SparkNotes: The Mill on the Floss: Character List The Mill on the Floss George Eliot Plot Overview Analysis of Major Characters Maggie Tulliver - The protagonist of The Mill on the Floss. The novel tracks Maggie as she grows from an impetuous, clever child into a striking, unconventional young woman. Maggie's closest tie is to her brother Tom, and she seeks—and constantly feels denied—his approval and acceptance. Maggie is clever and enjoys books, the richness of intelligent conversation, and music, but her family's downfall lends her a quieter, troubled side that tends toward self- abnegation. With her dark skin, dark hair, and dark eyes, Maggie is often associated with the Tulliver side of the family, and, specifically her father's sister, Mrs. Moss. Read an in-depth analysis of Maggie Tulliver. Tom Tulliver - The Tullivers' older son. Tom has his own clear sense of duty, justice, and fairness, and these standards affect his action more so than emotion. Tom has affection for Maggie, but he dislikes her impetuous way of doing what she wants, assuming that she knows better than Tom. When Mr.

Tulliver goes bankrupt, Tom must go to work at a young age and with little experience other than the Latin and Euclid he has learned in school. Tom brings the family out of debt and becomes a promising young worker at his uncle Deane's company, Guest & Co. Tom may be in love with Lucy Deane, but he focuses only on his work. Read an in-depth analysis of Tom Tulliver. Elizabeth Tulliver - Maggie Tulliver's mother. Mrs. Tulliver is a dull-witted, stout, blond woman. Formerly a Miss Dodson, Mrs. Tulliver still maintains that the respectable ways of the Dodson family are better than the ways of Mr. Tulliver. Mrs. Tulliver's mind works in small circles—she focuses mainly on tactile objects like the linens and the china. Her husband's bankruptcy makes her confused and listless, and all she can do is wonder what she has done to receive such bad luck. Mrs. Tulliver likes Tom more than Maggie as children, but she grows prouder of Maggie as Maggie grows tall, striking, and more demure. Jeremy Tulliver - Maggie Tulliver's father. Mr.

Tulliver works the mill on the Floss river, which is on land his family has held for generations. Mr. Tulliver is fond of Maggie, especially her cleverness, and he often takes her side in family quarrels. Mr. Tulliver's bankruptcy is, in part, the result of his own single- mindedness and pride. Associated with the older, provincial ways, Mr. Tulliver senses enough of the changing economic world around him to be puzzled by it. Tulliver is an affectionate man, who is soft with his daughter, wife, and sister, yet his bitterness toward Mr. Wakem consumes and changes him in the end. Lucy Deane - The pretty, petite, blond cousin of Tom and Maggie. Lucy is genuinely good-hearted, thinking often of the happiness of others. She is also enough of a child of society life, though, that she pays heed to social conventions and to her own appearance. Philip Wakem - The sensitive and intelligent son of Lawyer Wakem. Philip has had a hunched back since birth.

Of small stature and with a pale face, Philip is often described as "womanly." Philip's love of art, music, and knowledge go some way toward counteracting the severe sadness he feels about his deformity. Philip first meets Maggie when he is at school with Tom. He falls in love with her the year that they meet in secret during Maggie's father's bankruptcy. Read an in-depth analysis of Philip Wakem. Lawyer Wakem - Lawyer Wakem is a powerful, and increasingly wealthy member of St. Ogg's society. He remembers his late wife lovingly and is very indulgent but close to his deformed son, Philip. Wakem holds strict ideas about class and money. He is scornful of the vindictive Mr. Tulliver. Stephen Guest - Stephen Guest is courting Lucy Deane when we meet him but has not yet proposed marriage. He is the son of the senior partner of Guest & Co., where both Tom and Mr. Deane work. Stephen is handsome and self-assured. Though he cares for Lucy, and for the life they would have together, he falls unexpectedly in love with Maggie, drawn to her strikingly different qualities.

Bob Jakin - Bob Jakin was a childhood friend of Tom's. Though Tom rejected his friendship when they were children over an incident of cheating, Bob returns after Mr. Tulliver's bankruptcy to offer help to Maggie and Tom. Bob is a packman—a salesman who buys goods at one place and sells them at another. Mr. and Mrs. Glegg - Mrs. Glegg, formerly Miss Jane Dodson, acts as the leader of the Dodson sisters. Mrs. Glegg is loudly vocal regarding her disapprovals, which usually involve a violation of the Dodson way of doing something. Yet it is her same strict sense of respectability that allows Mrs. Glegg to stand by Maggie, when no one else will at the end of the novel. Mr. and Mrs. Glegg are miserly, though Mr. Glegg is more good-natured about thrift. Mr. Glegg tries to mediate his wife's ill temper and will stand up to her as well. Mr. and Mrs. Deane - Mrs. Deane, formerly Miss Susan Dodson, is a pale, quieter, Dodson sister. Mrs. Deane does not say much, and she rehearses what she says beforehand.

She dies before the end of the novel. Mr. Deane is a swiftly rising junior partner at Guest & Co. He focuses on business and profit-making more than family claims. Their daughter is Lucy. Mr. and Mrs. Pullet - Mrs. Pullet, formerly Miss Sophie Dodson, is the closest Dodson sister to Mrs. Tulliver. They share a love of fine household goods. Mr. Pullet is a gentleman farmer, and the couple were originally the most wealthy of the Dodson family, until Mr. Deane began rising in the business world. Mr. Pullet does not have much to say for himself. He covers for this fact by sucking on peppermints. Luke Moggs - Luke Moggs works for Mr. Tulliver. He is the miller at the mill on the Floss. Luke is practically a family member, and he sits by Mr. Tulliver's sickbed. Mr. Riley - Mr. Riley is the auction manager in St. Ogg's. Mr. Tulliver looks up to him as a high class and full of wisdom and intelligence, but Mr. Riley is more likely middle class and not entirely full of wisdom. Mr.

Riley has died by the middle of the novel. Mr. Stelling - Mr. Stelling is the clergyman tutor of Tom Tulliver and, later, Philip Wakem. Stelling wants to rise in the world and lives somewhat beyond his current means. He teaches exactly as he was taught, with Latin and Euclid. He doesn't have the imagination or the open-mindedness to help Tom learn in other ways. Dr. Kenn - Dr. Kenn is the stern, but charitable, minister of St. Ogg's. Mr. and Mrs. Moss - Margaret Moss, Mr. Tulliver's sister—and "Aunt Gritty" to Tom and Maggie—is a patient, loving woman. She is especially fond of Maggie. She has eight children, and the family is very poor. Mr. Tulliver did not want Margaret to marry Mr. Moss, and Tulliver is still cross about this. Mr. Moss does not have much character, mainly because he must work too much. Mr. Pivart - Mr. Pivart, who lives down the Floss, begins a dispute with Mr. Tulliver over the river water. Kezia - Kezia is the Tullivers' servant.

Mr. Gore - Gore is Mr. Tulliver's lawyer. Mr. Poulter - Mr. Poulter is brought in by Mr. Stelling to give Tom exercise. Mr. Poulter drinks and talks about the war in which he fought. the Miss Guests - The Miss Guests (there are two) are Stephen Guest's sisters. They are not very attractive and are snobbish. The Mill on the Floss Homework Help - eNotes.com The Mill on the Floss Homework Help We’ve answered 319,118 questions. We can answer yours, too. Your Questions The Mill on the Floss There are several different approaches you could take to the assignment. The key to writing a critical paper of this type is to focus on one very narrow topic you can investigate in depth. A key to... Asked by xynquetzal on October 19, 2016 at 3:57 AM via web The Mill on the Floss is an example of a bildungsroman, or a novel that traces its protagonist's development from childhood to adulthood. The novel is also an example of Victorian literature, as it...

Asked by cooltitikshachouhan on June 15, 2016 at 6:21 PM via web There are a lot of characters in this novel, and going over the internal conflicts of each could very well be a novel in its own right. I'll pick a few characters. Mr. Tulliver is a good starting... Asked by minisis on June 19, 2015 at 1:52 PM via web The river, and water in general, is a frequent symbol in George Eliot's The Mill on the Floss. In the novel, water takes on a symbolic Yin and Yang relationship. That's not so weird. Star Wars... Asked by mirandahobbes on June 11, 2015 at 11:16 AM via web The theme of morality and guilt in The Mill on the Floss usually centers on the character of Maggie. George Eliot creates a female character who bucks against the idea of being "traditional" and... Asked by charlotteyorkgoldenblatt on June 11, 2015 at 11:07 AM via web 1 educator answer.

The Mill on the Floss George Eliot's novel about social norm versus individualist conflict stems from the British traditions of the time period. The character of Maggie, being raised with the social morals of the day,... Asked by wladcapierscieni on June 11, 2015 at 10:54 AM via web Water is a frequent symbol in "The Mill on the Floss." What is great about the water symbolism is that it is never only bad or only good. It is portrayed as two sides to the same coin. A very... Asked by deepguree on April 20, 2015 at 9:39 AM via web 1 educator answer. The Mill on the Floss George Eliot's novel The Mill on the Floss is, as most of her works, more than a simple story about relationships. It also is a far reaching critique of social and gender inequality. Often The Mill... Asked by nikkfs on April 10, 2015 at 5:08 AM via web 1 educator answer.

The Mill on the Floss It is important to realise that the final paragaph of this chapter needs to be read in conjunction with the penultimate paragraph, where Mrs. Tulliver weakly complains to her husband about the way... Asked by kareemoo on February 27, 2013 at 10:19 AM via web 1 educator answer. The Mill on the Floss I suppose the tragedy of Mr. Tulliver relates to his inability to work out and understand the children that he has and the way that they are. For Mr. Tulliver, who is at best an unintelligent man... Asked by vernikaa on March 8, 2012 at 11:03 PM via web Let us be careful here. Your question seems to suggest that St. Ogg's is actually a character in this excellent novel. However, it is actually the town in which the novel is set, as the opening... Asked by kakersote on July 4, 2011 at 2:57 AM via web You have asked a very broad question here.

I have included some links below to the enotes study guide section of this novel that you can peruse at your leisure, but let me offer the following words... Asked by tanya281096 on June 27, 2011 at 2:19 AM via web If we are looking for a central concept or theme to this impressive work, I think it has to be an examination of the role of its central character, Maggie Tulliver, and the way that she is always... Asked by sanem88 on June 2, 2011 at 5:29 AM via web sure you will get it Asked by tayaba on August 2, 2010 at 4:53 PM via web I would argue that she is certainly a moral person as she has very strong feelings about right and wrong and worries quite a bit about other people's feelings and making sure to do right by... Asked by kristina001 on April 25, 2010 at 3:04 AM via web 1 educator answer.

The Mill on the Floss One of the salient features of the Victorian age in the novel 'The Mill on The Floss' by George Eliot is the author's experiences of trying to conform to the restrictively conservative society of... Asked by parthap2010 on January 25, 2010 at 4:26 AM via web 1 educator answer. The Mill on the Floss An example of characterization can be seen in the novel 'The Mill on the Floss' by George Eliot. Characterization in general relates to the way characters are portrayed by an author. This can take... Asked by channa on November 27, 2009 at 11:36 PM via web eNotes offers a good book-by-book summary at the link below. Asked by samudramanamperi on November 4, 2009 at 12:56 PM via web There are several ways to compare and contrast Maggie and Tom Tulliver. They are the central characters of the novel, and they embody two very different outlooks on life. Tom, the boy, is bound by...

Asked by girl16 on May 5, 2009 at 5:17 AM via web 1 educator answer. The Mill on the Floss Mr. Tulliver owns a mill on the River Floss, and has a wife and two children. The children, Tom and Maggie, are different in appearance and character. Maggie is intelligent, wild, and dark; Tom... Asked by anjalirahul on March 12, 2009 at 2:23 PM via web 1 educator answer. The Mill on the Floss “The Mill on The Floss,” is the story of Maggie Tulliver, (“who is impetuous, warm, and highly intelligent, but she is also forgetful and impulsive”), and her brother, Tom, (“who is bossy... Asked by mansii on November 18, 2008 at 10:43 PM via web 1 educator answer. The Mill on the Floss Several factors contribute to the idea in the reader's mind of Mr. Tulliver as a tragic character, although Mr. Tulliver is not an example of a classic one. Classically "tragedy" means...

Asked by tntoony on November 10, 2008 at 1:02 AM via web Maggie is immature because she is self-conscious and not sure of herself. She is easily swayed by the interests of others and in her desire not to offend. When she offers to help Tom find a job... Asked by kmm99 on June 4, 2008 at 8:53 PM via web 1 educator answer. The Mill on the Floss lady, the childhood description of Maggie is one such part of the novel which clearly potrays the victorian style of writing. Asked by floona on April 13, 2008 at 7:07 PM via web The Mill on the Floss Enotes provides a great summary of the historical connections possible in this novel. I have included the link below, but let me give you a quick overview first.Much of the conflict in this novel... Asked by floona on April 10, 2008 at 9:08 AM via web An analysis of the protagonist of George Eliot's novel "The Mill ... | Self-Publishing at GRIN II.1.7.

The attic as a place of refuge II.1.8. Maggie an demonic imagery II.2. Maggie Tulliver’s adulthood II.2.1. Maggie’s development from child to woman II.2.2. “Disgrace”: Maggie’s fall II.2.2.1. Relationship with Stephen Guest II.2.2.2. The boat trip: Maggie’s social fall II.3. Maggie’s fate – could her fate have been avoided? II.3.1. The marriage with Stephen Guest as a possible option? II.3.2. The option of “running away” II.3.3. Why has Maggie not seen Stephen as a “taboo” II.3.4. The marriage with Philip as a possible option? III Conclusion IV.References „The more one sees of human fate and the more one examines its secret springs of action, the more one is impressed by the strength of unconscious motives and by the limitations of free choice" Carl Gustav Jung (Swiss psychiatrist, psychologist and founder of the Analytic Psychology, 1875-1961) I.

Introduction Mary Ann Evans born in Warwickshire in 1819 published all her work under the pen name ‘George Eliot’ because of the prevailing attitudes to women during her lifetime. Her third novel “The Mill on the Floss” was written in the years of 1859 and 1860.1 Although the plot is set in 1829, the work reflects the attitudes of the Victorian era in which the author lived. When the novel appeared, at the beginning of April, it gained instant popularity and sustained or increased George Eliot’s reputation with the most thoughtful readers. In respect to the protagonist Maggie Tulliver, it is a highly interesting book: George Eliot has taken herself for a heroine so that the first two volumes come close to a spiritual autobiography. The story of a close relationship between brother and sister from childhood through adolescence mirrors the similar childhood relationship between Eliot and her own brother. The scenery also represents parts of the environment of her own childhood. Maggie Tulliver – nine years old when the novel begins and 19 when she dies in the last chapter of the novel – is a very complex and interesting character, who offers much potential for detailed analysis.

She is not the ordinary “Victorian girl” and does not represent the image of the “angel in the house” but differs in many ways. What are the main conflicts Maggie has to deal with in childhood and what impact do they have on her reactions and choices in later life? Could Maggie’s fate have been avoided or was a “life in disgrace” the only option she had? Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten 1 Most of Eliot’s novels were published serially – that is, as separate volumes appearing over the course of several months: The first volume before October 1859, the second volume on 16th January 1860 and the third volume on 21st March 1860. In order to find an answer to those questions I will analyse Maggie’s character and her development from child to young woman. For this, her relationship with other main characters will play as much a central part as predominant circumstances and conventional conditions. In the last part I will discuss her fate and look into possible options before finally making clear why she acted the way she did. II.

Main Part II.1.Maggie Tulliver as a child: character, influences and conflicts Illustrating the conflicts, struggles and problems Maggie had in childhood will be crucial to understanding her actions and choices in later life. Likewise it will be essential to point out Maggie’s main character traits as well as central relationships, which maintain a great impact on her own choices. This will not only help to show Maggie Tulliver’s development but also to analyse her fate. In brief, Maggie is a clever and impetuous girl, very imaginative and passionate and extremely in need of love. We will have a closer look into her character in the following section. II.1.1. “The naughty girl” Maggie Tulliver is thought of as a very naughty child as she does not behave as commonly expected. Her mother and aunts disapprove of her rash, impetuous and wild behaviour. Mrs Tulliver is very discontented, calls Maggie a “ wild thing ” [Eliot, G.

(2003): 15]2 and is unhappy that her daughter does not fulfil the role of a nice little girl.3 Mrs Tulliver’s discontent becomes obvious in Book One, Chapter Four: “Maggie, Maggie […] what is to become of you, if you’re so naughty? […] O dear, o dear, look at your clean pinafore, wet from top to bottom. Folks ’ull Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten 2 Quotations generally refer to the following edition: Eliot, George: The Mill on the Floss. London: Penguin Classics 2003. 3 In contrary, Maggie refuses to act on common conducts: “I don’t want to do my patchwork. […] It’s foolish work.” [Eliot, G. (2003): 15]. think it’s a judgement on me as I’ve got such a child – they’ll think I’ve done summat wicked.” [Eliot, G. (2003): 31].

As the quotation shows Mrs Tulliver is very anxious about what others might think and that it is she who will be blamed for having a child as unusual as Maggie. Thus, she rather wishes for a daughter like Lucy, Maggie’s cousin, who meets all expectations – she is said to be nice, little and neat: “It seems hard as my sister Deane should have that pretty child” [Eliot, G. (2003): 16]. II.1.2. Maggie’s appearance In addition to her commonly disapproved behaviour Maggie’s second burden is her looks. Maggie takes more after the Tullivers, her father’s family, than the Dodsons, the family on her mother’s side, who differ greatly in looks. The Dodsons have a fair look, fair skin, fair hair, light eyes and so on – and therefore look exactly the way that is universally seen as beautiful at that time – whereas Maggie has unnaturally dark skin, hair and eyes and looks rather gypsy-like. In brief, Maggie does not fit into society according to the Dodsons’ opinion.

Mrs Tulliver complains about Maggie’s “brown skin as makes her look like a mulatter” [Eliot, G. (2003): 15] and about her troublesome hair. She “[desires] her daughter to have a curled crop, ‘like other folks’s children’” [Eliot, G. (2003): 15] so that even Mr Tulliver suggests cutting it off. This finally leads to Maggie’s defiant reaction – a key scene in Book One, in which Maggie cuts off her hair. Here, Maggie is completely carried away by the excitement of the transgression and persuades her brother Tom to help her as she gets frightened by her own daring. She appears in triumphant satisfaction when cutting her hair short. Although Tom is fully aware of the consequences for Maggie, he sees the situation as “rather good fun” and jumps around slapping his knees and laughing because Maggie looks so “queer” and because she “will catch it” [Eliot, G. (2003): 68-81]. Maggie, in contrast, entirely lost in emotions, does not worry about any punishment to come [...] George Eliot - Biography and Works.

Search Texts, Read Online. Discuss. George Eliot Biography of George Eliot George Eliot [pseudonym of Mary Anne or Marian Evans] (1819-1880), English author wrote The Mill on the Floss (1860); "How can you talk so, Mr. Tulliver? She's too big a gell--gone nine, and tall of her age--to have her hair cut short; an' there's her cousin Lucy's got a row o' curls round her head, an' not a hair out o' place. It seems hard as my sister Deane should have that pretty child; I'm sure Lucy takes more after me nor my own child does. Maggie, Maggie," continued the mother, in a tone of half-coaxing fretfulness, as this small mistake of nature entered the room, "where's the use o' my telling you to keep away from the water? You'll tumble in and be drownded some day, an' then you'll be sorry you didn't do as mother told you." Maggie's hair, as she threw off her bonnet, painfully confirmed her mother's accusation. Mrs.

Tulliver, desiring her daughter to have a curled crop, "like other folks's children," had had it cut too short in front to be pushed behind the ears; and as it was usually straight an hour after it had been taken out of paper, Maggie was incessantly tossing her head to keep the dark, heavy locks out of her gleaming black eyes,--an action which gave her very much the air of a small Shetland pony.ï¿½Book 1, ch. 2 John Morley, in his essay titled "The Life of George Eliot" (1904) recalls Eliot's frustration towards the 'habit' of literary biography. She herself lived a controversial and unconventional life, has been the subject of much scholarly debate, and been the study of many biographers. In her time many were shocked by some of her choices in life 'unbecoming a woman', but she eventually earned the deserved esteem of an accomplished author. Her works stand on their own, not to be overshadowed by her personal life.

Among the best of the Victorian writers, Eliot deals with themes of social change and triumphs of the heart and has a remarkable talent for showing us the depth and scope of Provincial English life: its classes, pretensions, and hypocrisies. Many of her novels today are included in the canon of classic 19th century literary works. Some have been adapted to film, many still in print today. Although she would use a number of spelling variations of her name over the years, she was born Mary Anne Evans on 22 November 1819 at the family home "South Farm" on the Arbury Estate in Warwickshire, England. She was the youngest daughter of Robert Evans (1773-1849) and his second wife Christiana Pearson Evans. Mary had two step-siblings, Robert and Fanny, and two full siblings, Chrissey and Isaac. Her father was a stern but loving man, working under great authority for the Newdigate family as a land agent and builder. Robert is likely in part inspiration for Eliot's fictional characters Adam Bede (1859) and Caleb Garth in Middlemarch (1871-2).

Unlike the many poor tenants who worked the estates' land and surrounding mines, the Evans's enjoyed a comfortable life. Young Mary attended Chilvers Coton Church with her family and became an avid reader, spending much time in the library. She was very close to Chrissey and devoted to her older brother Isaac, although in later years they would disagree on most matters familial and religious. It was very difficult for the shy and introverted Mary to see him go off to boarding school. Her own formal education at boarding school started in 1824. She was next enrolled at Mrs. Wallington's School at Nuneaton where the school's governess, Miss Maria Lewis took her under her wing. Mary found in her evangelical piety purpose and comfort; she became her mentor and they held a long correspondence after Mary left the school. Nuneaton would play a large role in Eliot's fictional work Scenes of Clerical Life (1858). At school in Coventry Mary learned to play the piano, studied languages, and began writing stories and poetry. She fully embraced her faith and was a pious and serious student; however, like Maggie Tulliver in The Mill on the Floss, she would come to question her faith.

After her mother died of cancer in 1836, Mary moved back to the family home "Griff House" on the Arbury Estate. Isaac was back home living with his father in preparation to take over his position on the estate, and Chrissy was also there. Mary helped her run the household and take care of their father. He bought many books for Mary and hired a tutor for her because she had done so well in school--he wanted her to continue her studies. She also found time to write; the Christian Observer published her first poem in 1840. The next year she moved with her now-retired father to "Bird Grove" in Foleshill, near Coventry and embarked on a period of great change. For many years Mary had been self-conscious about her appearance and been plagued by self-doubt; she was afraid of becoming a spinster and tended to melancholy. And she was questioning her Christian faith and forming her own opinions of Victorian society. Her soul searching resulted in her deciding not to attend church anymore, which strained relations with her brother and father. But, another world of purpose and comfort had opened to her; her social circle widened as she was welcomed into Coventry's intellectual circle.

She became friends with irreverent freethinkers like Cara and Charles Bray and started reading non-religious literary works such as those of Thomas Carlyle , Ralph Waldo Emerson , and Sir Walter Scott . She also met publisher John Chapman who printed her first translation, Life of Jesus, in 1846. Another translation of hers', Feuerbach's Essence of Christianity, was published in 1854. When her father died in 1849 after a lengthy illness, Mary travelled with the Brays to Italy and Switzerland. In Geneva she met the D'Albert Durades family and revelled in her freedom. Her father had left her a small yearly income, just enough to live on, and she moved to London in hopes of becoming a journalist as Marian Evans. She roomed at 142 Strand, the home of and offices for Chapman, who was now owner of the Westminster Review. Marian assisted as editor, vetted submissions, and wrote reviews for it. Her keen intellect, years of religious study, knowledge of languages and literature, and work in translations proved invaluable to Chapman and the Review.

She was given wide-ranging editorial control and flexed her might as a writer in the non-fiction vein, her articles published anonymously. She enjoyed a particularly unorthodox position as a single working woman in a mid-1800's male-dominated industry; she was independent and free to make her own choices. But life in London was becoming complicated. Marian fell for the charms of the charismatic Chapman who was married, had a mistress, and was now spending much time with her. Marian was also attending lectures and the theatre, and becoming acquainted with many figures in the publishing world including Charles Dickens , Wilkie Collins , and prolific author, philosopher, and critic George Henry Lewes (1817-1878). When Marian met the bohemian Lewes he was in an open marriage with Agnes Jervis, but by the end of 1852 he was staying with Marian at her new rooms in Hyde Park. Although now a free-thinker herself, Marian chose not to have children, not wanting them to be born to unmarried parents. Although the Lewes's never memorialised their union legally, they considered it a marriage despite the derision they received from friends and relatives and the effect it had on their professional careers.

Marian now called herself Mrs. Marian Evans Lewes. The two travelled to the Continent a number of times and shared several homes including "Priory" in Regent's Park, London, and "The Heights" at Witley, until Lewes' death in 1878. Her lover and her best friend, Lewes was an avid supporter to Marian and encouraged her to take up her pen and write fiction. Despite the public scandal that arose from their relationship, Marian's most prolific and successful period of writing started with the serialisation in Blackwood's Magazine of her Scenes of Clerical Life (1858). A collection of three stories, it was her first work published under her pseudonym George Eliot. There were a few reasons for her choosing a pen name at this point in her life; public knowledge of her adulterous relationship with Lewes was one. Another was that, although she had been published anonymously in the Westminster Review, many now knew it was she who wrote with the sharp and cunning intellect that cut away conventions and exposed the mediocrity to be found in literature of the day. Neither male nor female authors were immune to her scrutiny. She did not want her reputation to precede her works.

Having a male pen name ('George' of course being Lewes' first name) set a tone for her fiction apart from the feminine genre of cookbooks and domestic moral tales. Adam Bede (1859) was her first full-length novel. It was an immediate success, but attracted fervent public gossip as to who the real author was. When it was discovered that Eliot was Mrs. Marian Evans Lewes, many castigated her but she was also lauded by friends, fellow authors, and feminists. The dedication in Adam Bede read; "To my dear husband, George Henry Lewes, I give the manuscript of a work which would never have been written but for the happiness which his love has conferred on my life." The Lifted Veil (1859) reflects the personal struggles Eliot went through as a woman and author in the spotlight since the success of Adam Bede. She still felt self-doubt at times and had bouts of depression--this sensitive inner-life reflected in many of the portraits painted of her. But always Lewes was there to urge her forward.

Eliot's most autobiographical novel The Mill on the Floss (1860) was followed by Silas Marner: the Weaver of Raveloe (1861). Her epic historical novel for which she did much research, Romola (1862-3), is based on the life of Dominican Monk Savonarola. It was followed by Brother Jacob (1864) and Felix Holt: The Radical (1866), a political story set in the time of the Great Reform Act of 1832. Eliot wrote many poems including her epic "The Spanish Gypsy" (1868) and "How Lisa Loved the King" (1869). Other poems would be included in The Legend of Jubal and Other Poems (1870). Eliot's masterpiece Middlemarch (1871-2) was followed by Daniel Deronda (1876). Around this time the Lewes's went to live at "The Heights" in Witley, Surrey. George had been sick for some time, and died on 30 November 1878.

Eliot was profoundly grieved, but found some comfort in editing his Problems of Life and Mind. She was also working on her own last work, a collection of essays titled Impressions of Theophrastus Such (1879). While Eliot isolated herself from family and friends, she did allow banker John Walter Cross to visit her. Over twenty years his senior, Cross asked Eliot to marry him. Initially she was very reluctant, but in an odd turn of events she accepted. They were married in May of 1880 and Eliot reverted back to her name Mary Ann, only dropping the e. While it was a convention she had rejected for so many years, her marriage did contribute to reconciliation with her brother Isaac. Settling at 4 Cheyne Walk in Chelsea, London, the Cross's marriage would be short-lived. George Eliot died on 22 December 1880. She now rests with Lewes in Highgate Cemetery in London, England. Her epitaph reads: "Of those immortal dead who live again, In minds made better by their presence." Here rests the body of GEORGE ELIOT. (MARY ANN CROSS).

Although Eliot's wish to be buried in Westminster Abbey was not granted, in 1980 a memorial was placed in Poet's Corner in her honour, among other such esteemed literary figures as William Blake , Aphra Behn, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow . Elbert Hubbard , in his Little Journeys, Vol. 1: Good Men and Great compares Eliot to Shakespeare--their lives, loves, and works; Warwickshire gave to the world William Shakespeare . It also gave Mary Ann Evans. No one will question that Shakespeare's is the greatest name in English literature; and among writers living or dead, in England or out of it, no woman has ever shown us power equal to that of George Eliot, in the subtle clairvoyance which divines the inmost play of passions, the experience that shows human capacity for contradiction, and the indulgence that is merciful because it understands. Biography written by C. D. Merriman for Jalic Inc. Copyright Jalic Inc. 2007. All Rights Reserved. The above biography is copyrighted. Do not republish it without permission.

Forum Discussions on George Eliot Recent Forum Posts on George Eliot SparkNotes: The Mill on the Floss: Plot Overview The Mill on the Floss George Eliot Context Character List Maggie Tulliver is the impetuous, clever younger daughter of the Tullivers of Dorlcote Mill in St. Ogg's. Maggie frustrates her superficial mother with her unconventional dark coloring and unnatural activeness and intelligence. Maggie's father often takes Maggie's side, but it is Maggie's older brother Tom upon whom she is emotionally dependent. Maggie's greatest happiness is Tom's affection, and his disapproval creates dramatic despair in Maggie, whose view of the world, as all children's, lacks perspective. Though Tom is less studious than Maggie appears to be, Mr. Tulliver decides to pay for Tom to have additional education rather than have him take over the mill. This decision provokes a family quarrel between Mr. Tulliver and his wife's sisters, the Dodsons. Mr. Tulliver is frustrated by the snobbish contrariness of the Dodsons, led by Mrs. Tulliver's sister Mrs. Glegg, and vows to repay money that Mrs.

Glegg had lent him, thereby weakening her hold on him. He has lent almost an equal sum to his sister and her husband, the Mosses, but he feels affectionately toward his sister and decides not to ask for money back, which they cannot pay. Mr. Stelling, a clergyman, takes Tom on as a student, and Maggie visits him at school several times. On one of these visits, she befriends Mr. Stelling's other student—the sensitive, crippled Philip Wakem, son of her father's enemy, Lawyer Wakem. Maggie herself is sent to school along with her cousin, Lucy, but is called home when she is thirteen when her father finally loses his extended lawsuit with Lawyer Wakem over the use of the river Floss. Mr. Tulliver is rendered bankrupt and ill. Tom returns home as well to support the family, as the Dodson's offer little help. The mill itself is up for auction, and Lawyer Wakem, based on an idea inadvertently furnished to him by Mrs. Tulliver, buys Dorlcote Mill and retains Mr. Tulliver as a manager in an act of humiliating patronage. Even after Mr.

Tulliver's recovery, the atmosphere at the Tullivers' is grim. One bright spot is the return of Bob Jakin, a childhood friend of Tom's, into Tom and Maggie's life. Bob, a trader, kindly buys books for Maggie and one of them—Thomas a Kempis's The Imitation of Christ—influences a spiritual awakening in her that leads to many months of pious self-denial. It is only after Maggie reencounters Philip Wakem on one of her walks in the woods that she is persuaded to leave her martyrish dullness in favor of the richness of literature and human interaction. Philip and Maggie meet clandestinely for a year, since Maggie's father would be hurt by their friendship as he has sworn to hold Lawyer Wakem as his life-long enemy. Philip finally confesses to Maggie that he loves her, and Maggie, at first surprised, says she loves him back. Soon thereafter, Tom discovers their meetings, cruelly upbraids Philip, and makes Maggie swear not to see Philip again. On a business venture with Bob Jakin, Tom has amassed enough money to pay off Mr. Tulliver's debts to the family's surprise and relief.

On the way home from the official repayment of the debts, Mr. Tulliver meets Lawyer Wakem and attacks him, but then Mr. Tulliver falls ill himself and dies the next day. Several years later, Maggie has been teaching in another village. Now a tall, striking woman, she returns to St. Ogg's to visit her cousin Lucy, who has taken in Mrs. Tulliver. Lucy has a handsome and rich suitor named Stephen Guest, and they are friends with Philip Wakem. Maggie asks Tom for permission to see Philip, which Tom grudgingly gives her. Maggie and Philip renew their close friendship, and Maggie would consider marriage to Philip, if only his father approved. Lucy realizes that Tom wishes to purchase back Dorlcote Mill, and she asks Philip to speak to his father, Lawyer Wakem. Philip speaks to his father about selling the mill and about his love for Maggie, and Lawyer Wakem is eventually responsive to both propositions. Meanwhile, however, Stephen and Maggie have gradually become helplessly attracted to each other, against both of their expectations and wishes. Maggie plans for their attraction to come to nothing, as she will take another teaching post away from St.

Ogg's soon. Stephen pursues her, though, and Philip quickly becomes aware of the situation. Feeling ill and jealous, Philip cancels a boat- ride with Maggie and Lucy, sending Stephen instead. As Lucy has proceeded down river, meaning to leave Philip and Maggie alone, Stephen and Maggie find themselves inadvertently alone together. Stephen rows Maggie past their planned meeting point with Lucy and begs her to marry him. The weather changes and they are far down the river. Maggie complacently boards a larger boat with Philip, which is headed for Mudport. They sleep over night on the boat's deck and when they reach Mudport, Maggie holds firm in her decision to part with Stephen and return to St. Ogg's. On her return to St. Ogg's, Maggie is treated in town as a fallen woman and a social outcast. Tom, now back in Dorlcote Mill, renounces her, and Maggie, accompanied by her mother, goes to lodge with Bob Jakin and his wife. Despite public knowledge of Stephen's letter, which acknowledges all the blame upon himself, Maggie is befriended only by the Jakins and the clergyman Dr. Kenn.

Lucy, who has been prostrate with grief, becomes well again and secretly visits Maggie to show her forgiveness. Philip, as well, sends a letter of forgiveness and faithfulness. Stephen sends Maggie a letter renewing his pleas for her hand in marriage and protesting the pain she has caused him. Maggie vows to bear the burden of the pain she has caused others and must endure herself until death but wonders to herself how long this trial, her life, will be. At this moment, water begins rushing under the Jakin's door from the nearby river Floss, which is flooding. Maggie wakes the Jakins' and takes one of their boats, rowing it down river in a feat of miraculous strength toward Dorlcote Mill. Maggie rescues Tom, who is trapped in the house, and they row down river towards Lucy. Before they can reach Lucy's house, the boat is capsized by debris in the river, and Maggie and Tom drown in each other's arms. Years go by and Philip, and Stephen and Lucy together, visit the grave. The Mill on the Floss Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb 7 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Not that Bad...!

from Bethesda, MD 18 July 2006 I can not go into a dissertation about the movie vs the novel. I can not write a comparative study of the The Mill on the Floss with other novels by George Eliot or her contemporaries. I do appreciate the other commenter's' reviews. However, I would like to correct a few factual errors. As a child, Tom Tulliver bullies his friend "Bob" (not Phillip) into giving him the shilling. Phillip, son of the elder Tulliver's nemesis, observes this act and chides Tom for his behavior in front of Tom's sister, Maggie. (PS - the wealthy family is not the Tullivers. Phillip and his father are wealthy and Tullivers are the working class.) As an adult, Bob and Tom become friends and business partners as Tom is not a bad person, but he certainly is a pigheaded one. However, Tom can not forgive Phillip and his father for the wrongs the old man brought onto the Tullivers and therein lies the basic conflict in the plot.

All in all, I didn't think the movie was all that bad and the pace of the plot as well as the acting held my interest from beginning to end. If you are a James Mason fan, you will probably like it better than some of his other movies from that period. This was Mason's first "serious" movie, and he was very good in it. And yes indeed it would have been glorious to see him have a turn at Heathcliff at that point in his career. Later, he should have had a crack at Mr. Rochester. Too bad...our loss. Was the above review useful to you? 2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: "A Feud That's None Of Our Making" from Buffalo, New York 29 October 2011 This 1937 adaption of George Elliot's The Mill On The Floss gave film audiences James Mason's first starring role as Tom Tulliver, son of Sam Livesey who has a running feud over the water rights over a mill that Livesey owns on the river Floss. This feud over the water rights where it is determined that Felix Aylmer owns permeates the lives of the families involved.

Mason is an earnest and devoted son to Livesey and something of a lout. He ratchets up the feud several notches until that's just about all he lives for. But that's not how Mason's sister Geraldine Fitzgerald feels nor is it how Aylmer's son Frank Lawton feels. They carry on a Romeo and Juliet like romance despite the feelings of their respective families. And since you know where Elliot got her inspiration from, you also can probably deduce things end rather badly. This film version could probably use a restoration since it is a key film in the career of James Mason. The streamed version I saw on Amazon looks like it hasn't stood the test of time. The Napoleonic and post Napoleonic era in the United Kingdom is well captured on the film, but the pace is slow and sluggish. The film should also be restored because of the climatic sequence of the flood which destroys some lives and the mill that was the cause of the great feud. It was probably a well staged disaster that I would have liked a better view of, it was pretty dark on my computer. The Mill On The Floss is sluggish and considerably condensed from the Elliott novel, but still earnestly done by its cast.

Was the above review useful to you? 5 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Down By the Old Mill's Stream 16 January 2006 *** This review may contain spoilers *** Lord David Cecil wrote an interesting book in the 1930s EARLY VICTORIAN NOVELISTS, where he looked at the works of Dickens, Thackeray, Eliot, Trollope, Mrs. Gaskell, Charlotte Bronte, and Emily Bronte. He selected these writers as the popular favorites of the first half of the Victorian period, and he explained their strengths and weaknesses (as he saw them) to the reading public. Some of his comments are quite relevant to this day, but like all criticism it gives an idea of the spirit of the times of the critic's life as well. Cecil thought highly of George Eliot (Mary Ann Cross), who wrote about seven or eight books (including sketches and poetry). But for most modern readers, they are usually acquainted with her shortest book, SILAS MARNER, which is still read in some high school curriculum.

The other books, FELIX HOLT THE RADICAL, DANIEL DERONDA, MIDDLEMARCH, THE MILL ON THE FLOSS, ADAM BEDE, ROMOLA, SCENES OF CLERICAL LIFE, are still in print (Penguin, for example, has most of them in print), but are mostly unread. The one of most interest today is her last novel, DERONDA, where she discusses the Jews in English society, and an incipient, pre-Hertzl type of Zionism. ROMOLA is her sole attempt at a historic novel (about Savanarola's experiment of a religiously pure republic in Florence in the 1490s). Her meatiest novel is MIDDLEMARCH, which is concerned with English society in the provinces in 1832, the year of the great Reform Bill of Lord Grey. I had to read MIDDLEMARCH in college for a literature course. It certainly is a thoughtful book (Virginia Woolf called it the most grown-up book in the English language). But it suffers (like all of Eliot's novels) from one defect - she cannot write livable, exciting prose.

While Dickens is overly exuberant at times, and Thackeray can become pompous and prolix, and Trollope can become (as Lord Cecil says) very ordinary in his discussion, and Charlotte Bronte can fail to explain certain relationships well, and Mrs. Gaskell seems best dealing with female characters, all of them (and Emily Bronte in her single novel) hold the reader's interest. Reading most of Eliot's novels is like trying to chisel sentences out of blocks of marble with a toothpick! To date I have read about fifty pages of MILL OF THE FLOSS. I notice that one of the other reviewers never finished the novel too. But I have read a synopsis of what it is about. The Tullivers (Maggie and her brother Tom) are the central figures - they own the mill in the title. Although close at the start of the story, Maggie falls in love with the son of a neighbor whose father is involved in legal difficulties with Mr. Tulliver Sr.

Tom takes a dim view of this relationship, and the tragedy of the story is regarding the split between the siblings, culminating in their demise at the conclusion (Maggie runs back to the mill to rescue Tom during a heavy flood, and they die together). It must have been a success with Victorian readers, but it is very gloomy and depressing to modern audiences. The movie changed the ending a little - Maggie (Geraldine Fitzgerald) does die at the end with her lover, and Tom (James Mason) notes their deaths at the conclusion in his record book. The story is totally rewritten, except for a double death in the flood at the conclusion. It doesn't really help matters. Although Fitzgerald and Mason do pretty well with their parts, they can't really pull the film up by their work alone. The end result is a fairly minor film, that fortunately did not hurt the lead's careers. The only other thing to note is that the boyfriend was played by Frank Lawton, who two years earlier played David Copperfield as a grown up opposite W.C.Fields, Lionel Barrymore, and Maureen O'Sullivan.

But then, Lawton never really had a major film career - he just happened to always be around in pictures, some good, some mediocre. Was the above review useful to you? 10 out of 18 people found the following review useful: Don't bother to 'Floss' from Minffordd, North Wales 13 February 2004 'The Mill on the Floss' was one of the lesser novels by Mary Ann Evans, who wrote under the male pseudonym George Eliot. I tried to read this dull and very turgid novel years ago, but was unable to finish it. I'll review this film version solely on its own merits, as I don't know how faithfully it follows the original novel. The film's opening credits are printed in an Old English typeface that suggests the mediaeval period, and so it's a very poor choice for a film with a 19th-century setting. (On the other hand, about halfway into the film, we see a close-up shot of a handbill advertising an estate auction.

This handbill is set in authentic Victorian type fonts, and looks *very* convincing.) Most of this film is extremely convincing in its depiction of the architecture and clothing of early 19th-century England. The precise location of this film's story is never disclosed, but - judging by the actors' accents - I'd place it as somewhere in the Cotswolds, perhaps Warwickshire. The plot, what there is of it, involves a mill that changes hands a couple of times (over a couple of decades) between two rival families, one wealthy and one working-class. I disagree with another IMDb reviewer who claims that James Mason has only a small role in this film. Mason has the largest and most central role in this drama, as the scion of the wealthier family. As the spoilt and petulant Tom Tulliver, Mason is darkly brooding and impetuous. His performance here belongs in a better film: it made me want to see 'Wuthering Heights' recast with Mason as Heathcliff.

As this is a multi-generational saga (something which George Eliot did much better in 'Middlemarch'), several of the main roles in this film are split among two actors apiece: child actors in the prologue, adults in the main narrative. The prologue of this film features a very well-written scene, establishing Tom Tulliver as wilful and bully-ragging from an early age, and young Philip Wakeham as decent and thoughtful. Through hard labour, Philip has earned a halfpenny: Tom tries to bully it away from him, but is unwilling to take the coin by brute force: he wants Philip to *give* it to him. All the child actors in this movie, male and female, are talented and attractive. Unfortunately, all of the children speak their dialogue in posh plummy-voiced accents that are utterly unlike the accents of the actors and actresses who play those same roles as adults. This discrepancy calls attention to the staginess of the material. Regrettably, none of the later scenes are as good as this prologue. The climax features a crowd of labourers in a rainstorm, much better paced and photographed than the earlier scenes.

But modern viewers (in Britain, at least) can no longer take this sort of material seriously. By now, practically every British comedian has done a "trouble at t' mill, squire" comedy routine, parodying precisely this subject matter, so I had difficulty watching this movie with a straight face. The character actress Martita Hunt is good in a small role, but the opening credits (in that Old English typeface) misspell her forename as 'Marita'. I'll rate this dull movie 3 points out of 10: one point apiece for James Mason's performance, the early scene with the children, and the authentic Victorian typesetting in that auctioneer's handbill. Was the above review useful to you? 3 out of 7 people found the following review useful: In defense of Eliot from Columbia, Maryland 3 September 2006 Haven't seen the movie, but having just finished the book I had to post in defense of Eliot and "Floss". The novel is not Eliot's best, but it should go without saying that bad Eliot is way better than most 'literary' fiction you find today.

The structure of the book is not very good, and the last half of the novel becomes about the love triangle between Maggie, Phillip, and Stephen -- Tom gets lost in the shuffle a bit, until the very end. I can see James Mason in any of the male leads -- but probably he would have rocked as Phillip, the hunch-backed, somewhat effeminate soul mate for Maggie. Tom is a bit of stick of the mud in the book and frankly not that interesting a character. The book is all about Maggie though -- her internal conflict, between her duty to Tom and family, and her instinctive desire for personal happiness and fulfillment, make the book. I can't wait to see how this film handles her! Was the above review useful to you?

0 out of 4 people found the following review useful: Dull Film from london 2 February 2014 I am somewhat surprised that 2 out of the 6 reviews of this film were by people who hadn't even seen the film.I would count them as extremely lucky as this is a really dull affair,which at times doesn't even make sense.At the beginning the source of the feud is discussed and the law action started.Mason et al are all young children.We then go forward a few years ,it seems like 20 when Mson et all are adults and it appears that the law case over the mill has just been resolved.Well the wheels of justice may grind exceedingly slow but not that slow.One can only think that the producers were trying to replicate the success of David Copperfield,well it has to be said that they failed miserably.It is an effort to try and keep working out what is going on.At least Mason and Fitzgerald would go on to better things. Was the above review useful to you?

2 out of 23 people found the following review useful: The 28 Year Old James Mason from London, England 31 October 2003 Mason plays the supporting role of Tom Tulliver in this adaptation of George Eliot's 'The Mill on the Floss'. Quite frankly, I didn't enjoy any of Eliot's novels so I wouldn't enjoy watching this film. Mason has a minor part, so it's not even worth watching anyway. Was the above review useful to you?

Question: 'Tom and Maggie Tulliver' are the central characters in which of George Eliot's novels?
Answer: 'THE MILL ON THE FLOSS'