George Eliot, Middlemarch e-bog

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. The author seems emotionally committed here, yet the ugly duckling analogy and such a phrase as 'its own oary-footed kind' still keep up a suspicion of irony, while the phrase 'foundress of nothing' could be read equally as compassionate or deflating.