Title: The Mill on the FlossAuthor: George Eliot
Date Published: 1860
Genre: Historical, Romance
Yet again, I find myself thoroughly awed by the unconventional woman who was so very prolific and insightful in her writings. Since I had just finished reading Middlemarch and was loath to leave the provincial worlds created by Eliot, I decided to descend into another of her well known works, The Mill on the Floss. This story, unlike the former, is a tragedy and explores the conflicts a passionate young English lady has with her family, community, and the world in general. Maggie Tulliver is a precocious child, loving deeply and forever in trouble. She adores her brother Tom, but her affection goes largely unreciprocated. Tom is as realistic and practical as Maggie is fanciful and aesthetically bent. As they grow up, brother and sister drift farther apart, until a misconstrued action on Maggie's part sunders their relationship completely. Only through divine Providence and the unpredictable nature of the river on which they reside can bring them into accordance again.
Although all her works are superb, this is perhaps my favorite, as it resonated with me personally. I found myself continually sympathizing with Maggie, despite her obvious flaws, simply because I also (as well as many others, I am sure) have felt keenly the emotions she experiences in the novel. Also, Eliot's portrayal of the Dodson relatives, especially the thoroughly thrilling Aunt Glegg, gave bright sparks of humor and wry laughs to an otherwise serious and contemplative narrative.
This is definitely a novel I will purchase as soon as I can escape from my to the nearest bookstore. Though, I admit, the final flood is somewhat of a hasty deus ex machina, it provides a fitting conclusion to a meandering, tumultuous (almost Brontë-esque) novel that codifies and corroborates the inmost emotions all have felt at some point in life.
Plot: 9 (out of 10)
Style: 10 (out of 10)
Difficulty: 7 (out of 10)
Overall: 10 (out of 10)
