The Mill on the Floss: A Scrutiny of Maggie Tulliver’s Feministic Overtones

Mary Ann Evans, using a pen name George Eliot was one of the leading women writers of the Victorian era. She was known for her intellectual insight and psychological permeation. Her importance as a writer was considerable because she gave a realistic touch to her novels, which acted as the mirror to the society of her time. The writing journey of The Mill on the Floss played an important role in George Eliot’s growth as a novelist, which showed her sympathetic attitude towards her characters. According to Pyle, The Mill on the Floss is, “Crucial to the formation of the narrative principle of sympathy” (5). It is a novel of almost astounding melancholy and brings to reader’s glare the issues pertaining to family loss and cruelty of destiny towards the end. Victorian novels were evident of the issues of right and wrong and the ideology of manpower in the patriarchal society during this era. Maggie Tulliver, the main protagonist like many other nineteenth century literary girls, was full of intelligence and emotions. This paper will study Maggie’s maturity from a feministic point of view.