Explain how George Eliot engages with the 'woman question' in Middlemarch.

George Eliot’s *Middlemarch* (1871–72) is often hailed as one of the greatest achievements in British realist fiction, and one of its central concerns is the exploration of the “woman question” — a major topic of debate in Victorian England concerning women’s roles, rights, and positions within society. Eliot (the pen name of Mary Ann Evans) delves into this issue with nuance, embedding it in the daily lives, struggles, and inner conflicts of her characters, particularly Dorothea Brooke and Rosamond Vincy, two women who represent contrasting models of femininity. Through these characters, their marriages, and their social environments, Eliot probes the limited opportunities available to women, the expectations placed upon them, and the societal structures that confine them.

Eliot’s engagement with the woman question is first evident in her portrayal of Dorothea Brooke, the novel’s spiritual and intellectual heroine. Dorothea is young, idealistic, and deeply committed to the idea of living a meaningful, purposeful life. She aspires to intellectual companionship and envisions marriage as a partnership of minds. Her desire to contribute to something larger than herself leads her into a disastrously mismatched marriage with Edward Casaubon, a dry, egotistical scholar many years her senior. Dorothea believes she will assist him in his scholarly work and participate in his intellectual pursuits, but soon after marriage, she realises that Casaubon is uninterested in sharing his work or treating her as an intellectual equal. This failed marriage underscores a key aspect of the woman question: the lack of intellectual and personal fulfilment for women under _____ _______ ________ ____ _____ __________ ___ ____.
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