Why do Tertius Lydgate and Rosamond leave Middlemarch?
In the novel Middlemarch by George Eliot, Tertius Lydgate and his wife, Rosamond Vincy, are forced to leave the town of Middlemarch primarily due to the financial ruin and social scandal surrounding their marriage.1
Lydgate, a progressive doctor, finds his professional and personal life compromised by his wife's expensive lifestyle and his own lack of funds. His situation deteriorates after he accepts a loan from the banker Nicholas Bulstrode, who is being blackmailed. When Bulstrode’s unsavory past and the suspicious death of his blackmailer, John Raffles, come to light, Lydgate faces public scrutiny and suspicion regarding his potential involvement in the death.1
Unable to maintain his standing in the community, the couple relocates to London. While Lydgate achieves financial success there, he views his life as a failure, having abandoned his original medical ambitions.1