The Mill on the Floss

Mr. Tulliver tells his wife Bessy that he wants to send their son, Tom, to a good school to become an engineer or a surveyor. Bessy offers to invite her family over so they can all discuss the matter. Mr. Tulliver does not want the opinions of the aunts, but decides to speak to Riley, who is well-educated, about what school would be best for Tom. Mr. Tulliver worries that Tom is not smart enough for a good school, wondering why Tom took after his mother’s side of the family instead of their daughter Maggie. Bessy agrees that Maggie is wild and different from the type of girl she had envisioned. Mr. Tulliver notes that Maggie is smart, but Bessy worries over their daughter’s dark skin and untamable hair.

Mr. Riley is considered a gentleman: He’s a well-respected auctioneer and appraiser and has many friends. Mr. Tulliver tells Riley that he wants to send Tom to a good school so that he won’t become a miller or a farmer, and jokes that one day Tom will run him out of business. Maggie, who is reading in the room, jumps up to defend her brother. Mr. Tulliver loves Maggie’s cleverness but also worries that her intelligence is not feminine. Riley notices that Maggie is reading The History of the Devil by Daniel Defoe and notes that it’s not the right sort of book for a girl, which hurts Maggie’s feelings. Mr. Tulliver admits that he married Bessy because of her beauty and her weakness; he wishes for Maggie’s sake that she had been born a boy and could have used her intelligence well. In comparison, Tom is not a good reader or writer, so Mr. Tulliver wants him to go to a school that will help him improve.

Riley recommends a clergyman who takes on a small amount of pupils, an Oxford man named Stelling. Stelling charges a high amount for teaching, but Riley insists he’s an excellent teacher. Tulliver is concerned that sending Tom to a clergyman would give him an education in philosophy instead of an education in useful skills for business. Riley insists that clergymen make the best teachers because of their professionalism and scholarship. Maggie worries that Stelling’s school is too far away for her to see her brother regularly, and she doesn’t like that Riley ignores her opinions and sees her as a silly little girl.

Riley isn’t actually certain that Stelling is a good teacher, but his relationship with Stelling’s father is important to him, so he puts his energies into ensuring an alliance by convincing Tulliver to send Tom to Stelling.

Maggie, angry that she wasn’t allowed to travel with her father to pick Tom up from his school, shoves her head in water to destroy the curls her mother tries to treat. Maggie goes to the mill, one of her favorite places, to calm down. There, she talks with Luke, who works in the mill, about books and other countries. Maggie is devastated to learn that the rabbits Tom entrusted her with are all dead. Luke brings Maggie back to his cottage so he and his wife can cheer her up.

Everyone is happy to have Tom back home. He bought Maggie her own fishing line to go fishing with him. Tom had already arranged to sell his rabbits and is angry with Maggie when she tells him they are dead. Tom tells her he doesn’t love her and won’t take her fishing. Maggie is despondent; she knows she’s naughty but has never been purposely naughty to Tom. She hides away and Tom goes to find her when she doesn’t show up to tea. When he sees her so upset, Tom quickly forgives her, and they make up. He takes her fishing the next day and they marvel at the beauty of the countryside’s rivers and streams.

Bessy is from the Dodson family, a close-knit group of people known for their simplicity. Bessy is preparing for the arrival of some of her family members.

Maggie is jealous when Tom leaves her behind to go off with his friend Bob. Bob and Tom get in a fight when a bet goes wrong. Bob takes Tom’s pocketknife during the scuffle and throws it at him. Although no one gets hurt, their honor is lost.

Bessy’s sister, Mrs. Glegg, is attractive despite her age and lack of style. Mrs. Glegg often makes fun of Bessy for Bessy’s attention to hair or clothing. Mrs. Glegg warns Bessy about Mr. Tulliver’s finances and encourages her to be more proactive in the marriage. Their sister, Sophy Pullet, arrives upset about the recent death of a neighbor. Although Bessy prefers Sophy to Mrs. Glegg, all the sisters are embarrassed by Bessy’s children, who take after their father in appearance and are ill-behaved. Their other sister, Mrs. Deane, has a daughter named Lucy, who by contrast is an ideal little girl. Tom and Maggie are awkward with their aunts, particularly Mrs. Glegg, who criticizes their appearance and manners.

Maggie convinces Tom to help her cut her hair in uneven clumps. Tom makes fun of how she looks, and Maggie is upset because her goal had been to make her hair provoke less comment from others. Tom does not regret anything and stands by his decisions when caught, Maggie cries about her hair, anxious over facing her mother and aunts. When Tom forces her to come down to supper, her mother and aunts scream about her hair. Mrs. Glegg says she should be punished and Mrs. Pullet notes that she looks like a “gypsy” girl. Only Maggie’s father defends and comforts her. Mrs. Glegg warns Bessy that her husband is spoiling their daughter.

After supper, the children go outside, and Mr. Tulliver tells his wife’s sisters and brothers-in-law about his plans to send Tom to a clergyman for schooling. They are all shocked because they consider it odd to involve the Church in education. Mr. Tulliver reveals that he doesn’t want Tom to take over his business and hopes that he will instead develop his own path. They remind Mr. Tulliver that a local lawyer, Mr. Wakem, is also sending his handicapped son to a small clergy school and wonder if it’s the same one. Mr. Tulliver and Mrs. Glegg get in an argument when Mr. Tulliver declares he doesn’t care about their opinions on the matter. The women try to dissipate the conflict by going outside to check on the children. With the women gone, Mr. Tulliver enjoys his discussion on politics with Mr. Deane.

That night, Mr. Tulliver stays awake thinking about money. Tom’s school will be expensive and a question about Mrs. Glegg’s five-hundred-pound loan is on his mind. Mr. Tulliver’s brother-in-law Moss owes him money. Mr. Tulliver has a weakness for his sister Gritty, who married Moss despite Moss’s lack of financial security and has eight children to support.

Mr. Tulliver pays a visit to Basset, the lowly town where Moss and Gritty live. Gritty is happy to see her brother, although he seems to be in a bad mood. She asks him to send Maggie to visit because Maggie is a beloved niece to her. Mr. Tulliver is softened by Gritty’s sentiments towards Maggie, who seems to never do anything right in other peoples’ eyes. He is reminded that, like his children Tom and Maggie, he and Gritty are one another’s only siblings. He hopes that Tom will look after Maggie the way he’s looked after Gritty. He demands that Moss repay his loan, but on his way out, he returns to Gritty to assure her that he’ll always look after her.

Maggie’s excitement at visiting Garum Firs is ruined when the hairdresser arrives to fix up her hair. Over a game of card houses, Tom and Maggie get into another quarrel. Finally, they get to Garum Firs, the Pullets’ beautiful farm and home. Tom doesn’t like visiting Garum Firs because Mrs. Pullet is strict about the cleanliness of her home.

Maggie watches an emotional conversation between her mother and Mrs. Pullet about a new bonnet. Maggie doesn’t understand the importance of the bonnet, which Mrs. Pullet uses to talk to Bessy about sudden deaths and mourning. Meanwhile, Mr. Pullet takes Tom around the farm, but Tom is unimpressed by Mr. Pullet because he doesn’t ride an animal larger than a pony and doesn’t handle guns. Mr. Pullet plays a song on the snuffbox for the children, which delights Maggie.

Bessy and Mrs. Pullet discuss death again. Mrs. Pullet is interested in learning more about doctors and worries for Bessy’s financial future.

Lucy enters the parlor covered in mud. Tom had brought Lucy to the forbidden pond on the property, while ignoring Maggie and telling her she couldn’t join them. Jealous and angry, Maggie pushed Lucy into the mud.

Mrs. Tulliver sends out for Maggie, but Tom discovers that Maggie is missing. Mrs. Tulliver worries that she fell into the pond and drowned.

Maggie decides to run away to be with the gypsies. Although she doesn’t know how to get around, she comes across a tent of gypsies. They invite her over and she tells them she wants to live with them. One of the girls in the tent takes Maggie’s bonnet, and another kid empties her pockets. The gypsies don’t have much to feed her, and Maggie is hungry. Two men arrive and inspect the contents of Maggie’s pockets. They return everything but her silver thimble. The gypsies speak to one another in a language Maggie doesn’t understand and she becomes frightened. She wants to leave, so one of the men sets off with her in the direction of the family mill. They pass her father on his way back from Basset. Mr. Tulliver pays the Romani man and takes over caring for Maggie. She tells him about running away. At home, Mr. Tulliver lectures the family and neither her mother nor Tom mention her running off with the gypsies.

Mr. and Mrs. Glegg live in an old and respectable town called St. Ogg’s. They are wealthy and nurture genteel hobbies like gardening and reading natural history. Mrs. Glegg is uncharacteristically stubborn and outspoken for a woman, in Mr. Glegg’s view, but he doesn’t mind when she disagrees with him so much as he worries about her when she argues with others. Her argument with Mr. Tulliver has disrupted his mood. Mr. and Mrs. Glegg heatedly discuss her conduct with Mr. Tulliver. After much discussion, she agrees not to make a problem out of the five-hundred-pound loan.

Mrs. Pullet visits Mrs. Glegg to discuss the dispute between her and Mr. Tulliver. Mrs. Pullet argues that their family name is important and they shouldn’t besmirch their reputation with arguments over money. When Mrs. Glegg afterwards tells the Tullivers that they don’t need to worry about the money or the argument, Mr. Tulliver grows even more frustrated that the sisters have been discussing his financial business. The feud does not end. Tom leaves for school with the clergyman.