How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #13
Rosamond, taken hold of by an emotion stronger than her own – hurried along in a new movement which gave all things some new, awful, undefined aspect – could find no words, but involuntarily she put her lips to Dorothea's forehead which was very near her, and then for a minute the two women clasped each other as if they had been in a shipwreck. (8.81.28)
This is a moment of spontaneous and almost unexpected sympathy. Dorothea's compassion and willingness to forgive Rosamond (she thinks that Rosamond is having an affair with Will Ladislaw) leads her to visit Rosamond. Rosamond is so touched by Dorothea's generosity and sincerity that the feeling takes her over. The "emotion stronger than her own" could be the force of Dorothea's compassion. Her reaction is so spontaneous that her movement is "involuntar[y]" – she kisses Dorothea on the forehead and then they cling to each other. Behold the awesome power of pure compassion and forgiveness in the world of Middlemarch!