qwelling4 's review for:

The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot

3.5

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

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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⭐️