The Middle March

Dorothea and Lydgate both have different trajectories in the book. One character thinks that they've got it all figured out, while another is mired in misery. As Emerson said, a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. Pull back far enough from our lives, and we will find we are consistent, but we waver along the way. Pain leads to insight, and spiritual growth can feel like physical pain.