Mr. Hawley in Middlemarch

Who is Mr. Hawley?

Mr. Hawley is a Middlemarch lawyer and prominent local voice who repeatedly shapes public conversation. He expresses suspicion of reformist figures (notably Will Ladislaw) and participates in the town’s network of rumor and political policing. Hawley appears as one of the conservative, censorious citizens fretting over Brooke’s association with the 'Pioneer' and Ladislaw’s influence (Chapter 37), and later as an active disseminator of scandal about Bulstrode and Lydgate after Raffles’s death (Chapter 71). His interventions help harden public opinion at the sanitary board meeting by demanding answers or resignations, and his factional tone contributes to the mockery and disruption of Mr. Brooke’s campaign (Chapter 51). Hawley does not drive central plotlines but acts as a barometer and amplifier of respectable Middlemarch sentiment, giving voice to small-town fears about innovation, political reform, and social impropriety.

In the book: Mr. Hawley is a prominent Middlemarch lawyer whose sharp tongue and assertive manner make him an influential voice in local politics and public opinion. He often shapes conversations in the town’s professional and social circles, serving as a barometer of respectable Middlemarch sentiment and a foil to more idealistic characters without dominating the central plot.

Personality

Gossipy

In Chapter 71 Mr. Hawley spreads and repeats the embellished story linking Bulstrode to Raffles’s death at public gatherings.

Conservative

Chapter 37 shows Mr. Hawley fretting aloud about the possible influence of reformist writing and Will Ladislaw’s foreign extraction.

Assertive

At the sanitary board meeting (Chapter 71) Hawley demands that Bulstrode either answer the accusations or resign his public posts.

Partisan

In Chapter 51 the mockery and disturbances of Mr. Brooke’s public explanation are credited to Hawley’s faction, marking him as an active opponent.

Character arc

Mr. Hawley’s role is steady rather than developmental: he appears as a representative conservator of Middlemarch opinion and continues in that capacity. Early appearances cast him as one of the town’s alarmed commentators about new political voices and reformist associations (Chapter 37). As national and local controversies deepen, he shifts from mere conversation to active participation in mobilizing public censure—by Chapter 51 his faction is implicated in ridiculing Mr. Brooke’s campaign, and by Chapter 71 he helps turn rumor into a formal demand for accountability at the sanitary board. He does not experience a personal moral awakening or reversal; instead his influence accumulates as public pressure, showing how persistent local talkers can escalate gossip into institutional crisis. By the last recorded episodes he remains an influential, censorious presence whose actions contribute to reputational harm without undergoing significant personal change.

Relationships

• Will Ladislaw Hawley expresses suspicion and disapproval of Ladislaw’s influence and background (Chapter 37).
• Mr. Brooke Hawley opposes Brooke’s reform associations and his campaign is undermined by Hawley’s factional mockery (Chapter 51).
• Nicholas Bulstrode Hawley helps circulate and give voice to the rumor that implicates Bulstrode in misconduct after Raffles’s death (Chapter 71).
• Tertius Lydgate Hawley’s spreading of scandal links Lydgate to Bulstrode’s loan and damages Lydgate’s public standing (Chapter 71).
• Mr. Hopkins Listed among the town figures propagating the Stone Court story alongside Hawley, showing their shared role in rumor (Chapter 71).

Quotes by Mr. Hawley

“I shall rejoice to furnish your zeal with fuller opportunities,” Mr. Bulstrode answered; “I mean, by confiding to you the superintendence of my new hospital, should a maturer knowledge favor that issue, for I am determined that so great an object shall not be shackled by our two physicians.”

Chapter 13Bulstrode offers Lydgate a significant role in the proposed new hospital, revealing his patronage and the importance he places on reform.

“I am not at all sure that I should be befriending your son by smoothing his way to the future possession of Featherstone’s property.”

Chapter 13Bulstrode refuses Vincy’s request for a letter exonerating Fred, framing his refusal in moral and spiritual terms rather than social expediency.

“I will reflect a little, Vincy. I will mention the subject to Harriet. I shall probably send you a letter.”

Chapter 13Bulstrode ends the confrontation without a direct answer, signaling deliberation and the involvement of his wife in final decisions.

“I’ll hev my say—supper or no.”

Chapter 39Dagley asserts his right to complain openly to his landlord, signaling the raw resentments under the surface of rural relations and forcing Mr. Brooke into an awkward retreat.

“I am a close neighbor of yours, my good friends—you've known me on the bench a good while—I've always gone a good deal into public questions—machinery, now, and machine-breaking—you’re many of you concerned with machinery, and I've been going into that lately.”

Chapter 51Part of Mr. Brooke's faltering opening speech from the White Hart, showing his tendency to fall back on safe, self-referential material.

“it is a strange story. So our mercurial Ladislaw has a queer genealogy!”

Chapter 71Farebrother summarizes gossip about Ladislaw’s parentage while reflecting on the strange mix of facts and conjectures circulating in town.

Why Mr. Hawley matters

Mr. Hawley embodies the power of small-town talk and conservative opinion in Middlemarch. He illustrates how respectable-sounding voices can amplify suspicion, shape political contests, and turn private incidents into public crises. Through Hawley, the novel shows the social mechanism by which rumor acquires authority—not by proof but by repetition and authoritative demand—thus probing themes of reputation, moral judgment, and the dangers of communal self-righteousness. He helps demonstrate that community opinion is both a political force and a moral hazard.

Chapters with Mr. Hawley

• Chapter 12
• Chapter 13
• Chapter 27
• Chapter 29
• Chapter 31
• Chapter 37
• Chapter 38
• Chapter 39
• Book 5, Chapter 45
• Book 5, Chapter 46
• Chapter 51
• Chapter 58
• Chapter 70
• Chapter 71
• Chapter 72
• Chapter 76

More Middlemarch characters

• Dorothea BrookeProtagonist
• Tertius LydgateMajor character
• Will LadislawMajor character
• Mr. BrookeMajor character
• Sir James ChettamMajor character
• Rosamond VincyMajor character
• Nicholas BulstrodeMajor character
• Mr. VincyMajor character