Middlemarch Book 8, Chapter 80 Summary

  • Dorothea goes to see Mr. Farebrother the next day at the parsonage.
  • She tells him all about Lydgate, and after dinner spends some time chatting with Miss Noble and Mrs. Farebrother.
  • The subject of Will Ladislaw comes up. Miss Noble has always adored Will, who was kinder to her than anyone.
  • Dorothea abruptly moves to leave, and when she gets home, she collapses in tears.
  • She realizes how much she loved Will, and now her ideal vision of him has been shattered by the belief that he's having an illicit affair with Rosamond.
  • But Dorothea is generous enough to realize that she's not the only person who is being hurt by that affair.
  • She resolves to go to Middlemarch again, to "see and save Rosamond."