The Egoist

The novel recounts the story of self-absorbed Sir Willoughby Patterne and his attempts at marriage; jilted by his first bride-to-be he vacillates between the sentimental Laetitia Dale and the strong-willed Clara Middleton. More importantly the novel follows Claras attempts to escape from her engagement to Sir Willoughby who desires women to serve as a mirror for him and consequently cannot understand why she would not want to marry him. Thus The Egoist dramatizes the difficulty contingent upon being a woman in Victorian society when womens bodies and minds are trafficked between fathers and husbands to cement male bonds.