kev67
01-24-2014, 07:21 PM
SPOILERS
There have been three or four points so far (chap 49) where I have wondered whether Lydgate was doing the right thing:
I am not quite sure what the controversy is with his not dispensing medicines. I thought what he was objecting to was that most doctors had cosy arrangements with certain chemists (I suppose apothecaries in them days). An apothecary would pay a cut to the doctor for every patient sent to him to buy medicine. I thought Lydgate viewed this sort of arrangement as unethical, and that patients should be able to buy their medicines from whoever was cheapest. However, I am not sure I understood that correctly. Now I wonder whether the problem is that he thinks most of the medicine that his colleagues sell is snake oil. The problem is that the patients expect to get something for their money, and don't expect to pay just for taking up the doctor's time. Alright, most the medicine is snake oil, but this is how the doctors get paid. By taking a stand, Lydgate is alienating all his colleagues.
The meeting at which the trustees of the new hospital appointed a chaplain was rather contrived. First, the vote was a dead heat until Lydgate arrived late, so not only was his the casting vote, but everyone knew which way he voted. If it were not for Mr Bulstrode's patronage, Lydgate would have voted for his friend Mr Farebrother rather than the other curate. Mr Bulstrode is powerful but unpopular.This was unfortunate. If Lydgate had arrived late to find that one or other of the two candidates had won by two votes or more, he could perhaps have spared himself from voting, or could have voted for the other curate without hurting Farebrother. At first, I thought that Lydgate probably made the right decision in voting for Mr Bulstrode's favoured candidate, because he wanted a position at the new hospital. However, several chapters back it said it was an unpaid position. There can not have been too many doctors in Middlemarch prepared to work for nothing, so it seems to me that Lydgate could have voted for his friend Farebrother after all.
When Mr Casaubon had his heart attack, Lydgate told his wife Dorothea, but did not tell Mr Casaubon because he did not want to distress him. I wondered about that. Even if the news would distress him, Mr Casaubon had a right to know. These days, a doctor would tell a patient straight, even if the news was very distressing. I wondered whether practice was different then. However, I think this may have been a plot device, because later Mr Casaubon demands of Lydgate to tell him the worst, and also whether he had let Dorothea know.
Lydgate did not tell Mr Casaubon about his heart attack, but he also did not tell his wife, Rosamund, about the letter demanding payment for some furniture he had bought. Rosamund is buying some pretty things, but she cannot be criticized too much for spending money if she is not made aware that they are in financial trouble.
The impression I get is that Lydgate is good with the science, but not so good with people.
There have been three or four points so far (chap 49) where I have wondered whether Lydgate was doing the right thing:
I am not quite sure what the controversy is with his not dispensing medicines. I thought what he was objecting to was that most doctors had cosy arrangements with certain chemists (I suppose apothecaries in them days). An apothecary would pay a cut to the doctor for every patient sent to him to buy medicine. I thought Lydgate viewed this sort of arrangement as unethical, and that patients should be able to buy their medicines from whoever was cheapest. However, I am not sure I understood that correctly. Now I wonder whether the problem is that he thinks most of the medicine that his colleagues sell is snake oil. The problem is that the patients expect to get something for their money, and don't expect to pay just for taking up the doctor's time. Alright, most the medicine is snake oil, but this is how the doctors get paid. By taking a stand, Lydgate is alienating all his colleagues.
The meeting at which the trustees of the new hospital appointed a chaplain was rather contrived. First, the vote was a dead heat until Lydgate arrived late, so not only was his the casting vote, but everyone knew which way he voted. If it were not for Mr Bulstrode's patronage, Lydgate would have voted for his friend Mr Farebrother rather than the other curate. Mr Bulstrode is powerful but unpopular.This was unfortunate. If Lydgate had arrived late to find that one or other of the two candidates had won by two votes or more, he could perhaps have spared himself from voting, or could have voted for the other curate without hurting Farebrother. At first, I thought that Lydgate probably made the right decision in voting for Mr Bulstrode's favoured candidate, because he wanted a position at the new hospital. However, several chapters back it said it was an unpaid position. There can not have been too many doctors in Middlemarch prepared to work for nothing, so it seems to me that Lydgate could have voted for his friend Farebrother after all.
When Mr Casaubon had his heart attack, Lydgate told his wife Dorothea, but did not tell Mr Casaubon because he did not want to distress him. I wondered about that. Even if the news would distress him, Mr Casaubon had a right to know. These days, a doctor would tell a patient straight, even if the news was very distressing. I wondered whether practice was different then. However, I think this may have been a plot device, because later Mr Casaubon demands of Lydgate to tell him the worst, and also whether he had let Dorothea know.
Lydgate did not tell Mr Casaubon about his heart attack, but he also did not tell his wife, Rosamund, about the letter demanding payment for some furniture he had bought. Rosamund is buying some pretty things, but she cannot be criticized too much for spending money if she is not made aware that they are in financial trouble.
The impression I get is that Lydgate is good with the science, but not so good with people.