My crush on Farebrother

(Isabella's going to be so miffed if nobody posts! Where is everybody?!)

I haven't always had a soft spot for Farebrother. My first time through, I was 21 years old and much more taken with sexy Ladislaw and tormented Lydgate. The self-deprecating Farebrother came across as, well, an old fuddy-duddy. He steps out of the way of the happy young people, and he should. He's a geek and an antique.

Ah, times change. I'm now closer to Farebrother's age than Dorothea's. His renunciations look different from here, more poignant and complicated. I've been there and done that -- with significantly less grace.

Here's what I admire this time around:

• Although he's in the wrong career, he doesn't get down about it. He does what he can to pursue his entomology on his own time. There's a lot to be admired in a passionate amateur.
• Although he's in the wrong career, he doesn't shirk his duties. When Fred asks him to speak to Mary, he takes the charge as a clergyman and manages to be simultaneously compassionate and dispassionate. He doesn't undermine Fred's case, and goes so far as to speak up when he sees Fred slipping.
• He doesn't try to conceal or rationalize his shortcomings. There is no pretense with Farebrother, and being honest with himself helps him deal with others compassionately.

Much of this book seems to be about disillusionment and failure. Farebrother has weathered both with grace and humility. Maybe I don't so much have a crush on him as want to be him when I grow up. Disappointments will come whether we will it or no; he offers us a model for dignity, philosophical equanimity, and good humor in the face of life's sucker punches.

(Interestingly, his approach also fails at one point. But that section is not yet under discussion here, so I'll save "Farebrother vs. Dodo: Deathmatch!" for another time.)