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jcstokes95 's review for:
The Mill on the Floss
by George Eliot
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Following the rise and fall (and then even deeper fall) of the Tulliver family, readers meet Maggie and Tom Tulliver as children, already set with some of the qualities that will be their undoing. Both find their lives changed by their father’s bad business dealings and must make new ways in the world. The morally superior Tom finds righteousness in his own business dealing and strict code of honor. While Maggie finds her imaginative, passionate nature challenged by new circumstance and attempts to live a life of renunciation…despite the many temptations thrown at her.
As you can imagine, self-denial and denial of others does not work out well for these two in their adult lives, chaos ensues.
What I most appreciate about this, is George Elliot’s ability to take a mundane thought or attitude from a character and shape it into a core part of their code of beliefs. She gets inside every character’s mind very well, even the smallest supporting cast member feels thoroughly examined. Also, as a consequence of this, she has created some of the most insufferable characters in all of literature in this book. Earlier this year I declared Rory from Adelaide as the most insufferable character of all time…then I met Mrs. Glegg. Mrs. Glegg is both fictional and from the 1800s but if I ever saw her on the street I’d push her into a sewer grate. I offer this as evidence that Elliot can get under your skin, and while this is not purely a melodrama, it offers quite a bit of cathartic feeling for the reader.
The romances in this capital-R Romance are, frankly, very fucking annoying. But they are also a great commentary on the garbage nest choices for a woman in the time, particularly one like Maggie who is easily tempted by feeling loved. (Also, do we think George Elliot has some internalized misogyny going here, like, stronger even than other writers of the period? Just a thought, the women are complex but not a single one is likable and smart). Anyway, this is where I float my weird theory…is this book queer, because it seems to me like Maggie is asexual. She is tempted by feeling loved by both Phillip and Stephen but she seems to be repulsed by the idea of pursuing them; even feeling palpable relief to be parted from Phillip. Or is this driving home that Tom is her actual one love and hence why they end clasping hands for eternity.
In any case, I am proud of myself for finishing this one, 500+ pages and the very first book on my TBR. Sorry Professor Franco, I never finished this but always felt a kinship with it so glad to have actually seen it through.
As you can imagine, self-denial and denial of others does not work out well for these two in their adult lives, chaos ensues.
What I most appreciate about this, is George Elliot’s ability to take a mundane thought or attitude from a character and shape it into a core part of their code of beliefs. She gets inside every character’s mind very well, even the smallest supporting cast member feels thoroughly examined. Also, as a consequence of this, she has created some of the most insufferable characters in all of literature in this book. Earlier this year I declared Rory from Adelaide as the most insufferable character of all time…then I met Mrs. Glegg. Mrs. Glegg is both fictional and from the 1800s but if I ever saw her on the street I’d push her into a sewer grate. I offer this as evidence that Elliot can get under your skin, and while this is not purely a melodrama, it offers quite a bit of cathartic feeling for the reader.
The romances in this capital-R Romance are, frankly, very fucking annoying. But they are also a great commentary on the garbage nest choices for a woman in the time, particularly one like Maggie who is easily tempted by feeling loved. (Also, do we think George Elliot has some internalized misogyny going here, like, stronger even than other writers of the period? Just a thought, the women are complex but not a single one is likable and smart). Anyway, this is where I float my weird theory…is this book queer, because it seems to me like Maggie is asexual. She is tempted by feeling loved by both Phillip and Stephen but she seems to be repulsed by the idea of pursuing them; even feeling palpable relief to be parted from Phillip.
In any case, I am proud of myself for finishing this one, 500+ pages and the very first book on my TBR. Sorry Professor Franco, I never finished this but always felt a kinship with it so glad to have actually seen it through.