George Eliot · English Literature

In 'Middlemarch', the idealistic young doctor Tertius Lydgate sees his medical career compromised by:

  1. An insurmountable lack of formal medical training
  2. A severe and public struggle with opium addiction
  3. Mounting debt and an incompatible marriage to Rosamond Vincy
  4. The sudden catastrophic outbreak of a regional plague
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: Mounting debt and an incompatible marriage to Rosamond Vincy

Lydgate hopes to reform medical science, but his 'spots of commonness' and Rosamond's materialistic demands lead to his professional stagnation. His arc demonstrates Eliot's theme of the crushing weight of social and financial circumstance.

Difficulty: Medium Question 10 of 20

Practice all 20 George Eliot questions

Keep practicing

More George Eliot questions