What have you been doing lately?' 'I? Oh, minding the house–pouring out syrup–pretending to be amiable and contented–learning to have a bad opinion of everybody.
In the passage from George Eliot's "Middlemarch," the speaker reflects on their routine and the mundanity of their daily life. They describe tasks such as managing the household and serving syrup, which reveal a sense of monotony and obligation. This suggests a feeling of dissatisfaction with their current role, emphasizing a lack of personal fulfillment in their activities.
The statement also reveals a shift in attitude towards others, indicating that while they put on a facade of amiability, they have developed a more negative perception of the people around them. This duality highlights the struggle between societal expectations and personal feelings, reflecting a deeper commentary on the constraints of provincial life in that era.
