The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot

I recently finished reading George Eliot's Classic ' The Mill on the Floss' .

A tragedy though it is, it does make an excellent read. One gets  a glimpse of Middle-class life during Victorian  times.

Mary Anne aka George Eliot, based many experiences on on her own life though the work is not autobiographical.

The Main heroine of the story is a girl Maggie. The book narrates her life as a unconventional daughter in the pre-teens , one who never keeps  her clothes clean and hair braided as is considered 'lady like' in that era.  Though she was the apple of her father's eye, who fondly called her ' my little wench' , she hankered for her only and older brother's respect and unconditional love in reciprocation to hers. She is often put off by his selfish and unconcerned behaviour towards her. She also hates the scorn he shows her on trying to educate herself with whatever book she can lay hands on.

Schooling was then a prerogative of boys and their father attempts to give his only son an education to make him genteel and take up law instead running the mill on the river Floss. Of course Tom doesnt show much aptitude to books and arithmetic vis a vis Maggie who is not even considered for this. Thus Tom is off to study with a clergy man and Maggie as she comes of age is sent to a 'finishing ' school as was prelevant in those Vistorian days .

All around in the plot are the Aunts and their families who are critical of Maggie's  interests and pride themselves of their genteel blood, having considered that their sister married beneath them and thus has such unkind kids as Tom and Maggie.

All is going on as usual when her father enters in a legal battle with another gentleman over the matter of the Floss waters used by the mill and dam construction. He loses the suit and thus money and sanity in the bargain. Both the children have to pre-empt their studies and come back to lead a life of poverty.  The aunts in an 'I told you so' attitude do not help as expected thus leading to the sale of the mill to their own enemy. Tom manages to show some pluck in attaining a position in his Uncle's workplace where he finds his study of Latin and etc of no use! Maggie tries to do her bit by immediately maturing up at 13 and taking up sewing and odd works much to the irritation of her brother who is of the old mind set of not having women folk work .

the father comes to his senses after a few months and later takes up work under his own enemy running his own mill.

As time passes they are able to pay the debt and at last be out of  a great burden particularly because of Tom's enterprise. But something untoward happens on that very day when the father and his enemy get into an argument where the father manages to flog the other yet himself also succumb to death!

Around this we see a brief romance between maggie and the enemy's deformed son which is cruelly pre-empted by Tom.

As she reached womanhood, she has the misfortune of falling in love with her cousin's fiancé   and in a weak moment runs away with him. But realising her folly soon enough attempts to come back to her brother. Alas, the damage is done! Tom wants to see her no more having maligned her family name. We see her brief struggles as  a fallen women  Till the Floss decides to flood  the end  the torture for both the brother and the sister!!!

My thoughts range on this. The heroine ie Maggie, has to rein her free spirited attitude just to appease her Brother's wishes. She then also faces ridicule for running away, an act forced upon her by her Cousin's fiancé   As was expected her life ended up tainted!!

 Alas the vagaries of being a woman - they were the same then as they are now!!!