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A review by thevalleyslily
The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
4.0
This is my first George Eliot and I'm going to make sure it's not the last. The funny thing is I started reading The Mill on the Floss about a year ago and I couldn't get past the first chapters. I was this close to abandoning it and actually put it aside for months then, for some reason, I picked it up again and boy am I glad I did! The reason I almost dropped it is the same I'm not giving this book a full 5 out 5 : the novel is split into seven 'books' and the first two consist of exhaustive descriptions of the povincial life of Victorian Britain while following the rather dull and uneventful days of the Tullivers household. Now that I finished the book, I know the beginning served a purpose which is to emphasize the contrast between those peaceful early days of childhood and the much more tormented ones our protagonsists go through later on but still, it felt 'plotless' at times and some readers might understandibly lose all interest and that it is a weakness I guess.
Other than that, I think everything else was just great but what stood out the most to me was the characterisation. Maggie Tulliver is a character I loved, the free-spirited girl with a brilliant mind and far too intelligent for her time. She's depicted as different from her peers even in her looks with unruly hair and black eyes. She strives for everyone's approval and love and most of all that of her brother's, Tom. She struggles to reconcile her free nature with an admirable desire to make everyone dear to her happy by adapting to an otherwise restricting society only to be faced with misunderstanding, unforgiveness and, ultimately, with a suffocating sense of loneliness. Tom is at odds with Maggie personality wise. He does't have her wit nor inetllectual abilities but he's practical. Their relationship and the way Eliot depicted it is unique (in the sense that Classics rarely delve into it) and one of the best I've ever read. It was heartbreaking to see them go from best friends to strangers at some point before reconciling in the most tragic of ways. Some readers hated Tom for valid reasons and while he's not my favourite, I understand that he had his own struggles and sacrifices. This is actually what Eliot did best in this book. There are no saints and no devils but characters who feel real and humanly flawed. My favourite are Philip and Bob Jakin. The former is the ultimate romantic and Eliot did an amazing job of portraying him. His love for Maggie moved me the most in the way it was passionate but selfless and he's the only one who ever understood Maggie's nature. They stood as equals in their friend/relationship and I'm not going into details about Stephen Guest as I feel his relationship with Maggie was only a way for Eliot to explain furthermore Maggie's inner conflict. And there's Bob Jakin who, despite his lower status, was of great support to both Tom and Maggie when the world seemed to have foresaken them.
And then we have the ending. Some found it rushed and abrupt but it was only natural to feel like that as calamity never asks permission before it strikes. That's why I think what didn't set well with some readers is rather the melodramatic effect. I personally was waiting for a closure and the ending gave me that except not in the form I was expecting. Maggie finally got the reconcilement that she so much longed for though it was shortlived and just tragic but that is ok (at least for me).
I highly recommend The Mill on the Floss though you might need a lot of patience at first but you will be greatly rewarded after that.
Other than that, I think everything else was just great but what stood out the most to me was the characterisation. Maggie Tulliver is a character I loved, the free-spirited girl with a brilliant mind and far too intelligent for her time. She's depicted as different from her peers even in her looks with unruly hair and black eyes. She strives for everyone's approval and love and most of all that of her brother's, Tom. She struggles to reconcile her free nature with an admirable desire to make everyone dear to her happy by adapting to an otherwise restricting society only to be faced with misunderstanding, unforgiveness and, ultimately, with a suffocating sense of loneliness. Tom is at odds with Maggie personality wise. He does't have her wit nor inetllectual abilities but he's practical. Their relationship and the way Eliot depicted it is unique (in the sense that Classics rarely delve into it) and one of the best I've ever read. It was heartbreaking to see them go from best friends to strangers at some point before reconciling in the most tragic of ways. Some readers hated Tom for valid reasons and while he's not my favourite, I understand that he had his own struggles and sacrifices. This is actually what Eliot did best in this book. There are no saints and no devils but characters who feel real and humanly flawed. My favourite are Philip and Bob Jakin. The former is the ultimate romantic and Eliot did an amazing job of portraying him. His love for Maggie moved me the most in the way it was passionate but selfless and he's the only one who ever understood Maggie's nature. They stood as equals in their friend/relationship and I'm not going into details about Stephen Guest as I feel his relationship with Maggie was only a way for Eliot to explain furthermore Maggie's inner conflict. And there's Bob Jakin who, despite his lower status, was of great support to both Tom and Maggie when the world seemed to have foresaken them.
And then we have the ending. Some found it rushed and abrupt but it was only natural to feel like that as calamity never asks permission before it strikes. That's why I think what didn't set well with some readers is rather the melodramatic effect. I personally was waiting for a closure and the ending gave me that except not in the form I was expecting. Maggie finally got the reconcilement that she so much longed for though it was shortlived and just tragic but that is ok (at least for me).
I highly recommend The Mill on the Floss though you might need a lot of patience at first but you will be greatly rewarded after that.