How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
there was the stifling oppression of that gentlewoman's world, where everything was done for her and none asked for her aid – where the sense of connection with a manifold pregnant existence had to be kept up painfully as an inward vision, instead of coming from without in claims that would have shaped her energies. (3.28.4)
Part of Dorothea's dissatisfaction with her marriage comes from the fact that she has no work to do. She has so much energy and passion for doing good in the world that she's depressed to find that the cottagers and farmers at Lowick don't need her help. She has all this pent up energy and nothing to do. This was a problem for many upper class women in "that gentlewoman's world" – here's yet another case in which Eliot points out that Dorothea's individual case is part of a more common, universal trend.
Quote #8
but why always Dorothea? Was her point of view the only possible one with regard to this marriage? (3.29.1)
This passage reminds us that Dorothea's point of view isn't the only one. It's the narrator's way of reminding us what our grade school teachers used to drill into us: imagine what it's like to be in the other guy's shoes. Since this novel is all about sympathy, it's important to remember that Mr. Casaubon has his own perspective on what's going on, too – and we have to imagine what it's like from his point of view.
Quote #9
Marriage, like religion and erudition, nay, like authorship itself, was fated to become an outward requirement. (3.29.4)
Part of why Casaubon is so unhappy is that he's not passionate about anything. He's very wrapped up in doing the right thing, but doesn't care deeply about any of his work anymore. His religion, his scholarship, and the book he's writing are all just things that other people expect of him, not things that he's passionate about. And the saddest part is that his marriage is rapidly falling into the same category.