Summary
Lydgate faces his first real test of independence when forced to vote on the hospital chaplaincy between Farebrother (whom he likes personally) and Tyke (whom Bulstrode supports). Despite genuinely respecting Farebrother's character and generosity, Lydgate judges him harshly for gambling to supplement his income—a blind spot revealing Lydgate's privileged background and inability to understand financial pressure. When the board meeting arrives, political tensions run high as various factions argue their positions. Lydgate arrives to find the vote tied, making his the deciding ballot. Feeling cornered and resentful of being manipulated, he votes for Tyke—not from conviction, but from a complex mix of spite, pragmatism, and wounded pride. The decision haunts him immediately as a moment when 'petty Middlemarch' proved stronger than his principles. Farebrother, showing remarkable grace, continues treating Lydgate with the same warmth, even philosophically accepting that 'the world has been too strong for me.' This chapter reveals how social systems gradually compromise individual integrity through seemingly small decisions. Lydgate's choice exposes his character flaws—his class prejudices, his inability to understand others' financial struggles, and his susceptibility to exactly the kind of influence he claims to despise. The chaplaincy vote becomes a symbol of how ambitious people get entangled in local power structures despite their best intentions.
Coming Up in Chapter 58
As Lydgate settles into his new role, his relationship with Bulstrode deepens, but the banker's mysterious past begins to surface in ways that will test more than just professional loyalties.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
O“h, sir, the loftiest hopes on earth Draw lots with meaner hopes: heroic breasts, Breathing bad air, run risk of pestilence; Or, lacking lime-juice when they cross the Line, May languish with the scurvy.” Some weeks passed after this conversation before the question of the chaplaincy gathered any practical import for Lydgate, and without telling himself the reason, he deferred the predetermination on which side he should give his vote. It would really have been a matter of total indifference to him—that is to say, he would have taken the more convenient side, and given his vote for the appointment of Tyke without any hesitation—if he had not cared personally for Mr. Farebrother. But his liking for the Vicar of St. Botolph’s grew with growing acquaintanceship. That, entering into Lydgate’s position as a new-comer who had his own professional objects to secure, Mr. Farebrother should have taken pains rather to warn off than to obtain his interest, showed an unusual delicacy and generosity, which Lydgate’s nature was keenly alive to. It went along with other points of conduct in Mr. Farebrother which were exceptionally fine, and made his character resemble those southern landscapes which seem divided between natural grandeur and social slovenliness. Very few men could have been as filial and chivalrous as he was to the mother, aunt, and sister, whose dependence on him had in many ways shaped his life rather uneasily for himself; few men who feel the pressure of small needs are so nobly resolute not to dress up their inevitably self-interested desires in a pretext of better motives. In these matters he was conscious that his life would bear the closest scrutiny; and perhaps the consciousness encouraged a little defiance towards the critical strictness of persons whose celestial intimacies seemed not to improve their domestic manners, and whose lofty aims were not needed to account for their actions. Then, his preaching was ingenious and pithy, like the preaching of the English Church in its robust age, and his sermons were delivered without book. People outside his parish went to hear him; and, since to fill the church was always the most difficult part of a clergyman’s function, here was another ground for a careless sense of superiority. Besides, he was a likable man: sweet-tempered, ready-witted, frank, without grins of suppressed bitterness or other conversational flavors which make half of us an affliction to our friends. Lydgate liked him heartily, and wished for his friendship. With this feeling uppermost, he continued to waive the question of the chaplaincy, and to persuade himself that it was not only no proper business of his, but likely enough never to vex him with a demand for his vote. Lydgate, at Mr. Bulstrode’s request, was laying down plans for the internal arrangements of the new hospital, and the two were often in consultation. The banker was always presupposing that he could count in general on Lydgate as a coadjutor, but made no special recurrence to the coming decision between Tyke...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Justified Compromise
The tendency to betray our stated values while manufacturing moral justifications for choices actually driven by self-interest or fear.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how we manufacture virtuous-sounding reasons for decisions actually driven by self-interest, fear, or prejudice.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you feel defensive about a choice you made—that defensiveness often signals you're telling yourself a story to avoid facing your real motivations.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Chaplaincy
A religious position at the hospital, providing spiritual care to patients. In Victorian times, these positions came with income and social status, making them highly competitive.
Modern Usage:
Like fighting over who gets to be the workplace wellness coordinator - seems minor but comes with perks and influence.
Board vote
A formal decision made by the hospital's governing committee. Each member gets one vote, and majority rules on important appointments.
Modern Usage:
Any committee decision at work where politics matter more than qualifications - from hiring to budget approval.
Professional objects
Lydgate's career goals and ambitions as a doctor. He wants to advance his medical practice and research without getting tangled in local politics.
Modern Usage:
When you're new at work and just want to do your job well without getting caught up in office drama.
Deciding ballot
When a vote is tied, the last person to vote determines the outcome. This gives them enormous power but also makes them a target for pressure.
Modern Usage:
Being the swing vote on any decision - from family vacation spots to workplace policies - where everyone's watching you.
Social slovenliness
Eliot's phrase for moral carelessness or letting standards slip in small ways. Refers to Farebrother's gambling habit despite his otherwise good character.
Modern Usage:
When good people have one bad habit that undermines them - like a great teacher who's always late or a kind friend who gossips.
Filial duty
The obligation to care for family members, especially elderly parents. Farebrother supports his mother, aunt, and sister on his small income.
Modern Usage:
Being the family member everyone expects to handle elderly parents' care or family emergencies, even when you can barely afford it.
Characters in This Chapter
Lydgate
Conflicted protagonist
Faces his first major moral test and fails it. Despite liking Farebrother personally, votes against him due to class prejudice and wounded pride when pressured.
Modern Equivalent:
The new employee who compromises their values to fit in with management
Farebrother
Sympathetic victim
The current chaplain who loses his position despite being well-liked. Shows grace in defeat but reveals his gambling problem stems from financial pressure.
Modern Equivalent:
The good worker who gets passed over for promotion because they don't play politics
Tyke
Political appointee
Bulstrode's preferred candidate who wins the chaplaincy. Represents the kind of rigid religious authority Bulstrode wants to install.
Modern Equivalent:
The boss's favorite who gets promoted based on connections rather than merit
Bulstrode
Power broker
Uses his influence as a major hospital benefactor to pressure board members. Represents the way money shapes institutional decisions.
Modern Equivalent:
The major donor whose wishes carry more weight than what's actually best for the organization
Key Quotes & Analysis
"It would really have been a matter of total indifference to him—if he had not cared personally for Mr. Farebrother."
Context: Explaining why Lydgate struggles with the vote decision
Shows how personal relationships complicate professional decisions. Lydgate discovers that caring about people makes moral choices harder, not easier.
In Today's Words:
He wouldn't have cared about the vote if he didn't actually like the guy who was going to lose.
"The world has been too strong for me."
Context: After losing the chaplaincy vote, reflecting on his defeat
A moment of philosophical acceptance that reveals Farebrother's understanding of how social systems crush individual merit. He recognizes the forces working against him.
In Today's Words:
The system beat me - I couldn't fight the politics and money behind the scenes.
"Few men who feel the pressure of small needs are so nobly resolute."
Context: Describing Farebrother's character despite his financial struggles
Eliot highlights how financial pressure tests character. Most people compromise when money is tight, making Farebrother's general integrity more remarkable.
In Today's Words:
Most people bend their morals when they're struggling to pay bills, but he mostly doesn't.
Thematic Threads
Class Privilege
In This Chapter
Lydgate judges Farebrother's gambling without understanding the financial pressures that drive it, revealing his privileged blindness to economic reality
Development
Building from earlier chapters where Lydgate's assumptions about money and status have been subtly revealed
In Your Life:
When you judge someone's survival strategies without understanding their actual constraints and pressures
Moral Corruption
In This Chapter
Lydgate votes against his conscience while convincing himself he's taking a principled stand, showing how systems gradually compromise integrity
Development
First major test of Lydgate's stated independence and principles, setting pattern for future compromises
In Your Life:
When you find yourself creating elaborate justifications for choices that feel wrong in your gut
Power Dynamics
In This Chapter
Bulstrode's financial influence over Lydgate becomes decisive, despite Lydgate's claims of independence
Development
Escalation of the subtle control Bulstrode has been building through patronage and financial support
In Your Life:
When someone who helps you financially expects loyalty in return, even if they never say it directly
Grace Under Pressure
In This Chapter
Farebrother responds to defeat with philosophical acceptance and continued kindness toward Lydgate
Development
Introduced here as contrast to Lydgate's defensive justifications
In Your Life:
When you lose something unfairly but choose dignity over bitterness in your response
Self-Deception
In This Chapter
Lydgate transforms his financial dependence into moral superiority, showing how we lie to ourselves about our motivations
Development
Building on earlier hints of Lydgate's capacity for rationalization and blind spots
In Your Life:
When you catch yourself creating complex explanations for simple choices driven by fear or self-interest
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What forces were pulling Lydgate in different directions when he had to vote for the chaplain?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Lydgate judge Farebrother for gambling while ignoring his own dependence on Bulstrode's money?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people today convincing themselves that self-interested choices are actually moral stands?
application • medium - 4
How can someone recognize when they're about to betray their own values while telling themselves they have no choice?
application • deep - 5
What does this chapter reveal about how good people gradually get corrupted by systems they never intended to serve?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Own Compromise Points
Think of a situation where you feel pressure to act against your values - at work, in family relationships, or in your community. Write down the competing forces: what you believe is right versus what seems practical or safe. Then identify what story you might tell yourself to make the compromise feel acceptable.
Consider:
- •Notice how we reframe self-interest as principle when under pressure
- •Consider whether the 'practical' choice actually serves your long-term interests
- •Ask what you would advise a friend facing the same situation
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you made a choice that felt necessary in the moment but left you feeling like you had betrayed something important about yourself. What would you do differently now?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 58: Art, Beauty, and Unexpected Encounters
What lies ahead teaches us unexpected encounters can stir up feelings we thought we'd buried, and shows us some people feel threatened when others want to capture or possess what they value. These patterns appear in literature and life alike.