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Why does Clara Middleton reject Sir Willoughby Patterne in The Egoist?
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George Meredith
George Meredith, detail of an oil painting by G.F. Watts, 1893; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
In George Meredith’s The Egoist, Clara Middleton rejects Sir Willoughby Patterne primarily because she discovers his duplicity. Her decision is further solidified by the fact that she has fallen in love with another man.1
Clara’s rejection is part of a broader pattern in the novel where women recognize Patterne’s flaws; his first fiancée, Constantia Durham, also leaves him after realizing his profound shallowness.1