Saint Theresa of Avila was a 16th century Spanish nun. During her life, she reformed her convent in a heroic manner. These "epic" (3) heroes like Theresa often struggle to find their vocation in life. Many women such as her are still being born, but their strength and heroism lack the guidance and purpose that benefited Theresa. If a woman like Theresa were born in the 19th century (when Middlemarch is set), she may find herself only as a "foundress of nothing" (4).

Dorothea Brooke is a 19-year-old woman who has lost her parents. She is from a "not exactly aristocratic" (6) but good family nonetheless. Together with her little sister Celia, she goes to live with Arthur Brooke, her "bachelor uncle and guardian" (7). The 60-year-old Arthur lives at Tipton Grange, a sizeable estate that he owns and operates. Each of the orphaned sisters has inherited "seven hundred a-year each from their parents" (8) and Arthur gives them plenty of freedom to do whatever they want. Dorothea is allowed to pursue her interests. She is not only beautiful and intelligent, but also deeply religious. She also possesses "very childlike ideas about marriage" (10) and hopes to marry an intellectually-stimulating man.