The Mill on the Floss

Introduction

By
Aftab akram
George Eliot
Introduction
Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December
1880;  Marian is her short name), known by her pen
name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet,
journalist, translator and one of the leading writers of
the Victorian era.

The Mill on the Floss is a novel by George

Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), first published in three
volumes in 1860 by  William Blackwood.
Introduction
She wrote seven novels, 
Adam Bede (1859), 
The Mill on the Floss (1860), 
Silas Marner (1861), 
Romola (1862–63),
 Felix Holt, the Radical (1866),
 Middlemarch (1871–72)
Daniel Deronda (1876)
Her novels are set in provincial England and known for
their realism and psychological insight.
Pen Name
Although female authors were published under their
own names during her lifetime, she wanted to escape
the stereotype of women's writing being limited to
lighthearted romances. She also wanted to have her
fiction judged separately from her already extensive and
widely known work as an editor and critic. Another
factor in her use of a pen name may have been a desire
to shield her private life from public scrutiny, thus
avoiding the scandal that would have arisen because of
her relationship with the married George Henry
Lewes.
Life and Education
Mary Ann Evans was born in England. She was the
third child of Robert Evans (1773–1849) and Christiana
Evans (1788–1836), the daughter of a local mill-owner. 
Mary Ann's name was sometimes shortened to Marian.
Her full siblings were Christiana (1814–59), Isaac (1816–
1890), and twin brothers who died a few days after birth
in March 1821. She also had a half-brother, Robert
(1802–64), and half-sister, Fanny (1805–82), from her
father's previous marriage to Harriet Poynton (1780–
1809). 
The young Evans was a voracious reader and obviously
intelligent. Because she was not considered physically
beautiful, Evans was not thought to have much chance of
marriage, and this, coupled with her intelligence, led her
father to invest in an education not often afforded
women.
 Evans, who had been struggling (aged 21) with religious
doubts for some time, became intimate friends with the
radical, free-thinking Brays, whose "Rosehill" home was a
haven for people who held and debated radical views. 
Through this society Evans was introduced to more liberal and
agnostic theologies
When Evans began to question her religious faith, her
father threatened to throw her out of the house, but
his threat was not carried out. Instead, she respectfully
attended church and continued to keep house for him
until his death in 1849, when she was 30. Five days
after her father's funeral, she travelled to Switzerland
with the Brays. 
Relationship with George Lewes
The philosopher and critic George Henry Lewes (1817–78) met Evans in 1851,
and by 1854 they had decided to live together. Lewes was already married to
Agnes Jervis, although in an open marriage. In July 1854, Lewes and Evans
travelled to Berlin together for the purpose of research.
The trip to Germany also served as a honeymoon for Evans and Lewes, who
subsequently considered themselves married. Evans began to refer to Lewes
as her husband and to sign her name as Mary Ann Evans Lewes. Eventually,
after Lewes' death, she legally changed her name to Mary Ann Evans Lewes.
It was not unusual for men in Victorian society to have adulterous
affairs; Charles Bray, John Chapman, Friedrich Engels, and Wilkie Collins
all had adulterous affairs, conducted with discretion. By contrast, Lewes
and Evans declined to conceal their relationship, and it was this refusal
which perhaps gave an additional edge to the reproaches of contemporary
moralists.
Acceptance
The revelations about Eliot's private life surprised and shocked
many of her admiring readers, but this did not affect her
popularity as a novelist. Her relationship with Lewes afforded her
the encouragement and stability she needed to write fiction, but
it would be some time before the couple were accepted into polite
society. Acceptance was finally confirmed in 1877 when they were
introduced to Princess Louise, the daughter of Queen Victoria.
The queen herself was an avid reader of all of Eliot's novels.
Within a year of completing Adam Bede, she finished The Mill on
the Floss, dedicating the manuscript: "To my beloved husband,
George Henry Lewes, my third book, written in the sixth year of
our life together.”
Marriage to John Cross and death
On 16 May 1880 Eliot married John Walter Cross (1840–1924)
and again changed her name, this time to Mary Ann Cross.
While the marriage courted some controversy due to the
difference in ages, it pleased her brother Isaac, who had
broken off relations with her when she had begun to live with
Lewes, and now sent congratulations.
During the honeymoon in Venice, Cross, in a fit of depression,
jumped from the hotel balcony. He survived, and the
newlyweds returned to England. They moved to a new house
in Chelsea, but Eliot fell ill with a throat infection.
This led to her death on 22 December 1880 at the age of 61.
Characteristics of Victorian Age
Characteristics of Victorian Age
British manufacturing became dominant in the world and trade
and the financial sector also grew significantly
The rail network, begun in the 1830s, was largely completed by the
1870s and had a great effect not only on the accessibility of travel and
speed of movement but also on the appearance of the countryside
British power and influence overseas expanded and seemed to be
permanent
The population grew enormously, from around 12 million in 1812
to 25 million by 1870
This period also saw a significant shift of population from the
countryside to the towns and the consequent growth of large
cities.
Characteristics of Victorian Age
However, these changes were not always positive.  The daily needs and
problems of ordinary people included: poverty, poor housing, ill health, a
horrifying level of child mortality, hunger, long hours of grinding labour.
The rapid changes of the time benefited some people long before others.
The social focus of many Victorian novels posed key moral and social
questions about issues such as:
The need for schooling and the care of orphans and other deprived children
Cruelty to children and the corruption of children by criminals
The problems created by emphasis on social class and newly acquired
wealth
The problems created by rapid industrialization and urbanization and the
conflict between employers and workers.
The Rich get Richer and the Poor get Poorer
Timeline
Born Mary Anne Evans
22 November 1819
England,
Died 22 December 1880 (aged 61)
England
Pen name George Eliot
Occupation Novelist, poet, journalist, translator
Period Victorian
Notable works The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas
Marner (1861), Romola(1862–1863), Middlemarch(1871–72), Daniel
Deronda(1876)
Spouse John Cross (m. May,1880) (aged 61)
Partner George Henry Lewes (1854–1878)
Writing Style
Horically speaking, George Eliot is placed at the middle of the 19th century
but practically she belonged to the literary and intellectual tradition of
the 20th century. She is considered to be the most intelligent and gifted writer
of her age and the qualities which characterized her creative achievements
are those which are usually found in the writings of the artist of the modern
century. It means that she is far ahead of her own age and it is this very thing
which effects a close link between her and the modern writers
In the novel The Mill on the Floss, Eliot uses the relationships of the
protagonist of the story, Miss Maggie Tulliver, as a medium through which
she conveys various aspects of human social associations.
It is said that George Eliot’s style of writing deals with much realism. “an
artist who values the truth of observation above the imaginative fancies of
writers of “romance” or fashionable melodramatic fiction.”
Writing Style
Eliot is a Victorian novelist, but in more ways than one she is a pioneer of the
modern novel. In Dickens, the emphasis is on the society and on the
individual but in George Eliot the emphasis is on the psychology of the
individual. Therefore with her rare penetration through understanding of
human weaknesses and generous sympathy, she is concerned with the
very basic problems, experiences, encroachment and impingement upon
the individual by his general
surroundings.

It is revealed through Maggie’s struggle to seek her identity in such a society

which considers religion, conventions and family reputation and appearances
more important than individual’s personal characteristics. Naturally this
attitude of the society, according to George Eliot can result only in a severe
reaction, rebellion and dejection, a sense of isolation within the individual.
Writing Style
Genre Bildungsroman, tragedy, Romance Victorian Novel,
Psychological Novel, Realism, Historical and Family Novel
Verbose This book is over five hundred pages long. Eliot’s sentences
are often extremely long and she uses lots of fun punctuation (dashes,
semi-colons) to avoid using periods. 
Dialect A notable feature of Eliot's writing is her use of local dialect
in dialogue to express her characters' educational and social class. For
example, Mr. Tulliver tells his wife, "What I want is to give Tom a good
eddication…. 
Foreshadowing Throughout the novel, Eliot repeatedly refers to the
river, reminding the reader of its power and hinting at the catastrophic
flood to come in the final chapters. 
Symbolism River, Maggie’s Hair and physical appearance
Writing Style
Perspective and Narrator
The Mill on the Floss features a third-person omniscient narrator, who
periodically lapses into using the first-person singular pronoun I. The
narrator continually comments on the action of the story, often using
an ironic tone. The narrator's use of verbal irony throughout the novel
is sometimes playful and humorous and sometimes biting and bitter.
Eliot gives the narrator a male persona, although many critics point
out how close the author is to her protagonist, Maggie Tulliver. Thus
the narrator at times seems overly sympathetic toward Maggie to the
degree that he doesn't see Maggie clearly. The narrator includes the
reader in the text by referring to himself and the reader on occasion
using the first-person plural pronoun we.
Tone Sympathetic, Ironic, Satire, Philosophical , insightful
Tense The Mill on the Floss is written primarily in
the past tense, although the narrator occasionally
lapses into the present tense when referring to himself
or addressing the reader.
Historical Context
Education
Schools run by the state did not exist in England until
1870. Before that time, parents could send their children
to any of four different types of school: private,
endowed, church, and ragged. Anyone could open a
private school, and no particular qualifications were
required, so these schools varied greatly depending on
the skill of the teachers. In The Mill on the Floss, the
Reverend Stelling's school is a private arrangement, and
as Eliot shows, Stelling is obviously not a very gifted
teacher. 
Historical Context
Roles of Women
In the mid-nineteenth century, women were expected to
marry and have children. Because they were not allowed
to enter any jobs other than menial ones, they were
dependent upon either their parents or husbands for
money. In addition, because money and property were
inherited only through males, it was almost impossible
for a woman to be single and financially independent
even if she had wealthy parents, because her brothers or
male cousins would inherit everything from them,
leaving her without an income. 
Historical Context
The Industrial Revolution
Beginning in the mid-eighteenth century, new inventions in
agriculture, textile spinning and weaving, iron making, and energy
generation led to immense changes in the economy and society.
By the mid-nineteenth century the Industrial Revolution was
transforming England from a rural economy and culture to an
urban one based on factories and industry. The growth in factories
led to more jobs for working-class people, but it forced them to
move to the cities, where the factories were located. This resulted
in a population drain in rural areas and unhealthy overcrowding in
cities, where sanitation, housing, and medical facilities were often
inadequate for the growing masses of workers. 
Story
The story follows Maggie Tulliver, a bright girl whose older brother, Tom, is
less intellectual. Maggie always felt a responsibility to please her father and to
never cause him any grievances. Maggie’s brother, Tom, is the person of whom
she was the most fond of. Maggie eventually gets to know and like Tom's
schoolmate, Philip Wakem, who is disabled, but Tom disapproves of their
relationship. Maggie's  father engages in a lawsuit that he loses, while
Wakem's father supports his opponent. Mr. Tulliver's lawsuit causes his health
to suffer, and he eventually dies. Maggie visits her cousin, Lucy, and gets
involved with her friend, Stephen Guest, who asks Maggie to run away with
him. They spend the night in a boat that has drifted on the water, and Maggie
is treated as a fallen woman as a result. In the end, she dies while trying to
rescue her brother, Tom, from a flood. Nevertheless, this story has many
elements of the bildungsroman, as it shows a girl's growth to womanhood.
Setting (Time)  1829–1839
Three act plot analysis
Act I From the beginning of the novel until Mr. Tulliver
loses his lawsuit
Act II The aftermath of the lawsuit until Mr. Tulliver’s
death
Act III From Maggie’s introduction to Stephen Guest
until the flood and the death of Tom and Maggie

Major Conflict  Maggie must choose between her inner

desire toward passion and sensuous life and her impulse
towards moral responsibility and the need for her brother's
approval and love.
Plot Analysis
Rising Action  Incurious Tom is sent to school, while Maggie is
held "uncanny" for her intelligence. Mr. Tulliver's pride and
inability to adapt to the changing economic world causes him to
lose his property in a lawsuit against Lawyer Wakem and eventually
die as the result of his fury toward Wakem. To Tom's dismay,
Maggie becomes secretly close to Wakem's sensitive crippled son,
Philip.
Climax  At the age of nineteen, Maggie visits her cousin Lucy and
becomes hopelessly attracted to Lucy's wealthy and polished suitor,
Stephen Guest, and he to her. Stephen and Maggie are
inadvertently left to themselves for a boatride. Stephen rows them
further down river than planned and tries to convince Maggie to
elope with him.
Plot Analysis
Falling Action  Maggie parts with Stephen, arguing
that they each cannot ignore the claims that Lucy and
Philip have on them. Maggie returns to St. Ogg's
several days later and is met with repudiation from the
entire town and from Tom. Philip and Lucy contact
Maggie and forgive her. The Floss floods, and Maggie
seizes a boat and rows to the Mill to save Tom. Their
boat is capsized by floating machinery, Tom and
Maggie drown in each other's arms.
Themes
1. The claim of the past upon present identity
2. The effect of society upon the individual
3. The importance of sympathy
4. Practical knowledge versus bookish knowledge
5. Loss of innocence
6. Gender Disparity
7. The Difficulty of Choice
8. Renunciation and Sacrifice
9. Nostalgia
Communal versus Individual Interests
The theme of communal versus individual interests, which
could also be called duty versus desire, is of central
importance to The Mill on the Floss, and is essentially what
drives the plot. Maggie, with her unusual looks, her
intellectual prowess, her driving curiosity, and her passionate
desires, does not naturally fit into the community of St. Ogg’s
at all. Her family continually fears what will become of her,
she is often misunderstood and almost never taken seriously,
and she is certainly never given the praise for her cleverness
that she so desires. To fulfill her individual desires, then, is to
break out of any role the community is willing to offer her,
and so to go against it
Loss of innocence
Loss of innocence It is a major theme in The Mill on the Floss.
From the beginning of the novel, the narrator makes it clear that
there is a strong demarcation between living in childhood, as
Maggie and Tom are doing, and looking back on it, as she is doing. 
Gender Disparity The gender disparity in the world of The Mill on
the Floss is vital to understanding Maggie’s story. She is an
intelligent and fascinating woman, but the world she is born into
offers nothing for her to do with her talents; women are assumed to
be more interested in gossip than reading, adherence to custom is
valued more highly than intelligence or knowledge, and whether
women are even capable of amassing a depth of knowledge is a
subject of debate.
The Difficulty of Choice
Throughout The Mill on the Floss, the individual is
pitted against the community, especially in reference
to Maggie Tulliver. To make the decision to inhabit her
individuality would be, in many ways, the more
difficult path, as the book shows us that with the
freedom of individuality comes the responsibility to
make choices, and for Maggie, at least, such decisive
action is never easy.
Renunciation and Sacrifice
Renunciation and sacrifice are at the heart of the
major actions of Maggie and Tom’s lives. After his
father’s losses, Tom dedicates his life to repaying his
father’s debts, and then to getting the mill back
from Mr. Wakem. To this end he gives up all
socializing so that he won’t be tempted to spend any of
the money he makes, and he works so hard that when
he gets home every night, he is too tired to even
converse with his family. He thus essentially sacrifices
human interaction to regain his family’s honor.
Nostalgia
Tom and Maggie are cut off from their childhood by their
loss of innocence caused by their father’s troubles, but that
does not mean the ties created in their childhood are
severed. The narrator repeatedly makes it clear that “old
inferior things” always have a special meaning when you
grow up with them, and almost all of her passages describing
the mill and the surrounding area are riddled with nostalgic
musings. The nostalgic frame for the past makes the loss of
innocence all the more poignant, for the present can never be
as good as the nostalgic past, since even the reality of the
past was not as good as one remembers.
The Claim of the Past Upon Present
Identity
Both characters and places in The Mill on the Floss are
presented as the current products of multi-
generational gestation. The very architecture of St.
Ogg's bears its hundreds of years of history within it.
Similarly, Maggie and Tom are the hereditary products
of two competing family lines—the Tullivers and the
Dodsons—that have long histories and tendencies. In
the novel, the past holds a cumulative presence and
has a determining effect upon characters who are open
to its influence.
The Importance of Sympathy
The Mill on the Floss is not a religious novel, but it is highly
concerned with a morality that should function among all people
and should aspire to a compassionate connection with others
through sympathy. The parable of St. Ogg rewards the
ferryman's unquestioning sympathy with another, and Maggie,
in her final recreation of the St. Ogg scene during the flood, is
vindicated on the grounds of her deep sympathy with others.
The opposite of this sympathy within the novel finds the form of
variations of egoism. Tom has not the capability of sympathizing
with Maggie. He is aligned with the narrow, self-serving ethic of
the rising entrepreneur: Tom explains to Mr. Deane that he cares
about his own standing, and Mr. Deane compliments him, 
Practical Knowledge Versus Bookish
Knowledge
The Mill on the Floss, especially in the first half of the
novel, is quite concerned about education and types of
knowledge. Much of the early chapters are devoted to
laying out the differences between Tom's and Maggie's
modes of knowledge. Tom's knowledge is practical: "He
knew all about worms, and fish, and those things; and
what birds were mischievous, and how padlocks
opened, and which way the handles of the gates were to
be lifted." This knowledge is tangible and natural—it
brings Tom in closer association to the world around
him. Meanwhile, 
CHARACTERS
Maggie Tulliver
Maggie is the very intelligent, very conflicted protagonist of The Mill
on the Floss. When the novel begins, she is young, clever, imaginative,
adoring of her brother, and always getting into trouble. As she grows
up, she regularly feels conflicted between acting how her extended
family and community would want her to, and following her own
desires. The strong pull of both means she is often indecisive, and
though she tries to find peace in renouncing all desire - for education,
music, love, literature - in the end this only makes her feelings
stronger. Even when she chooses based on her desire, though, as when
she starts to elope with Stephen, she ultimately feels the pull of her
family and community too strongly, and can’t bear to follow through on
gaining happiness at their expense.
Tom Tulliver
Tom is Maggie’s older brother by four years. He is
athletic, prideful, obsessed with justice, and usually
rather unforgiving. He has very little book-smarts but
he is practical, determined, and willing to sacrifice
everything to regain his family’s honor. His success
comes at the expense of real human companionship
and his insistence on justice and distrust of Maggie
drives a wedge between them until just moments
before they both die.
Mr. Tulliver
Mr. Tulliver is Maggie and Tom’s father. At the beginning of the
novel he is the proprietor of Dorlcote Mill, which has been in his
family for generations. He is hot-tempered, stubborn, and litigious,
although also intelligent, though uneducated, and very generous
and loving towards Maggie and his sister, Mrs. Moss. He is proud
of Maggie’s intelligence, although he isn’t sure what use it will be to
a girl. He is also prideful, especially when he comes in conflict with
his wife’s very opinionated sisters, and this along with his tendency
to “go to the law” leads to him losing all of his assets, including his
mill and farm. He believes that all of his troubles are caused by
lawyers, particularly Mr. Wakem, and paying back all of his debts
and punishing Mr. Wakem become his two obsessions after he
loses everything until the moment he dies.
Mrs. Bessy Tulliver
Mrs. Tulliver is Maggie and Tom’s mother. She is a
blond, comely woman, who is very simple, and though
she loves her children, she greatly favors Tom and
wishes Maggie were blonder and simpler herself. She
is very proud to be a Dodson and is particularly
devastated by the loss of her household goods and
furniture when Mr. Tulliver goes bankrupt. She shows
herself to have more depth than originally expected
towards the end of the novel, when she leaves Tom and
the mill to live with Maggie in her shame.
Philip Wakem
Philip is the son of Mr. Wakem. Due to an accident in
infancy, he is crippled and though he is very intelligent
and talented, he feels bitterness over physical
inferiority. He is a student with Tom at Mr. Stelling’s,
and though he never comes to be good friends with
Tom, he is immediately drawn to Maggie and ends up
loving her for his whole life. Though he is clever, very
well educated, and a talented artist, he believes that
his breadth of interests and talents mean that he is not
particularly talented at any one thing.
Stephen Guest
Stephen is Mr. Guest of Guest & Co.’s only son. When
he appears in the novel he is 25, handsome, rich,
clever, and conceited. He plans to be a politician. He is
very good friends with Philip and tacitly, although not
explicitly, engaged to Lucy, who he thinks will be a
charming wife. When he meets Maggie, however, he is
overcome and quickly falls in love with her. He does
not appear in the novel until after Mr. Tulliver’s death.
Lucy Deane
Lucy is Maggie’s cousin. In childhood, she is the
epitome of everything Maggie is not - pleasant, quiet,
passive, doll-like and never troublesome. As an adult,
she is pretty, kind, and generous, although she has
never had any true difficulty to test her spirit except for
her mother’s death and, eventually, Maggie and
Stephen running away together.
Mrs. Jane Glegg
Mrs. Tulliver’s oldest sister, Mrs. Glegg is Tom and
Maggie’s least favorite relative when they are children.
Although she and her husband are well-to-do, she
takes a great deal of pride in frugality. Like all the
Dodsons, and probably more so than anyone else, she
believes firmly in pride of family. Though she is not
very generous with the Tullivers when Mr. Tulliver
loses everything, going so far to say that it is a
judgment from God, she is later one of Maggie’s
strongest defenders after her scandal with Stephen.
Mr. Glegg
Mr. Glegg is Mrs. Glegg’s husband. He is a retired wool
dealer, and doesn’t take anything very seriously now
that he is done working. He is an avid gardener in his
retirement. He married Mrs. Glegg because he made
his fortune by slowly saving money, and he thus liked
her thriftiness and thought they would be compatible.
Though he is cheap, it is in a kind-hearted and
evenhanded way - he would go out of his way to save a
few dollars for anyone, not just himself.
Bob Jakin
Bob is a childhood friend of Tom Tulliver’s from a poorer
family, until Tom thinks Bob tried to cheat him and can’t
forgive him for it. Later, after Mr. Tulliver loses everything,
Bob comes to offer the Tullivers the award he earned for
putting out a fire. Though they don’t accept, they greatly
appreciate this offer, and he becomes a friend of the family
again, eventually housing both Tom and Maggie at different
times. He is a successful peddler and leads Tom to his first
speculation opportunity, which eventually allows him to
repay all his father’s debts. He is kind and generous, and
particularly taken with Maggie - he names his daughter after
her.
Mr. Deane
Mr. Deane, Mrs. Deane’s husband, is a successful
businessman with Guest & Co. who is thought of very
highly in St. Ogg’s. He gets Tom his first job, and ends
up being a mentor towards him as he rises in the world
of business. Like the other uncles, he made his fortune
through hard work over a long period of time and was
not educated.
Walter Stelling
Mr. Stelling is an Oxford graduate and a clergyman
whose desire for the finer things means his
expenditures outweigh his income, so he begins to
take on students to supplement this. He is well-
educated, self-confident, and ambitious, though he
doesn’t have the flexibility of approach that would
make him a good teacher for Tom. He gives the
impression of shrewdness to the uneducated Mr.
Tulliver and his parishioners, but other clergymen
believe him to be dull.
Dr. Kenn
Dr. Kenn is the clergyman of St. Ogg’s. Although he
seems cold, he is well-respected by those who realize
he is deeply generous. He gives most of his income to
charity and takes good care of his parishioners,
including Maggie even after her scandal, which
happens around the same time that his wife dies.
Mr. Wakem
Mr. Wakem is the lawyer who represents Mr. Pivart in
Mr. Tulliver’s case against him, who embodies all the
worst aspects of the legal profession in Mr. Tulliver’s
mind. In reality, he is shrewd, somewhat vindictive,
and selfish, but he is a very good father to Philip.
Mr. Moss
Mr. Moss is Mr. Tulliver’s brother-in-law. He is a poor
farmer with a knack for losing money, and so is greatly
indebted to Mr. Tulliver, who opposed his sister’s
marriage to him.
Luke Moggs
Luke is the head miller at Dorlcote Mill. He is very
kind to Maggie and Tom, and generous and loyal to
the entire Tulliver family.