be...

Captain Lydgate is Sir Godwin's son and Lydgate's cousin. Rosamond is so proud to have the son of a baronet visiting that she goes horseback riding with him to show him off, even though she's pregn...

Naumann is Will Ladislaw's artist friend in Rome. Naumann paints Mr. Casaubon as Saint Thomas Aquinas as an excuse to get Dorothea into his studio so that he can paint her as Santa Clara. He discus...

Joshua Rigg is the frog-faced man who inherits Stone Court from Mr. Featherstone, to everyone's great surprise. No one had ever heard of this guy. He's also important to the plot because he brings...

Mr. Trumbull is an auctioneer and real estate agent in Middlemarch. He's kind of a jack-of-all-trades. He holds the Larcher auction and he's the one Lydgate goes to when he wants to put his house o...