Account for George Eliots Decision to Give Maggie a Tragic Ending

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Recommended: 20th century role in changes of women in literature

There are several ways in which George Eliot's decision to give Maggie a tragic ending in The Mill on the Floss can be substantiated. The examination of Maggie's character in relation to her family and the society of St Oggs, a bustling commercial town is a major factor to acknowledge. Consideration should also be given to the suggestion that the creation of Maggie's character and the hopeless inevitability of her ultimate demise, was an attempt by Eliot to highlight the social realities that existed for women in the 19th century and possibly a reflection of her own situation. Also aesthetic features such as realism and tragedy lead to the realisation that Eliot could present no other outcome that would provide satisfactory closure at the time.

The confrontation between Maggie's character and her circumstances is paramount when offering a possible explanation for George Eliot's decision for Maggie's tragic conclusion. Maggie is growing up in a rapidly changing world, which detrimentally effects her own family's prosperity. Her unique qualities and lack of conformity make it difficult for her to fit into and move forward in what is essentially a patriarchal society. The reader is introduced to Maggie aged 9 and the description of her physical appearance suggests that she is somewhat of an anomaly as regards the expectations of her mother and Aunts. Her `brown skin', dark eyes and straight back hair that `wont curl' contrast unfavorably with the appearance of her cousin Lucy Deane, the blond, pale skinned stereotypical representation of 19th century femininity. The difference between them is described as,' the contrast between a rough dark overgrown puppy and a white kitten' . However it is not just Maggie's appearance t...

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All the areas that have been explored in accounting for the decision to give Maggie a tragic conclusion seem to leave no doubt that her fate was sealed from the outset. No matter how much the reader feels the sense waste at the loss of `a character essentially noble but liable to great error', it would seem that death for Maggie was the only vindication.

Works Cited

Eliot, George (1860) The Mill on the Floss Penguin Popular Classics

Ashton, Rosemary (1990) The Mill on the Floss, A Natural History Wayne Publishers

King, Jeanette (1978) Tragedy in the Victorian Novel Cambridge University Press 1978

Marshall, Barbara (2001) Reading Prose Hodder and Stoughton

Reynolds, Kimberley and Humble, Nicola (1993) Victorian Heroines Harvester Wheatsheaf

Pearson, Richard 29th November 2002 Lecture: The 19th Century Novel

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