This is definitely Eliot's masterpiece. It was hard for me to read b/c of similarities to my own life now, and I got stuck when Gwendolyn was married, but I muscled through and was happy to find such a good ending. There is, of course, too much analysis of every thought and action of the characters, and too much philosophy and moralizing, like in all Eliot's writing, but towards the end I didn't mind that so much.

My favorite bit is when Daniel tells Gwendolyn, 'Think of it as a preparation for your real life, as if some severe angel had seen you on the path of error, and grabbed you by the wrist to show you the horrible end of that path, in order to save you from it.' I'm paraphrasing there. Can't remember the exact quote at the moment.

I did not like Gwendolyn. She is a complex and interesting character, but she's so terribly selfish and bad. I liked Anna Gascoigne and Miss Arrowpoint better. Contrariwise, I didn't like Mirah either really. She's too bland, and too perfect to be real. I loved the Meyrick sisters and Hans! They are fun!