Confidence Quote by George Eliot
““She looked at Will with a direct glance, full of delighted confidence. "You approve of my going away for years, then, and never coming here again till I have made myself of some mark in the world?" said Will, trying hard to reconcile the utmost pride with the utmost effort to get an expression of strong feeling from Dorothea. She was not aware how long it was before she answered. She had turned her head and was looking out of the window on the rose-bushes, which seemed to have in them the summers of all the years when Will would be away.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Middlemarch by George Eliot, 1871
Dorothea confronts Will about his past approvals and her desire for personal achievement, revealing tension between expectations and independence.
In simple terms: Dorothea challenges Will’s expectations and seeks her own path.
Key Takeaway
Recognize and assert personal goals despite external pressures.
Themes
identity
expectation
independence
communication
Mood
reflective
determined
Type
literary
dialogue
When to use this quote
- marriage counseling
- career planning
- creative pursuits
- family dynamics
Key Concepts
self‑realization
gender roles
personal ambition
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you balance personal ambition with relational expectations?
- What fears arise when asserting independence?
A Different Perspective
May overlook the emotional impact of confronting long‑standing expectations.
![“[W]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range of music, and will not vibrate in the least under a touch that fills others with tremulous rapture or quivering agony.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9be/george-eliot-84_agony_w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves_12409.jpg)
