The Mill on the Floss (Masterplots II: Women’s Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: George Eliot
- First Published: 1860
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Domestic realism
- Time of Work: The 1830’s
- Setting: The fictional town of St. Ogg’s, Lincolnshire, England
- Principal Characters: Maggie Tulliver, Tom Tulliver, Mrs. Tulliver, Mr. Tulliver, Philip Wakem, Lucy Deane, Stephen Guest
- Genres: Long fiction, Domestic realism
- Subjects: Maturation or coming of age, Family or family life, Class conflict, Love or romance, Gender roles, Nineteenth century, Prejudices or antipathies, Villages, Friendship, Brothers and sisters, Law or legislation, England or English people, Duty, Loyalty, Lawyers, Working class, Imagination, Human behavior, Floods, Victorian era or Victorianism, Mills or millwork, Water power
- Locales: Midlands, England
Form and Content
The Mill on the Floss narrates the struggles of a girl and her family in the early years of Queen Victoria’s reign over England. At that time, women’s roles were strictly limited to housework and child rearing, and so girls—especially girls of Maggie’s social class—were given only rudimentary educations. Maggie’s story constitutes a protest against this kind of restriction; the reader is shown from the start that Maggie possesses a rich imagination and a keen mind but is supplied with no challenges or outlets for them. As a girl, she chafes...
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