Chettam, Sir James

An amiable, prosperous and handsome baronet, with a great dislike for the unconventional. "He was made of excellent human dough, and had the rare merit of knowing that his talents, even if let loose, would not set the smallest stream in the country on fire; hence he liked the prospect of a wife to whom he could say: 'What shall we do?' about this or that; who could help her husband out with reasons, and would also have the property qualification for doing so." He is in love with Dorothea Brooke, whose superiority he reccognizes, and he is much shocked when she marries the elderly Mr. Casaubon. He soon transfers his affectinos to her sister Celia, and becomes an affectionate and indulgent husband. He loyally retains an admiration for Dorothea and opposes her second marriage, which he considers unworthy of her.

<em>Middlemarch</em>

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