George Eliot
A Review
Eva Cavallari cl. 3als a.s. 2013-2014
The Mill on the Floss
-AUTHOR: George Eliot (alias Mary Ann Evans)
-PUBLICATION DATE: 1860
-CONTENT
-CHARACTERS
-SETTING
-THEMES
-MESSAGE TO BE LEARNT
-NEW VOCABULARY LEARNT
Eva Cavallari cl. 3als a.s. 2013-2014
George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)
Content
The Mill on the Floss deals with the story of
Maggie Tulliver and her older brother Tom. They
lived in Dorlcote Mill, with their father, Mr. Tulliver,
the owner of the mill and their mother, Mrs. Bessy
Tulliver.
>CHILDHOOD
>TOM
>PHILIP
>ECONIMIC RUIN
>FAMILY’S DECAY
>WOMENHOOD
>VENGEANCE and DEATH
> THE FLOOD
Eva Cavallari cl. 3als a.s. 2013-2014
Content
CHILDHOOD
The story begins when Maggie was 9 years old. Her childhood was characterized by her
relationship with Tom, and with his classmate Philip Wakem.
TOM Maggie was fond of Tom but they had really different characters: Maggie was clever
and dreamer, on the contrary Tom was more pragmatic and close-minded. These deep
differences between them would be the cause of their future breach and moving away.
PHILIP Maggie met Philip during a visit to her brother’s school. Philip was deformed but
he had got a brilliant and gentle mind. They immediately got on well, but their
relationship would be broken off by the economic ruin of Mr. Tulliver, caused by Philip’s
father, Mr. Wakem.
Eva Cavallari cl. 3als a.s. 2013-2014
Content
ECONOMIC RUIN After Mr. Tulliver had lost the economic cause against Mr.
Wakem, he fell in ruin, till he had to sell all his property, including the mill, to
Wakem. After the trial, Mr. Tulliver fell gravely ill and as a result Tom, who was
seventeen years old at this point, entered in the world of business to pay his father’s
debts and eventually to buy again the mill.
FAMILY ‘S DECAY In the meanwhile Maggie took care of her weak father and
witnessed to her family’s decay: Tom was always longer away from home for business,
becoming more and more silent; Mr. Tulliver was only interested in pay his debts; and
poor Mrs. Tulliver never again worked quietly and contentedly after losing her little
treasures in the sell.
Eva Cavallari cl. 3als a.s. 2013-2014
Content
WOMENHOOD
In this agonizing period, Maggie, on the edge of
womanhood, when the mind is ordinarily full of
new hopes and new dreams, secretly saw Philip
during her walks until Tom discovered them and
she had to renounce to her love for Philip.
VENGEANCE and DEATH An year later, Tom had earned enough to pay all his
father’s debts. But after the vengeful day a long time desired, Mr. Tulliver died at
night, next to his family.
Eva Cavallari cl. 3als a.s. 2013-2014
Content
THE FLOOD At this point, while Tom hadn’t forgiven her yet, Maggie moved to a friend’s
house. But her troubles hadn’t finished yet . After a week of pouring rain, the river flooded,
submerging the surrounding fields. In the midst of the flood Maggie managed to reach the
mill with a boat and to rescue her brother. But they finished in a too violent current where a
wide mass across the stream was coming towards the boat. Conscious of their near death
Tom finally forgave his sister and took her in his arms. The huge mass sank the boat but
brother and sister had gone down locked together, never to be parted.
Maggie and Tom in
the midst of the
flood.
Eva Cavallari cl. 3als a.s. 2013-2014
Characters
MAIN CHARACTERS
- Maggie Tulliver: the young female protagonist
-Tom Tulliver: Maggie’s brother
-Mr. Tulliver: Tom and Maggie’s father and owner of the mill
-Mrs Bessy Tulliver: Tom and Maggie’s mother
-Philip Wakem: classmate of Tom and Maggie’s friend
MINOR CHARACTERS
-Mr. Wakem: Philip’s father, a lawyer enemy of Mr. Tulliver
-Aunts and uncles of Maggie and Tom (Mrs. Tulliver’s sisters and their husbands : Mrs. and
Mr. Glegg, Pullet, Deane and Mr. Tulliver’s sister and husband : Mrs. and Mr. Moss)
-Lucy Dean : Mrs. Dean’s daughter
-Luke : the head miller
-Yap : the Tulliver’s dog
Eva Cavallari cl. 3als a.s. 2013-2014
Setting
The novel is set in the English country, in the first nineteenth century.
The characters move
from Dorlcote Mill to
the small town of
St.Ogg, in the wide
plain where the river
Floss hurries on.
Eva Cavallari cl. 3als a.s. 2013-2014
Setting
SOCIAL CONTEXT
Mary Ann Evans wrote “The Mill on the Floss” during the Victorianism, a period
characterized by an economic prosperity and a colonial and commercial expansion. On
the contrary the society showed deep social lacerations. Indeed, after the Industrial
Revolution, the difference between rich and poor social classes had increased: to
somebody’s accumulation of wealth stood opposite child and female mistreatment,
poverty and prostitution.
Mary Ann Evans hid her name under the
alias George Eliot to avoid the diffidence
and the prejudices of the hypocrite
bourgeoisie of the Victorian age.
Paesaggi Vittoriani
(John Atkinson Grimshow)
Eva Cavallari cl. 3als a.s. 2013-2014
Themes
-The conflict between the individual and the
conformist society in which he or she lives. In the
novel , Maggie’s intelligence is defined by her father as
an inconvenient disadvantage, something that won’t be
useful in her life: “Too clever for a woman […] it doesn’t
add to her value.” Such as her dark skin is something to
be ashamed of. The society denies her intellectual and
spiritual growth and a kind of determinism rejects her
attempts to grow and to be true to herself.
Maggie Tulliver
Eva Cavallari cl. 3als a.s. 2013-2014
Themes
- The growth. That is the transition from childhood dreams to the hard reality of life.
Indeed Maggie, after her quite carefree youth, has to face her family’s bankrupting,
Tom’s abandonment, her father’s death and has to give her love up.
The relationship between brother and sister, that is the background throughout the
whole novel.
- Independence and freedom, that is the importance of the right of free choice.
Indeed in the novel we can notice the succession of Maggie’s conditioned choices, and
as a result she dies without having lived her life. She has renounced to everything and
to herself.
Eva Cavallari cl. 3als a.s. 2013-2014
Message to be learnt
In my opinion, the message to be learnt is that
in your life you must find the strength and the
determination to assert yourself and to react
against what restricts you. Otherwise you will
be overcome by others’ wills and controls, such
as Maggie drowned under the flood.
Eva Cavallari cl. 3als a.s. 2013-2014
New Vocabulary Learnt
NOUNS
Mill: mulino
Clergyman: uomo ecclesiastico
Quarrel: discussione
Aim: scopo
Whisper: bisbiglio
Shadow: ombra
Gathering: raduno
Trouble: difficoltà
Debt: debito
Rascal: furfante
Beggar: mendicante
Despair: disperazione
Vengeance: vendetta
Flood: inondazione
Amend: riparazione
ADJECTIVES
Naughty: cattivo, disubbidiente
Dull: monotono, tedioso
Eager: avido, impaziente
Greedy: avido
Trembling: tremante
Nodding: oscillante
Queer: bizzarro
VERBS
To threaten: minacciare
To rush: attraversare di corsa
To sob: singhiozzare
To whisper: bisbigliare
To lend: imprestare
To gaze: guardare fisso
To glance: dare un’occhiata
To despise: disprezzare
Eva Cavallari cl. 3als a.s. 2013-2014
Thank you for the attention.
Eva Cavallari cl. 3als a.s. 2013-2014