Setting and theme-critical analysis- mill on the floss

Novel by GEORGE ELIOT

1. Group no 8 Sawaira atta Aneeha Jamil Mahrukh Mehmood Maryam raouf Arooj Arshad

2. Setting and theme Mill on the floss

3. setting This novel is set in the early 19th century England during Victorian age. The setting time of this novel is in between 1829 – 1839. The place for the setting of this novel is the English midlands of the St. Ogg’s, Dorlcote mill and the surrounding community. St. Ogg’s and Dorlcote mill are fictional places but they are actually based on the childhood home of Eliot, which is Warwickshire. It is a county located in the midlands of England.

4. setting When Marry Ann Evans wrote this novel it was the Victorian age, which is a period, characterized by the transition of the world. The setup of novel representing the midlands and the mill gives us the idea that most of the people at that time are related to business profession and others are farmers. World was economically and commercially expanding. Moreover, the industrial revolution had increased the difference between the rich and the poor class. As Tom has to do a job and work hard in order to earn his living, on the other hand, Philip and Stephen belong to rich family so they don’t need to do jobs for their living rather they will inherit the business of their fathers. The novel also represents the picture of oppression with female. At that time, females were only supposed to do the household tasks and take care of their family. To give education to the female was consider as a taboo and they just only learn to take care of their children, dance and maintain their neat and clean clothes. Due to this concept, Maggie faces a lot of criticism from her mother and aunts. And they compare her with her cousin Lucy who had all the qualities of the perfect women of that time. Furthermore, Marry Ann Evans wrote this novel with her pen name Gorge Eliot to avoid the diffidence and prejudices of the Victorian age.

5. Themes Knowledge and ignorance Memory and childhood Women role and social pressure Tolerance and forgiveness The effect of society upon individual Practical knowledge versus bookish knowledge The importance of sympathy The claim of past upon present identity

6. Theme of Knowledge and ignorance The narrator of The Mill on the Floss describes St. Ogg’s, the town where Tom and Maggie Tulliver grew up, as a place where “ignorance was much more comfortable than at present”—meaning the reader’s present is a more “enlightened” age. 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. St. Ogg’s is a provincial community in which few people have obtained much schooling at the secondary school level. Mr. Tulliver admits that he hasn’t had much education himself, but hopes to help his son .Unfortunately, however, Mr. Tulliver’s ignorance of what goes on in a schoolroom prevents him from adequately helping his son. For example, he takes the advice of a friend, Mr. Riley, who knows equally little about education. Mr. Riley recommends Mr. Stelling as a tutor for Tom solely based on the fact that Stelling has a degree from Oxford. Mr. Stelling is in fact a poor tutor, and succeeds mainly in making Tom feel stupid. Furthermore. Mr. Tulliver believes that he has given his son “a good education,” but has actually spent hundreds of pounds on an education that is useless to Tom in practice. In this sense, Mr. Tulliver’s hope to improve his son’s lot in life through education fails because his ignorance about learning is self-sustaining and self-perpetuating, making him unable to choose the right teacher for Tom.so this is a proof that ignorance causes a person to make wrong decision.

7. Theme of knowledge and ignorance Knowledge For Maggie, her relationship with Philip Wakeman, who loans her books and provides her with the intellectual companionship she yearns for, is a precious reprieve from the repression of her daily life and routines, which consist largely of household chores. Philip's influence encourages Maggie to explore the parts of her nature that are drawn to art, books, and culture. “You will not always be shut up in your present lot: why should you starve your mind in that way?” Philip asks. Philip links intellectual exploration to freedom, suggesting that Maggie can transcend her social and material circumstances by stimulating her mind.so he gives the example of having true knowledge. Ignorance For Maggie, her relationship with Philip Wakem, who loans her books and provides her with the intellectual companionship she yearns for, is a precious reprieve from the repression of her daily life and routines, which consist largely of household chores. Philip's influence encourages Maggie to explore the parts of her nature that are drawn to art, books, and culture. “You will not always be shut up in your present lot: why should you starve your mind in that way?” Philip asks. Philip links intellectual exploration to freedom, suggesting that Maggie can transcend her social and material circumstances by stimulating her mind.so he gives the example of having true knowledge.

8. Memory and childhood Once again, childhood memory and the distant past of childhood play a major thematic role. Eliot reiterates that, while adults often forget the specifics of childhood, the emotional intensity of their past experiences as children stay with them, however subconsciously. The emotional impact of the past is inescapable. Quotation: “Life did change for Tom and Maggie; and yet they were not wrong in believing that the the past haunts the novel’s central protagonists. Memories of their childhood continue to influence their behavior and decisions far into their adulthood, from Tom’s obsession with buying back Dorlcote Mill to Maggie’s preoccupation with earning her brother’s affection and approve. "From Tom and Maggie, this is both a blessing and a curse. In many ways, they are unable to free themselves from the family obligations, expectations, and grudges that shaped their childhoods. On the other hand, their bond with each other is a source of stability and continuity through the many changes in their lives and circumstances. The supportive power of deep history sustains them through their family’s bankruptcy and their father’s death, when Tom and Maggie cry together and promise that they will always love each other. Finally, Maggie’s sacrifice of her own life for Tom demonstrates her the continuing power of her childhood emotional attachment 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.

9. Theme of women role and society pressure Maggie Tulliver is considered “contrary” by her relatives. Her behavior is often contrasted unfavorably with that of her cousin, Lucy Deane, a model of perfect Victorian femininity. Lucy is sweet, obedient and pretty, all of which are qualities valued in women in Victorian society. While Lucy goes along with the social expectations of her gender, Maggie struggles against the restrictions placed on women’s lives and choices and becomes a social outcast as a result. The contrast between the fates of these two women suggests that Victorian society tends to both idealize women and criticized them socially. In her childhood, Maggie is also constantly reminded of her second-class status. Unlike Tom, she is not given a good education, since her schooling is designed to prepare her to be a wife and mother. When she looks at her brother’s geometry textbook, Tom reminds her that “girls can’t do Euclid,” and his tutor Mr. Stelling remarks that women "couldn't go far into anything.” Yet women in Maggie’s position are unable to forge a separate identity from their family, as illustrated by Mr. Wakem’s comment that “we don’t ask what a woman does—we ask whom she belongs to.” Lacking agency of their own, women’s identities are absorbed into those of their husbands and families. Women often do not go to school, but those women in the rich families have private tutors who teach them music, painting and drawing. But it is not possible for Maggie to go to school. Once when Tom wants to go to school, Maggie is not allowed to go with him. Tom goes to work for a shipping company and begins to make his fortune. Maggie, by contrast, has to remain at home, submit to her circumstances, and wait calmly for a change in her life. When they are children, Tom points out to Maggie that he has more financial power than her by virtue of his gender. “I’ve got a great deal more money than you, because I’m a boy. You only have five-shilling pieces, because you’re only a girl.” This small discrepancy in their allowances as children mirrors the larger financial inequality between them as adults that, in turn, further limits Maggie’s autonomy. Maggie’s inability to “do something” is a constant source of frustration to her, since she feels that it prevents her from helping her family or herself.Maggie faces the full force of social rejection.

10. Continued…… . It doesn't matter that Maggie did not choose to run away with Stephen Guest, did not sleep with him outside of marriage, and did not marry him--simply by leaving St. Ogg's with a man, she is carefully thought about guilty. However, the narrator points out the hypocrisy of "respectable" community. In other words, if Maggie had married Stephen Guest after running away with him, she would have been accepted in the town as the wife of one of its most well-known people as a respectable citizen. Even though the "crime" was the same, she would have been validated by the marriage. The ordinarily feminine Lucy is perfect as a beautiful, and "perfect" woman and future wife. Very differently, in eloping with Stephen Guest, the Maggie becomes a "fallen woman" who is now treated with hatred. Maggie's passion, intelligence, and unusual nature are a poor fit for the narrow needed things and roles given out/set aside to women in Victorian society. She is unable to create agreement between herself to the lack of strong interest expected of women, and her acts of fighting against authority against those conventions lead to social loneliness. 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.

11. Theme of tolerance and forgiveness Maggie is Mr. Tulliver and Mrs. Tulliver’s passionate and high-spirited daughter and Tom’s younger sister. The clever, independent Maggie Tulliver encounters various forms of intolerance and prejudice throughout the novel, but also experiences compassion and forgiveness from those she has wronged—like Philip Wakem and Lucy Deane. Maggie longs for a more forgiving and generous world. She tries to make that world a reality in her final attempt to rescue her brother, Tom, from a flood that devastates the town, sacrificing her own life in the process. Throughout the novel, Tom and Maggie hold very different attitudes regarding forgiveness. Tom is highly principled, stubborn, and tends to believe that he is always right. Maggie, on the other hand, acknowledges her own flaws in such a way that makes her more compassionate in response to the failings of others. Their reconciliation before their deaths in the flood is thus a triumph of Maggie’s compassion over Tom’s often unforgiving adherence to principles. Maggie is Mr. Tulliver and Mrs. Tulliver’s passionate and high-spirited daughter and Tom’s younger sister. Mr. Tulliver is just as stubborn and unforgiving as the Dodson's. Tom swear on the family Bible to hate the Wakems too, making forgiveness difficult and even impossible for the next generation. However, even Tom and Maggie’s notoriously unforgiving family members can show a more compassionate and tolerant side. It is Mrs. Glegg, of all people, who stands by Maggie when she has been rejected by nearly everyone else in St. Ogg’s. Mrs. Glegg declares that she believes in her innocence—showing that compassion and forgiveness can appear even when least expected. Philip was in love with Maggie, and Lucy was engaged in all but name to Stephen Guest, so Maggie and Stephen’s elopement was a cause of great distress to both of them. However, Philip writes a long letter to Maggie in which he explains that he forgives her. Philip’s willingness to accept Maggie’s flaws and his own part in the tragedy that befell her shows an ability to emphasize with others that has been lacking thus far in Maggie’s relatives. Lucy also forgives Maggie, visiting her in her lodging in St. Ogg’s after the botched elopement to tell her that she understands Maggie never meant to hurt her. This compassion is a great comfort to Maggie, who is a social outcast in the town, and makes her feel that she made the right decision in giving up Stephen.

12. The effect of society upon individuals: Society is never revealed to be a completely figuring out factor in the pre-planned future of Eliot's main characters—for example, Maggie's tragedy starts in her internal competing impulses, not in her public disgrace. Yet, Eliot remains concerned with the workings of a community—both social and economic, and tracks their interrelations, as well as their effect upon character, as part of her realism. Tulliver probably sums up society best by calling it "puzzling." The society of St. Ogg’s can be very confusing and even contradictory. Though the society here operates on strict rules, it is also prone to some pretty outlandish and harmful assumptions. Society can be also be quite cruel in The Mill on the Floss. Gossip and prejudice and judgmental attitudes seem to dominate. And a society this watchful can be a dangerous place too, where any action can be taken the wrong way. This confusing mess of rules and rumors is also one of the book’s chief antagonists. Society allows and even encourages many characters to behave badly towards others. The Mill on the Floss sets up a geography of towns and land holdings—St. Ogg's, Basset, Garum Firs, Dorlcote Mill—and describes the tone of each community (such as the run- down population of Basset). The novel tracks the growth of the particular society of St. Ogg's, referencing the new force of economic trends like entrepreneurial capitalism or innovations like the steam engine. A wide cast of characters aims to outline different layers in the society—such as the Dodson's, or the Miss Guests—through their common values, economic standing, and social circles. In the first part of the novel, Eliot suggests the effect these communal forces have on Maggie's and Tom's formation. Toward the end of the novel, the detailed background of St. Ogg's society functions as a contrast against which Maggie seems freshly simple and honest.

13. 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. 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. Meanwhile, Maggie's knowledge is slightly more complicated. Other characters refer to it as "uncanny," and her imagination and love of books are often depicted as a way for her to escape the world around her or to rise above it—"The world outside the books was not a happy one, Maggie felt." Tom soon returns and takes advantage of his skills for practical knowledge, making good in the newly entrepreneurial world. Tom’s practical knowledge is always depicted as a source of superiority for Tom. From his childhood on, Tom has no patience for Maggie’s intellectual curiosity. The narrowness of Tom’s miseducation under Mr. Stelling seems somewhat related to the narrowness of Tom’s tolerance for others’ modes of knowledge. Yet Eliot remains clear that Maggie’s intellectualism makes her Tom’s superior in this case—“the responsibility of tolerance lies with those who have the wider vision.

14. Importance of sympathy The novel mill on the floss 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, "That's the right spirit, and I never refuse to help anybody if they've a mind to do themselves justice." Stephen, too, is seen as a figure that puts himself before others. His arguments in favor of his and Maggie's elopement all revolve around the privileging of his own emotion over that of others', even Maggie's. In contrast, Maggie's, Philip's, and Lucy's mutual sympathy is upheld as the moral triumph within the tragedy of the last book. Eliot herself believed that the purpose of art is to present the reader with realistic circumstances and characters that will ultimately enlarge the reader's capacity for sympathy with others. We can see this logic working against Maggie's young asceticism. Maggie's self-denial becomes morally injurious to her because she is denying herself the very intellectual and artistic experiences that would help her understand her own plight and have pity for the plight of others.

15. The claim of past upon present identity The past or the present? That may sound like a weird question to ask, but it is one that a ton of characters in The Mill on the Floss attempt to answer. A person’s past and their memories are a huge part of who they are, and the characters here often struggle to integrate their pasts into their present. Some characters want to put the past behind them and live in the present, while others want to live almost fully in the past. Memory and the past are extremely powerful influences, shaping a person’s identity and guiding the choices they make. the past holds a cumulative presence and has a determining effect upon characters who are open to its influence. The first, carefully sketched out book about Maggie and Tom's childhood becomes the past of the rest of the novel. Maggie holds the memory of her childhood sacred and her connection to that time comes to affects her future behavior. Book First clearly demonstrates the painfulness of life without a past—the depths of Maggie's childhood emotions are nearly unbearable to her because she has no past of conquered troubles to look back upon with which to put her present situation in perspective. I want to quote the words of john banville here, “the past beats inside me like a second heart”. Philip is one of the few characters in the novel who seems to deal with his past in a positive way, allowing it to enrich his present, rather than to completely dictate, or determine, it.Philip, like many other characters in this novel, has a very problematic relationship with his past; he seems to be obsessed with it, particularly in terms of his long-standing relationship with Maggie, and is unable to move on and live in the present. Stephen is held up as an example of the dangers of neglecting the past. Dr. Kenn, a sort of moral yardstick within the novel, complains of this neglect of the past of which Stephen is a part and Maggie has worked against I would like to quote a reference from the novel.316-page pdf 11th line "At present everything seems tending toward the relaxation of ties—toward the substitution of wayward choice for the adherence to obligation which has its roots in the past." Thus, without a recognition of the past with which to form one's character, one is left only to the whims of the moment and subject to emotional extremes and eventual loneliness.

16. Themes of mill on the floss Knowledge and ignorance The claim of past upon present identity

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