The Mill on the Floss

Tom works hard and is promoted within his first year. He contributes all his earnings to the family’s tin box. Even though he would like to go out with other young men, he knows that for now he needs to be frugal. When Bob proposes an investment opportunity, Tom goes to his Uncle Glegg to get his investment. After much debate and discussion in the Glegg household, the Gleggs agree to support Tom financially through the investment process.

Maggie is tempted by the promise of an intellectual companion who likes and respects her. But Maggie thinks about the prospect of a friendship with Philip and decides that it would involve too much hiding and betrayal against her family. Philip is sad but asks to draw her again. Maggie shares her philosophy of resigning herself to the life she has, but Philip suggests that Maggie is only stupefying herself. He encourages her to stop depriving herself of joy and declares that “‘No character becomes strong in that way. You will be thrown into the world someday, and then every rational satisfaction of your nature that you deny now will assault you like a savage appetite’” (Page 336). Philip, not having been raised by a mother and suffering from his physical deformity, is particularly attached to Maggie, a young woman whom he projects future happiness onto.

A year goes by. Maggie continues to meet with Philip in secret. She returns one of his books without finishing it because she doesn’t want to watch the character of the beautiful blonde girl winning love over the dark-haired girl. Philip points out that the story is similar to that of Maggie and her cousin Lucy, whose light features and status as a well-educated and respectable young woman must earn her a husband soon. Maggie insists that she always roots for the underdog, to which Philip wonders if that means she’s destined to love a man no other woman can. Philip confesses that he is in love with Maggie. Maggie says she loves him too but won’t betray her father. Philip promises to wait for her.

Maggie, in her fear of being found with Philip, imagines many circumstances in which she would be discovered. One day, Mrs. Pullet mentions Mr. Wakem and Tom notices Maggie’s deep blush. He thinks over her anxiety at the mention of Wakem and starts to wonder if her notorious long walks outside involve Philip. He confronts Maggie and she admits to reestablishing a friendship with Philip, who is in love with her. Tom tells her she must promise never to meet with Philip again or he'll tell their father about him, surely breaking their father’s heart and undermining Mr. Tulliver’s esteem of Maggie.

Tom goes with Maggie to meet Philip. Tom accuses Philip of taking advantage of Maggie’s lowly station and the Wakem’s power over the Tulliver family. Tom mocks Philip’s deformity and makes fun of him for believing that a woman as fine as Maggie could love him. On their way back home, Maggie accuses Tom of getting enjoyment out of punishing her. While Maggie would never want to see Tom in pain and acknowledges her flaws, Tom’s ego prevents him from seeing his own flaws. Maggie cries for Philip in her room but feels a strange relief that she’s been forced to separate from him.

Tom announces to his family that his investment with Bob has been successful and they have enough money to pay off Mr. Tulliver’s last debts.

Tom, his father, and his uncles go out to dinner to celebrate. Mr. Tulliver drinks more than usual and runs into Mr. Wakem on his way home. They argue and Mr. Tulliver charges at him, forcing Wakem to fall off his horse. Mr. Tulliver gets off his horse and beats Wakem with his riding whip. Maggie intervenes and pulls her father off Wakem. Wakem rides away and Mr. Tulliver becomes weak. He takes to his bed and calls in his children to tell them goodbye. Mr. Tulliver dies spewing hatred for Mr. Wakem.

Stephen Guest, a wealthy mill owner, visits Lucy at the Deane house. Lucy tells Stephen that her beloved cousin Maggie will visit her to stay a while, two years after her father’s death. Although they know Tom avoids Philip, they hope that Maggie will be more open to being around Philip, who socializes with Lucy and Stephen. Stephen and Lucy are in a happy stage of courtship.

Lucy excitedly tells Maggie about Stephen. Stephen comes to visit and meet Maggie. He is taken aback by Maggie’s beauty and compliments her, pleasing her but making her feel shy. Lucy starts to worry that Maggie and Stephen are flirting with one another. Stephen agrees to invite Philip with them on a boating outing. When Stephen leaves the ladies, he thinks about Maggie’s chaotic beauty.

Maggie is excited by Stephen’s admiration of her. She has little experience dreaming about love and romance. She is stimulated by the music the Deanes play around the house. Lucy tells her again that Philip will join them. Maggie tells Lucy the secret of her and Philip and the story of what led to Tom forbidding her to see Philip again. Lucy encourages Maggie to forget about the past and act on her feelings.

Maggie visits Tom at Bob’s house, where Bob now lives with his wife while renting out a room to Tom. Maggie asks Tom to let go of the promise not to see Philip again for Lucy’s sake. Tom agrees, but coldly says that if Maggie takes up a romance with Philip, Tom and Maggie will cease having a relationship. He says Maggie is easily led astray, a criticism that hurts her feelings. Tom exposes her flaws to herself, but Maggie keeps her criticisms of Tom to herself. She notes that they simply see things differently.

Mr. Deane applauds Tom for his hard work over the years. He gives Tom a share of the business in the oil mill with Mr. Deane and Stephen Guest. Tom brings up his father’s old mill, stating his intentions to own the mill again in memory of his father. Mr. Wakem still owns the mill and Mr. Deane assures Tom he’ll look into what can be done.

Maggie is introduced to proper high society. Her beauty interests people, while her lack of sophisticated manners endears her to the ladies who might have been jealous of her unique beauty. Philip travels to the coast on a sketching expedition, so it’s a while before Maggie meets him again. In the meantime, Stephen and Maggie get along well when around Lucy, but avoid one another in private out of a tacit understanding of Stephen’s attraction to her. One day, Stephen comes upon Maggie alone and walks with her through the garden. There is an intimacy he feels towards her, but Maggie is distracted by Philip’s return to town. In private, Stephen can’t stop thinking about Maggie. Stephen reminds himself that he is in love with Lucy and decides to stop getting closer to Maggie.

On a rainy morning, Philip visits Lucy to meet Maggie again. Philip and Maggie are shy and overwhelmed by their unlikely reunion. Philip tells Maggie that he doesn’t care what his father would think about their friendship. Maggie has decided that she can’t be dependent on her brother and resolves to find a different path. Philip insinuates that marriage could save her from a different path. For Philip, his love for Maggie never ceased.

Stephen enters and they start playing and singing music. Stephen and Maggie are coolly distant from one another, making Lucy believe that they don’t like each other. But Maggie knows that Stephen is carefully avoiding her because of a deep attraction to her. Philip notices Stephen’s attitude towards Maggie as well and worries that Maggie will marry someone like Stephen.

Mr. Deane asks Philip about business. Later, Lucy asks her father why he inquired into Philip’s business. Mr. Deane mentions Dorlcote Mill and his interest in buying it from the Wakems. Lucy declares that she has a way of convincing Philip to sell the mill back to the Tullivers. 

Mr. Wakem is supportive of Philip’s artistic talent. Philip shows his father his collection, and Mr. Wakem notices two portraits of the same girl at different ages. Philip reveals that he has been in love with Maggie Tulliver for years and used to sneak away to see her. Mr. Wakem, angry at this perceived betrayal, threatens to cut Philip off from his financial wealth if he marries Maggie. Philip can’t marry Maggie without his father’s blessing, because his father’s pity for his physical deformity has kept Philip reliant on his father’s money and untrained in business. Philip doesn’t want to marry Maggie if he’ll make her a poor man’s wife.

After cooling down from their heated argument, Mr. Wakem decides to give his blessing to Philip to pursue a marriage with Maggie. Mr. Wakem was deeply in love with Philip’s mother and wants Philip to have a similarly happy life. Mr. Wakem insists, however, that any business regarding the mill must be between Philip and Tom because Wakem refuses to engage with any of the Tulliver men in business dealings.

The other young women in St. Ogg’s start to feel resentment towards Maggie for the attention her beauty attracts. At a charity fair organized by the ladies, much attention is paid to Maggie. Stephen refuses to buy one of her knittings, trying to avoid Maggie. Stephen finally approaches her privately, but she rebukes him. He sees Philip Wakem and teases him about Maggie, angering Philip. Stephen realizes that Philip has an attachment to Maggie that goes beyond childhood friendship.

Dr. Kenn, the town’s physician, sees Maggie at the charity fair and is captivated by her beauty.

Lucy intimates to Maggie that Philip’s father approves of a friendship and possible relationship between Philip and Maggie. Maggie tells Lucy she’ll be leaving soon to return to teaching. Maggie wants to marry Philip but believes more time needs to pass for Tom to approve of the union.

In attendance at a ball, Maggie tries to avoid dancing with men. Stephen has become more attracted to her since his revelation about Philip’s feelings for her because it disgusts him to think of someone like Philip with a woman as beautiful as Maggie. Stephen asks Maggie to go on a walk with them and when they are away from the ballroom, he kisses her arms. Maggie is offended and upset by the kiss.

The next day, she gets ready to leave for a visit to her Aunt Moss. Philip meets with her and they discuss the future. They agree they want to be with one another but must wait.

Maggie is happy to be with her Aunt Moss and her many cousins. Stephen Guest pays Maggie an unexpected visit to tell her he’s in love with her and doesn’t care whose feelings he hurts to be with her. Maggie declares her intention to marry Philip and doesn’t believe that love is a more natural or important emotion than the other emotions a person has to prevent harm coming to those they respect.

Maggie then visits her Dodson side of the family, who are celebrating Tom’s regaining of Dorlcote Mill. Maggie hopes that Tom’s victory will soften him to the idea of a relationship between Maggie and Philip. Lucy has a good relationship with Tom and tries to convince him to forgive Philip, but Tom refuses. He says Maggie can marry Philip if she wants to, but that that would be the end of Maggie and Tom.

Maggie returns to Lucy at St. Ogg’s. She and Stephen avoid one another when they can. Maggie is in an emotional crisis, torn between the future she expects (teaching) and the future now possible to her (a wealthy marriage). In a way, Maggie loves Stephen too because she is attracted to him, but her attraction for him is mostly born of his longing for her. Marriage to Stephen would secure her a good future, one in which she doesn’t have to separate from her brother for her own happiness.

Stephen uses music to communicate with Maggie during their awkward and painful days together at St. Ogg’s. Philip can tell that Stephen’s coldness towards Maggie is due to his feelings for her. Philip tries not to worry about Maggie’s part in the conflict because “had not Maggie virtually denied any ground for his doubts on her side? And she was truth itself: it was impossible not to believe her word [. . .] Stephen might be strongly fascinated by her (what was more natural?), but Philip felt himself rather base for intruding on what must be his friend’s painful secret” (Page 473-474). Nevertheless, Philip begins to feel insecure about Maggie’s feelings for him.

Philip arranges for Stephen to take Maggie boating alone while Lucy goes into town to shop with her father. Stephen rows Maggie far away and tells her they can keep rowing and get married. Maggie objects and they go back-and-forth about their feelings. A barge passes and they board the bigger boat to avoid rowing back for hours in the rain. Maggie feels for Stephen and is seduced by his love for her and his promise of the future. Maggie hopes that her whole life won’t be marked by internal struggle.

Stephen had rowed them out so far that it takes many hours to get close to home. Stephen feels guilty and Maggie has nightmares about the boat tipping over. When she wakes up, she feels guilty that she has caused so much trouble to many people in the last few weeks. Maggie realizes she has lost sight of herself.

Stephen believes he and Maggie are as good as married. Their intimate conversation on the boat has convinced him that she loves him as much as he loves her. Furthermore, the fact that they have been away for so many hours will be suspicious to their family and friends and arouse many questions about their relationship. Maggie tells him she has made a mistake and commits to her original rejection of his affections. Stephen feels helpless and says he won’t allow her to leave him. Maggie worries that she’s hurt Lucy and Philip, but Stephen points out that their not coming home the same day has already accomplished hurt. If Maggie doesn’t marry Stephen now, she’ll be dishonored. Maggie leaves Stephen and heads to her brother’s house. The journey is long, and she stays alone overnight at an inn, where she fantasizes about Stephen and realizes that she has given up on the happiness of love.