Middlemarch: Book 2, Chapter 22 Summary & Analysis

At dinner the next day, Dorothea is impressed by the charming way Will converses with Casaubon. Casaubon similarly feels proud of Dorothea, who he feels speaks better than most women. Will invites them to visit some artists’ studios before they leave, and they agree. He takes them to Naumann’s studio, explaining that he has been studying as Naumann’s pupil while in Rome. While Will shows them around and compliments Naumann’s work, Dorothea feels that she is beginning to understand art a little better.

Naumann tells Casaubon that he would love to use him as a model for a picture of St. Thomas Aquinas, and Casaubon is surprised and thrilled—though not half as thrilled as Dorothea, who feels that this confirms that Casaubon is indeed the great man she imagined. Naumann then asks if Dorothea would also consider sitting for him, and she eagerly agrees. Watching her pose, Will is overcome with desire for her. Later that night, Naumann mocks Casaubon and comments excessively on Dorothea’s beauty, which annoys Will. He eventually insists that Naumann stop talking about Dorothea.

Will desperately tries to see Dorothea alone before she leaves Rome. He visits her in the middle of the day, when he knows Casaubon will be at the library. Dorothea asks him to look at some cameos she has purchased as a gift for Celia. She says she finds it hard to enjoy things, such as great art, when she knows that not everyone has access to them. She then clarifies that she is not “a sad, melancholy creature,” although she is subject to passionate changes in mood. Will says she is too young to think that way. He then exclaims that she will be “buried alive” in Lowick Manor, which he calls a “prison.”

Will is worried that he might have insulted her, but his kind tone ensures that Dorothea is not offended. Dorothea asks him if Casaubon’s ignorance of German really dooms his scholarship to irrelevance. Will explains that the topic Casaubon has chosen to write about is developing at great speed, and Casaubon cannot know about the latest advances without reading German. Dorothea gets upset, and Will apologizes, although he notes that he was only telling her the truth. He says that he is determined not to be a failure himself, and for this reason will shortly go back to England, give up the allowance Casaubon has provided for him, and devote himself to work.

Will goes to leave, saying he thinks Dorothea doesn’t like him. Dorothea insists: “I like you very much.” She says she looks forward to seeing what he will do for a career. She asks him to promise that he won’t mention the problem with Casaubon’s scholarship to anyone else. Will promises and leaves, meeting Casaubon on the way out. When Casaubon comes to meet Dorothea, she tells him about Will’s plan to go to England and work his way to financial independence. Casaubon comments coldly that he gave Will an allowance out of a sense of duty, but is uninterested in him as a person.