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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
Such a heartbreaking and accurate look into human nature.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The ending left me with emotional scarring…
As far as my overall thoughts go:
* Eliot has done an excellent representation of how a troubled woman becomes ruined by a world that was never constructed for her to thrive in the first place, she is blamed for her lack of agency and for the advantages men take against her.
* I’m not sure Maggie truly loved either Phillip nor Stephen. What I mean is that she seems to have loved Phillip in a platonic, child-like way. She merely felt passion for Stephen, an infatuation. Maggie’s love and loyalty for her brother meant she could never share that unconditional love and loyalty with either of these men.
* Phillip and Stephen both projected their feelings onto Maggie, they would not have organically occurred without them showing Maggie the approval and attention her family never afforded her in childhood.
* Aunt Glegg offering her hospitality in the end to the outcast woman that was Maggie demonstrated further the bonds of family, which are stronger than anything else. Aunt Glegg was such a severe character throughout the novel and yet she showed her redeemable qualities when they were most important. Bob Jakin was kind too.
* The slow build of events was tiresome to me, however it was worth it in the end. I definitely prefer the pacing of the second half of the book but perhaps our attachments to Maggie and Tom could not have formed without the slow build.
* The heart-wrenching scene at the end, the life snuffed out like a candle light, on the raging waters of the Floss where they were raised, serves as a reminder that family feuds are trivial, be what they may.
* I am disappointed Phillip and Maggie could not be together, Phillip was a sweetheart, endlessly adoring and forgiving of Maggie, the only one who really SAW a crippled man like him. He risked so much to confront his father like a tell man, unlike the rash boyish immaturity displayed by Stephen in his design to elope.
* My final thought I will leave here is: I wonder if Eliot wrote this so that her brother would read it? I know the events are quite autobiographical and I also know that unfortunately the brother reached out to her not long before her death :((
As far as my overall thoughts go:
* Eliot has done an excellent representation of how a troubled woman becomes ruined by a world that was never constructed for her to thrive in the first place, she is blamed for her lack of agency and for the advantages men take against her.
* I’m not sure Maggie truly loved either Phillip nor Stephen. What I mean is that she seems to have loved Phillip in a platonic, child-like way. She merely felt passion for Stephen, an infatuation. Maggie’s love and loyalty for her brother meant she could never share that unconditional love and loyalty with either of these men.
* Phillip and Stephen both projected their feelings onto Maggie, they would not have organically occurred without them showing Maggie the approval and attention her family never afforded her in childhood.
* Aunt Glegg offering her hospitality in the end to the outcast woman that was Maggie demonstrated further the bonds of family, which are stronger than anything else. Aunt Glegg was such a severe character throughout the novel and yet she showed her redeemable qualities when they were most important. Bob Jakin was kind too.
* The slow build of events was tiresome to me, however it was worth it in the end. I definitely prefer the pacing of the second half of the book but perhaps our attachments to Maggie and Tom could not have formed without the slow build.
* The heart-wrenching scene at the end, the life snuffed out like a candle light, on the raging waters of the Floss where they were raised, serves as a reminder that family feuds are trivial, be what they may.
* I am disappointed Phillip and Maggie could not be together, Phillip was a sweetheart, endlessly adoring and forgiving of Maggie, the only one who really SAW a crippled man like him. He risked so much to confront his father like a tell man, unlike the rash boyish immaturity displayed by Stephen in his design to elope.
* My final thought I will leave here is: I wonder if Eliot wrote this so that her brother would read it? I know the events are quite autobiographical and I also know that unfortunately the brother reached out to her not long before her death :((
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny
i enjoyed my time reading this novel. maggie tulliver is certainly a compelling heroine by the end.
i did spend the majority of the novel wondering why everyone considered her one of literatures best heroines - the first half of the novel is simply about tom going to school ... so very dull.
but the second half is so much better! maggie and philip's friendship in the red deeps, her time living with lucy and the stephen guest affair. incredible. it is interesting to explore the complete brutality of victorian society in terms of outcasting women - the chapter that discusses the reaction of the town in regards to the male and female voice is brilliant.
and we have to mention the ending. it comes out of nowhere. so sudden and brutal, just as maggie is about to make amends. there was no way i could have predicted it!
in conclusion, i wish the beginning moved a bit faster because i didnt care about tom's schooling, and it was so very long, but the second half makes up for it. excellent piece of victorian literature.
i did spend the majority of the novel wondering why everyone considered her one of literatures best heroines - the first half of the novel is simply about tom going to school ... so very dull.
but the second half is so much better! maggie and philip's friendship in the red deeps, her time living with lucy and the stephen guest affair. incredible. it is interesting to explore the complete brutality of victorian society in terms of outcasting women - the chapter that discusses the reaction of the town in regards to the male and female voice is brilliant.
and we have to mention the ending. it comes out of nowhere. so sudden and brutal, just as maggie is about to make amends. there was no way i could have predicted it!
in conclusion, i wish the beginning moved a bit faster because i didnt care about tom's schooling, and it was so very long, but the second half makes up for it. excellent piece of victorian literature.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was depressing and on many instances, very infuriating how Molly was treated by her mother and brother. It's interesting though that we can also see her family's point of view and empathize with everyone's plight in this novel. The writing is very dense with quotes and rich with description.
I don’t think I’ll ever emotionally recover from this ending
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A sad, touching exploration of a sibling relationship that falls apart due to clashes of personality and family issues. The romance was also sad and touching. Poor Maggie and poor Tom, who were both so unhappy.
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was a beautifully written book but also very sad, not a happy ending really for anyone. As sweet as Maggie was as a character she never seemed to grow up. The way she was written gave me the feeling as if she were perpetually a teenager and her inability to stick up for herself didn’t endear me to her. Because she never felt like an adult to me I couldn’t understand why there were two men vying for her affections and concluded it was only for her beauty and extreme youth. She wanted two things: to be loved and to do the right thing. I never found at the end that there was a conclusive answer to that dilemma. I know The Mill on the Floss isn’t Pride and Prejudice and Maggie is not Lizzie, but I couldn’t help but compare them and find that as beautifully as The Mill on the Floss is written it wasn’t was engaging as P&P and Maggie as a character was wanting something that Lizzie had: real character. For the beautiful writing alone I gave this book 3.5⭐️