The Egoist
Author(s): George Meredith
Genre(s): Family Life, Published 1800 -1900
Narrators: Martin Geeson, Elizabeth Klett, Dawn, Lars Rolander (1942-2016), Skoval, Neeru Iyer, Hefyd, Sarah Prusoff, Magdalena, Linda Woods
Number of Chapters: 51
Length: 22 hours and 17 minutes
Language: English
The Egoist is a tragi-comical novel by George Meredith published in 1879. 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 Clara's 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 women's bodies and minds are trafficked between fathers and husbands to cement male bonds. (Summary from Wikipedia)