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This competition is reiterated in the dinner scene when Mr. Tulliver and
Mrs. Glegg quarrel over Toms schooling. Mrs. Glegg is a bold,
opinionated woman who cannot seem to hold her acceptable place below
the men of the household. Mr. Tulliver makes his point very clear, as the
other members of the family attempt to calm sister Glegg, stating I
should never want to quarrel with any woman, if she kept her place (p.
79). Mrs. Glegg considers her opinions in the highest demand, and never attempts
to hold back for any reason. She is very like Maggie in this way, who insists on
bragging about her intelligence to men who consider her a silly little girl. The
women in this story are not taken seriously. In fact, the most proper Victorian
female in the novel would have to be Lucy, who acts more like a doll than a real
person. I am interested to see what kind of a turn the novel takes once Maggie and
Lucy are full grown, and have mastered other talents of their own more suiting to
the feminine disposition. Will Maggie rebel? Or try to succeed in her own sphere?
In George Eliots The Mill on the Floss, a number of dichotomies are set up
from the beginning of the novel. From class structures to gender roles, we
see clear points of contrast that set up threads of tension for the narrator to
comment on as the novel progresses. The most obvious contrasting figures
present themselves in Tom and Maggie, the Tulliver siblings that the novel
follows.
Tom is painted as the pride and joy of the family: the fairly intelligent son
who will go off to have more schooling than his father and the sweet boy
who takes after his mothers side. Maggie is shown to be the lovable
proverbial thorn in her parents side: she talks back and disregards her
mother, is too clever for a girl her age (proclaimed and prided by her
father), and incredibly emotional and temperamental. The differences
between these two siblings is not only found in their parents
understanding of each child and their behavior, but also in the way they are
described as looking. Tom is standard and attractive: He was one of those
lads that grew everywhere in Englanda lad with light-brown hair, cheeks
of cream and roses, full lips, indeterminate nose and eyebrows (32).
Maggie has dark hair and eyes and refuses to be groomed to conform to the

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current fashion like her cousin (indeed, an apt and literal metaphor for her
refusal to be groomed into submission by her mother.
Within the first day Tom is home, we see the clear difference between the
way he and Maggie understand their relationship and indeed the rules of
life. Maggie is devoted to Tom and apologetic for any wrong she may do to him
(usually unintentional). Tom is severe in his reactions and stubborn in his
understanding of how justice and punishment work . When Maggie forgets to feed
Toms pet rabbits while he is away, his punishment for her is relatively cruel when we
bear in mind the ages of the two siblings (Tom, 13 and Maggie, 9): You forgot to feed
em, then, and Harry forgot? he said Ill pitch into Harry Ill have him turned away.
And I dont love you, Maggie. You shant go fishing with me tomorrow (35) While it
takes Maggie perceived hours to get over this incident, Tom moves on rather easily; he
doesnt seem to swell but will never forget the injustice done to him.
Though these differences in character can easily be chalked up to gender roles easily,
they also point to differences in a larger capacity. The morality inherent in each child,
both of which are clearly not associated with evil, ask vastly different questions about
right and wrong. Are intentions and emotions where good and right inherently lie or
governing logic and rational reaction? Does knowledge corrupt more than it benefits?
Do people who are inherently smarter (or cleverer) tend towards a more complex
worldview? How does the overlay of Christianity and the interpretations of the Bible
affect the answers to these questions?
In the first section of The Mill on the Floss, there are various references to family and
possession. Both Mr. and Mrs. Tulliver establish a favorite child right away, one that
takes after either him or her in a certain way. These references maintain a sense of
possession that seems to question the construction of a whole family. Eliot, rather,
describes family traits to such a degree that each child seems to belong to one, single
parent.
The Tulliver family seems to be made of two separate parts. One part consists of Mr.
Tulliver and Maggie, the little wench, and the other is Mrs. Tulliver and Tom. In the
beginning of the novel, Mr. Tulliver declares that Tom, hasnt got the right sort of
brains for a smart fellow. I doubt hes a bit slowish. He takes after your family Bessy,
(14). This declaration is confirmed by Mrs. Tulliver, who relates Tom to the previous
male generations of her family (brother and father), which situates him as the youngest

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generation of the Dodson family, rather, more strongly in this case, of the Tulliver
family.
Mr. Tulliver speaks directly about the idea of children in relation to their parents when
he describes the process of crossing o breeds, (15). He explains that this process can
never be justly calkilate [d] as he reveals that Maggie takes after my side, now: shes
twice as cute as Tom, (15) when he would have preferred that the wench took after her
mothers side. This discussion questions the construction of family, as well as the raising
of children.
Mr. Tulliver addresses this question when he explains why he decided to marry Mrs.
Tulliver. He picked her from her sisters o purpose cause she was a bit weak, (22). His
decision though, seems to have produced elements of a topsy-turvy world, as a
pleasant sort o soft woman may go on breeding you stupid lads and cute wenches,
(22). This notion of a topsy-turvy world is reflected in the qualities of Tom and Maggie.
By taking after the opposite gender, there is a uncommon depiction of a family (22)
This puzzlin depiction seems to especially effect Maggie, as it causes her to struggle to
feel wanted and to understand why her actions alienate her from many members of her
family (22). Interestingly, Mr. Tulliver proclaims that Maggie is Too cute for a
woman, (15) which sets up her later characterization as a devious child who cuts off her
hair and refuses to do her pretty patchwork, because she believes it is foolish, (16).
While placed in relation to her father, Maggie becomes characterized as someone who
cannot fit in. Her father later laments, Its a pity but what shed been the lad-shed ha
been a match for the lawyers, she would, (22). Again, Maggie is idealized as a son, for
Mr. Tulliver believes she has the brains to succeed in a mans profession. This makes
Maggies struggle to fit in problematic because she is characterized as an especially
peevish and strong-headed young girl. Mr. Tulliver later admits that he seldem found
anyone volunteering praise of the little wench: it was usually left entirely to himself to
insist on her merits, (86). With this thought, we see that Maggie usually has no allies,
at least to Mr. Tulliver. But the characterization of Maggie suggests that because she is
more strongly tied to her father, she continues to struggle to feel wanted and loved as a
proper young girl.

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1.

childhood Discusses how George Eliot rationalizes Maggie Tulliver's behavior

with men in her book The Mill on the Floss. Maggie's unresolved rage is transformed
into her adult misuse of sexual power. Maggie's expression of aggression

(narcissistic rage) responds to any incident that attacks her weak sense of self
or that repeats the pattern of rejection by her parents and society. Eliot's apparent
inability to see the aggression in her heroine's actions seems to derive in part from the
autobiographical nature of the novel. By rationalizing Maggie's behavior, Eliot justifies
her own behavior which culminated in her affair with George Lewes and defends herself
against her family's and society's judgment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA,
all rights reserved)

Maggie Tulliver: Divided Needs Represented in Diverse Relations It is said that

George Eliots style of writing deals with much realism. Eliot, herself meant by a
realist to be an artist who values the truth of observation above the imaginative
fancies of writers of romance or fashionable melodramatic fiction. (Ashton 19)

It is the misfortune of a clever girl denied any activity other than domestic.
(Ashton 50) In the time period of the setting of the novel, women were regarded
as male property, to take care of household matters and without skill, originality
and intelligence of a man. Mr. Tulliver cared deeply for his daughters future but
inadvertently oppressed Maggie through his views of women.

This idea is represented in his dialog with Mr. Riley of Maggies unnatural intelligence: Its a
pity but what shed been then lad shed habeen a match for the lawyers, she would. Its the
wonderfulst thing. (Eliot 68) Mr. Tulliver by nature was stubborn, opinionated and led his
family to disgrace as a result. However, there is a close bond between him and Maggie for which
he had always protected her and favored her over Tom, as much as would permit in that age.
Maggie always felt a responsibility to please her father and to never cause him any grievances.

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Every episode in the early chapters show Maggies high hopes of pleasure being
dashed by disagreements with Tom. (Ashton 75)