Middlemarch

Favorite phrases

On seeming inconsistencies between one's desires, from Chapter 16

Our passions do not live apart in locked chambers, but, dressed in their small wardrobe of notions, bring their provisions to a common table and mess together, feeding out of the common store according to their appetite.

On how even great people cannot escape being seen in a bad light, as must Mr. Casaubon, in Chapter 10

Has the theory of the solar system been advanced by graceful manners and conversational tact?

Subtle Sarcasm

Often Eliot is complementing the young ladies of Middlemarch in descriptive text, but sometimes it seems like veiled sarcasm. Just from the text it is impossible to tell, even knowing the entire story.