The Mill on the Floss summary and theme
Tom and Maggie Tulliver grow up in an idyllic British seaport
town called St. Ogg’s. Their father owns a mill, and they live close by their
mother’s sisters’ families. Mr. Tulliver sends Tom, who is thirteen years old,
to a better school run by a clergyman, hoping that Tom will find his own
lucrative line of business instead of inheriting the mill. Maggie is younger
and wilder; she is known for causing trouble and acting unladylike. Maggie
adores her brother Tom and is only upset over her mischief if it bothers him.
Mr. Tulliver has a dispute with his wife’s sister, Mrs. Glegg, over a
five-hundred-pound loan.
Tom has a difficult time at school. Mr. Stelling, the clergyman, believes that Tom is stupid and obstinate, but Tom doesn’t learn well with Mr. Stelling’s style and content. Philip Wakem, the hunchbacked son of a prominent lawyer in Tom’s hometown, joins him for school amid a lawsuit between Mr. Wakem and Mr. Tulliver regarding a new neighbor’s legal rights over irrigation systems in the area. Philip is intelligent and works well with Mr. Stelling; he is a year older than Tom but much farther ahead in his studies. Philip and Tom build a tentative friendship that is thwarted when Tom teases him by inviting Philip to learn swordplay with a new tutor. Tom convinces this new tutor to loan him a sword that he hides in his bedroom. Meanwhile, Maggie comes for a visit before she heads off to boarding school. She and Philip get along well, and Maggie is interested in Philip’s passion for learning. Tom shows Maggie the sword but drops it on his foot, hurting himself. While recuperating, Philip attempts to be nicer to Tom and befriends Maggie. A few months after Maggie leaves for boarding school, she pays Tom an unexpected visit. She tells him the bad news that their father lost the lawsuit and that the family is now financially destroyed. What is more, their father fell off his horse, damaging his senses.
Mr. Tulliver recovers and, with much embarrassment, agrees to
work in the mill under Mr. Wakem’s employment so that he can keep the house and
settle his debts. Tom goes to work for a warehouse, where his education proves
useless. The Tulliver family falls into a depression. Only Maggie finds a way
to cope, usually through reading. Tom’s former childhood friend, Bob, visits
the family to offer some money and gives Maggie books.
As the years go by, Maggie resigns herself to her lonely
life. Tom works hard and pursues an investment with Bob and his Uncle Glegg.
Maggie meets Philip Wakem again. They start meeting in secret to talk, laugh,
and share books. Philip confesses that he’s in love with her and though Maggie
loves him too, she can’t betray her father, so they keep their friendship a
secret. Tom discovers the friendship and confronts them both. He makes Maggie
promise to never see Philip again and insults Philip’s hunchback and poor
character.
Tom’s investment is successful, and he finishes paying off his
father’s debts. Mr. Tulliver, buoyed by this victory over Mr. Wakem, assaults
Mr. Wakem. Maggie intervenes before anyone gets critically injured, but the
physical altercation weakens Mr. Tulliver, and he dies the next day.
A couple of years go by in which Tom continues to work hard
for his family and Maggie takes up teaching. Her cousin Lucy invites her to
stay with her, introducing her into local society. Maggie is reunited with
Philip, who still loves her. Meanwhile, Lucy is in a serious courtship with Stephen
Guest, the son of a wealthy businessman. Stephen is besotted by Maggie’s
beauty, and he quickly falls in love with her. Maggie tries to avoid his
attentions but is flattered and excited by these new prospects. Lucy tries to
help bring Maggie and Philip closer together. Philip gets his father’s blessing
to pursue a courtship with Maggie, but Tom is steadfast in forbidding Maggie to
get involved with Philip. Philip realizes that Stephen is in love with Maggie
and worries that he will lose her to Stephen.
Stephen and Maggie go on a boat ride together. Stephen rows
Maggie away from town for hours, proposing that they elope up North. Maggie
rejects him and they have a deep conversation about their feelings for one
another and their duty to their families. By this point, they have rowed too
far away to row back, so they board a passing barge together. It takes hours to
return to shore, and Stephen begs Maggie to marry him to save her honor. Maggie
leaves Stephen and returns home to Tom, who has heard of her disgraceful
behavior with Stephen and refuses to let her back into his house. Maggie finds
refuge with Bob and his family, while Stephen and Philip flee abroad to escape
their pain and shame. Stephen writes his father a letter admitting that the
whole scandal was his fault, but this letter does little to ease the insidious
gossip about Maggie. Philip and Stephen both write Maggie a letter declaring
that they still love her and will help her.
Maggie must make a decision about Stephen, but unusual rains
cause a flash flood on the river Floss. Bob sets Maggie up in a boat when the
house floods and she rows to Dorlcote Mill to save Tom. As she and Tom row
together to save Lucy, their boat is thrust under the water by passing debris.
Maggie and Tom die in each other’s arms.
THE MILL ON THE FLOSS CHARACTER ANALYSIS
MAGGIE TULLIVER
Maggie Tulliver is the protagonist of The Mill on the Floss.
The reader meets her when she is a child and follows her through adolescence
and young adulthood, with her tribulations helping to form the core action of
the novel.
The Mill on the Floss summary and themes, As a child, Maggie conforms to the Victorian feminine ideal
in neither looks nor behavior: her “dark” looks and wild, unmanageable hair
lead her relatives to compare her to a “gypsy”, suggesting that Maggie appears
as an outsider to the rest of the community. Her unusual looks complement her
free spirit, as her disobedience and intelligence are also at odds with the
societal expectations for female children. The disapproval Maggie faces even as
a child immediately sets up the gender dynamics that will remain thematically
prominent throughout the novel—in spite of her clear intelligence and strength
of character, Maggie is destined to struggle due to the limitations and expectations
placed upon her gender.
As Maggie grows and matures, she becomes less “wild” but
maintains her inner strength. When faced with the family’s financial ruin, she
alone amongst her family manages to keep her spirits high through turning to
books and seeking to treat others with empathy and consideration. Her humility
and humane instincts form an important contrast with the resentment and
vengefulness engaged in by her father and Tom towards the Wakem family.
Furthermore, the close bond she forms with Philip reinforces the way in which
she—unlike Tom—is able to connect with other people relegated to an “outsider”
role, while her genuine feelings for Philip show how much she values moral
qualities and intelligence in a person over the more superficial traits—such as
wealth and good looks—that her society often prizes.
Maggie’s unfair ostracism and tragic end at the novel’s close
reinforces the sense that Maggie’s destiny is shaped by societal pressures and
external forces outside of her control. The flood that pulls her and Tom under
is the final, symbolic embodiment of the way in which Maggie has valiantly
tried to maintain her dignity and will in the face of overwhelming odds. In
spite of her death, Maggie’s end grants her a victory even in defeat: Her
willingness to risk her own life to rescue Tom and Lucy reveals that her spirit
and humanity has remained unbroken to the very end.
TOM TULLIVER
Tom Tulliver is Maggie’s older brother. As a son, he is
brought up differently from his sister. While not as intellectually gifted as
Maggie, he is nevertheless granted better educational opportunities by their
father, who hopes that Tom will be able to pursue a career and achieve social
mobility. However, Mr. Tulliver’s plan is in direct violation of Tom’s own
desires, as Tom loves the traditional rural life and wishes to follow in his
father’s footsteps by running the mill. When Mr. Tulliver loses all his wealth
and becomes ill, Tom is immediately forced to step into the role of family
patriarch, working long and hard to support his family and pay off the family’s
debts. Tom’s life, like Maggie’s, is therefore shaped by gender
expectations—regardless of what his own personal preferences might be, he is
often pressured into setting aside his own wants in order to fulfill his duties
as a man and as a son.
Tom is guarded, suspicious of others, and easily judgmental.
Unlike Maggie, there is a streak of cruelty in his character: His resentment of
Philip, both as a child and as a grown man, is rooted in both his jealousy of
Philip’s intellect and, later, his hatred towards Philip’s father over the lost
lawsuit. His determination to keep Maggie and Philip apart speaks to his
selfishness and inflexibility, which only seeks to further weaken the once-close
bond between the siblings. When he sides with the town gossips over Maggie
after the boating incident with Stephen, the extent to which Tom has lost sight
of Maggie’s importance as both his sister and as a human being is readily
apparent—he, unlike Maggie, has entirely lost his ability to empathize with
others and respond humanely to suffering. His death in Maggie’s arms at the
novel’s end enables the siblings to reunite both physically and emotionally,
but there is a lingering sense that Tom’s treatment of Maggie has actively
facilitated the tragic end of both.
PHILIP
WAKEM
Philip Wakem is Maggie’s love interest in the novel. His
father and Maggie’s father are rivals who carry on their grudges towards one
another through the years, which in turn affects their children.
Philip represents a very different sort of man from Tom
Tulliver. Philip has a hunchback, a physical deformity that makes people in his
society treat him like a fragile object. He is raised to believe that he should
not be active, have a job, or marry, creating a situation in which his life is
severely limited. These limitations—as well as the patronizing attitude of
others towards him—makes his situation closer to that of a woman like Maggie
than to that of a typical Victorian man. Instead, Philip lives in Maggie’s
world of literature, art, and music. This connects him to Maggie on a deep
level. Their intellectual connection is also that of two outsiders
acknowledging one another’s worth.
Philip is Maggie’s staunchest supporter and could provide her
with a good life if she married him. However, he too faces pressures both
social and familial that often thwart his own plans. In spite of his love for
Maggie, he feels compelled to seek the permission of both his father and Tom
before they can unite, revealing that he, too, is dependent upon his father’s
wealth and support in order to survive. His perpetual singlehood and isolation
at the novel’s end render him a tragic figure, whose chance at happiness—like
Maggie’s—has been swept away by forces beyond his control.
MR.
TULLIVER
Mr. Tulliver is Maggie and Tom’s father. He is an important
character in the novel because he is the foundation of the Tulliver household
and the reason for the major plot twist. Mr. Tulliver is proud of his family
name and the inheritance of the mill. He also has an intense desire for social
mobility: His adult fortune is significantly more than the socio-economic
status with which he grew up, and he dreams of Tom becoming educated and even
more successful.
Unfortunately, Mr. Tulliver makes a series of mistakes that
inadvertently robs his family of their financial security and regresses his
socio-economic status. Mr. Tulliver fails because of his pride, ignoring the
opinions and warnings of his wife and in-laws in his pursuit of an ill-fated
lawsuit. When faced with financial ruin, Mr. Tulliver responds with resentment
and a deep hatred for the Wakem family instead of taking responsibility for his
losses—it is significant that he dies after attacking Mr. Wakem right when Tom
has finally cleared the family debts. Mr. Tulliver’s character arc embodies the
theme of the unpredictability of life, while also illustrating the corrosive
effects of choosing anger and vengeance over humanity.
STEPHEN
GUEST
Stephen Guest is a wealthy young man from St. Ogg’s who
courts Lucy, Maggie’s cousin, until he meets and falls in love with Maggie.
Stephen is a secondary character who is important in two ways. First, he drives
the plot in Parts 6 and 7 because he ruins Maggie’s reputation. Second, his
inability to care about Maggie and Lucy’s agency and feelings represent his
society’s sexist attitudes towards women. Stephen is consistently controlling
and superficial in his treatment of women. He values Maggie primarily because
of her looks and refuses to accept her rejection of his advances and marriage
proposal. His cavalier attitude towards Lucy’s well-being is also a defining
feature of his behavior, emphasizing his selfishness and lack of
responsibility. In ruining Maggie’s reputation over the boating incident, he
shows the lengths to which he is willing to go in the pursuit of his own
desires, with no regard for the humiliation she may face.
THE MILL ON THE FLOSS THEMES
FAMILY LOYALTY ABOVE INDIVIDUAL HAPPINESS
In The Mill on the Floss Eliot explores the contradictions
between familial expectations, the influence of society, and the desires of the
individual. Most of the conflicts in this novel are brought on by the issue of
family loyalty over individual happiness. Although Eliot ultimately proves that
family loyalty is important, she also warns her reader against ignoring the
individuals that make up a family and community.
As the only son of the Tulliver family, it is Tom’s duty to
continue the honor of the Tulliver name because if Maggie gets married, she
will lose her identity as a Tulliver, and as a daughter, her opportunities are
far fewer. Thus Tom is under pressure from his father to do well and advance
the family’s interests. Tom is sent away to a school in which his natural curiosities
and talents are repressed—in his experiences with Mr. Stelling, Tom puts family
loyalty above his individual happiness. When his father’s financial ruin deals
the Tullivers a difficult blow, Tom immediately embraces his new role as head
of the family. He finds work that may be deemed beneath his station, knowing
that his individual ambitions are unimportant when it comes to doing his duty.
For years, Tom works hard for meager earnings, giving up his own social life
and dreams. These years turn Tom into a myopic thinker, but he believes it is
the sacrifice he must make to maintain the family. Tom ultimately does save the
family, but at the expense of his own character development.
Maggie’s honor is another example of the conflict between
familial duty and individual happiness. As a child, Maggie is criticized
because she doesn’t look like the Dodson side of her family. Furthermore, she
is a wild child who often gets in trouble for her impulsiveness. The Dodsons
decide that Maggie’s childhood character flaws are indicative of her family
name. Therefore, as a child she is immediately put under pressure to act like a
proper girl so that she can avoid being an embarrassment to the family. Her
father is the only adult who cares about Maggie’s individual happiness. When he
dies, so does the belief that Maggie should be loved for who she truly is. As
an adult, Maggie develops a friendship with Philip that turns into a romance,
leading her individual happiness to threaten her relationship with Tom. Tom has
internalized the importance of family loyalty so much that he refuses to
entertain the thought that individuals within a family can be better than the
reputation of that family. Philip would provide Maggie with a secure and happy
life, but Tom is unable to see this because of his determination to harbor old
resentments between families. Philip and Maggie’s potential for happiness is
thwarted by family loyalty.
When Stephen ruins Maggie’s reputation, Tom takes it
personally as a slight to the Tulliver name. He refuses to give Maggie refuge,
twisting the idea of family loyalty. Tom believes that in turning Maggie away
to her shame, he is defending the Tulliver ethos—but he is actually rejecting
and betraying his own sister. Interestingly, the only family member who
publicly defends Maggie is Mrs. Glegg, who believes in public honor and
reputation more than anything. To Mrs. Glegg, a family must stay together even
when they are in the wrong. Mrs. Glegg’s loyalty to Maggie presents a foil to
Tom, highlighting how destructive his resentments have become.
Ultimately, Eliot believes in both individual happiness and
family loyalty. Eliot uses Maggie’s character to show the reader that
individual happiness is tied to family loyalty in a cycle of support and love.
Eliot kills off Tom and Maggie in a tragic moment of a final embrace to
emphasize the importance of not taking family for granted. Maggie and Tom die
together, holding one another in a final ode to the family life that brought
them together as children, before society intervened.
THE UNPREDICTABILITY OF LIFE
In The Mill on the Floss there is only so much each character
can do to exercise agency, especially when under societal pressures or
unforeseen events. In this novel, Eliot demonstrates how life is unpredictable
and makes society’s concerns superficial.
The first instance that demonstrates this theme is when the
Tullivers lose their property to Mr. Tulliver’s failed lawsuit. The news of
their swift financial ruin is a major blow to the family’s pride and sense of
security. Moreover, the loss is total, which comes as a surprise to everyone. Mr.
Tulliver then believes he can remortgage his property, but life again takes a
turn: The financial backers are not in a position to support Mr. Tulliver, thus
taking away his safety net. Tom is especially affected by this change because
financial responsibility falls on his young and inexperienced shoulders,
diverting him away from the education he was pursuing.
However, the unpredictability of life is not always a bad
thing. Maggie and Philip forge an unlikely friendship that develops into an
even more unlikely romantic connection, surprising both of them. Philip is
raised to believe that marriage and romantic love is not in his future because
of his physical deformity. He is judged for his appearance and internalizes the
idea that what is possible for other people’s happiness is not possible for
him. But when he meets Maggie, they develop a friendship that transcends his
deformity and the limitations of her social position. They meet on an equal
intellectual level—a random acquaintance that changes both of their lives
because they each finally meet someone who sees them for the person they are
and not for the expectations projected onto them.
The Mill on the Floss summary and themes - The flood is the ultimate moment in which Eliot evokes her
theme on the unpredictability of life. The town of St. Ogg’s has been obsessed
with the scandal surrounding Maggie, but the flood proves that society’s
preoccupations with gossip and status are nonsensical in the face of nature.
The flood is uncontrollable—no one can stop the flood, and no one can prevent
it from happening. The flood forces Tom and Maggie back together, highlighting
their rupture as a waste of valuable time. Tom and Maggie could not have known
that they would die together in a flood, but it is this unpredictability that
emphasizes the tragedy of Tom’s rejection of Maggie. They could have spent more
time together, sharing their lives and love, but instead they allow society to
intervene until it is too late.
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