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The Mill On The Floss

The Mill on the Floss centers on Maggie and Tom Tulliver growing up in 19th century Lincolnshire, England. The author draws on her own experiences to explore the complicated relationship between Maggie and her brother during a time when women had limited choices and roles. Maggie struggles against the narrow expectations for women in her society, as she is intelligent, passionate, and unconventional, which isolates her and prevents her from finding fulfillment. The novel examines several problems of 19th century society, including the treatment of women, the importance of knowledge, and women's constrained roles within family and community.

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202 views5 pages

The Mill On The Floss

The Mill on the Floss centers on Maggie and Tom Tulliver growing up in 19th century Lincolnshire, England. The author draws on her own experiences to explore the complicated relationship between Maggie and her brother during a time when women had limited choices and roles. Maggie struggles against the narrow expectations for women in her society, as she is intelligent, passionate, and unconventional, which isolates her and prevents her from finding fulfillment. The novel examines several problems of 19th century society, including the treatment of women, the importance of knowledge, and women's constrained roles within family and community.

Uploaded by

Оксана Сомар
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The Mill on the Floss 

centers on the childhood and young adulthood of 


Maggie and Tom Tulliver, two siblings growing up in the fictional town
of St. Ogg’s, Lincolnshire, England. 
The author draws on her own experiences when writing the novel of the
complicated relationship between a young woman and her brother
during a time when women had limited choices.

T O M B E L I E V E S H E I S D O I N G A FAV O R B Y I N T E N D I N G T O
A LWAY S TA K E C A R E O F H E R S I S T E R , M A K E H E R H I S
HOUSEKEEPER AND PUNISH HER WHEN SHE DID WRONG.
A N D S U C H AT T I T U D E S H O W S T H AT W O M E N F E LT
T H E M S E LV E S U N S E C U R E D A N D W E R E R E A D Y T O A LWAY S
BE UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THEIRS BROTHERS.  
The author draws her attention to problem of
childhood and memory.

Although "The Mill on the Floss" covers about fifteen


years in the lives of its protagonists, siblings Tom
and Maggie Tulliver, the story constantly hearkens
back to their childhood. In the novel, seemingly
trivial incidences in those early years later take on
new significance. Maggie’s conflict with Tom and her
desire for his love and acceptance.
When they were children, Maggie worshipped Tom
and longed for his approval and affection. However,
he tended to punish her harshly when she deviated
from his value system and standards of morality, a
pattern that continues into their adulthood. 
Such attitude to herself was kept in Maggie's
memory and she didn't even think about being
independent and live on her own without brother.
Another problem was importance of knowledge

Throughout the novel, both Tom and Maggie struggle with the
smallness of their home town and its provincial, narrow-minded
values. The less bookish Tom eventually manages to find a
respected place for himself in this community by turning to
practical forms of knowledge in trade and business. Maggie, by
contrast, finds that her intellect, passion, and love of learning
make her an outcast in St. Ogg’s, putting her at odds with
“respectable” society. As a result, Maggie retreats into a private,
internal world of books, where she can imagine stories about far-
away places. Even as an adult, Maggie retains this appetite for
learning as a way of expanding the boundaries of her otherwise
constrained existence.
While Tom’s education flounders due to the ignorance of the
adults in his life and his own lack of intellectual aptitude, Maggie
shows an early ability and appetite for learning. However, her
desire to gain more knowledge is stifled by the small-mindedness
of St. Ogg’s society, which cannot tolerate such impulses in a
woman.
And it was a big problem for quick-witted women, because they
didn't have an opportunity to use the abillities of their minds in
that society.
One more problem was women's role in family
and society
Even as a little girl, Maggie Tulliver is considered “contrary”
and un-ladylike by her relatives. She speaks out of turn, reads
too much, and engages in acts of rebellion like cutting off her
hair. Her behavior is often contrasted unfavorably with that of
her cousin, Lucy Deane, a model of perfect Victorian femininity.
British society in the mid-nineteenth century in general—
emphasizes the status of women as property.
As a child Maggie is shamed by her relatives for having messy
hair or a dirty pinafore. This suggests that women are valued
for their appearance and ability to please others.
Maggie’s passion, intelligence, and unconventionality are a
poor fit for the narrow requirements and roles allotted to
women in Victorian society. She is unable to reconcile herself to
the passivity expected of women, and her acts of rebellion
against those conventions lead to social alienation. The Mill on
the Floss suggests that Maggie is unable to find creative,
intellectual, and sexual fulfillment because of the limited
choices available to women in her community.
I really liked this novel. Despite the fact that it was written in
19th century its problems are important to talk about
nowadays.
Comparing this novel to the previous ones, this is the most
exiting. Because it made me imagine the society of that times,
the people's attitude towards women, the relationships
between members of family and especialy brother-sister
relationships. The themes in the novel that were paid
attention to, made every reader think about everything and I
assume they even slightly changed their point of view that
they had about that times, before reading this novel.
I consider that in future I will read this novel one more time
and undoubtedly will be under the great impression, as I am
now.

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