Middlemarch

Middlemarch

by

George Eliot

Laure is an actress Lydgate fell in love with while he lived in Paris. During a theatre performance she stabbed her husband (a fellow actor) to death onstage; there is confusion over whether it was intentional, though Lydgate maintains it was an accident. She flees to Avignon and Lydgate follows her there, only to have her to tell him that she stabbed her husband on purpose and that she doesn’t like husbands. This episode gives Lydgate a lifelong fear of women.
Get the entire Middlemarch LitChart as a printable PDF.
Middlemarch PDF

Laure Character Timeline in Middlemarch

The timeline below shows where the character Laure appears in Middlemarch. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 2, Chapter 15
Women and Gender Theme Icon
Ambition and Disappointment Theme Icon
...he was in Paris he fell in love with a married actress from Provence named Laure. He loved to go watch her at the theatre. One night while Lydgate was watching... (full context)
Women and Gender Theme Icon
Ambition and Disappointment Theme Icon
While Laure was in custody Lydgate had many conversations with her. When she was found innocent and... (full context)
Book 2, Chapter 16
Women and Gender Theme Icon
Ambition and Disappointment Theme Icon
Community and Class Theme Icon
...sure he will never feel the same all-consuming love for her as he did for Laure. (full context)
Book 6, Chapter 58
Women and Gender Theme Icon
Ambition and Disappointment Theme Icon
Community and Class Theme Icon
Money and Greed Theme Icon
Lydgate thinks about Laure and wonders if Rosamond would ever kill him. He begins by saying to Rosamond that... (full context)