The Mill on the Floss · Chapter
A Duet in Paradise explained
In Mr.
What happens
In Mr. Deane's drawing-room, Lucy Deane and Stephen Guest engage in playful courtship. Lucy reveals that her cousin Maggie Tulliver is coming to stay, and Stephen expresses mild annoyance. They discuss Philip Wakem and the family quarrel, and Lucy asks Stephen to warn Philip about Maggie's arrival. The chapter ends with a musical duet that symbolizes their idyllic romance.
Themes in this chapter
Passion vs. Duty
The chapter explores the tension between romantic passion and social duty, as Lucy and Stephen's courtship is idyllic but hints at future conflicts with family obligations.
Gender Roles and Limitations
Lucy's role as a woman is defined by her charm and domesticity, while Stephen's nonchalant leisure reflects male privilege; Maggie's independence is contrasted with her dreary situation.
Family Obligation and Conflict
The family quarrel between the Tullivers and Wakems influences the characters' relationships, as Tom's hostility toward Philip and Lucy's concern about Maggie's feelings show.
Characters to notice
- Lucy Deane
The neat little lady in mourning, busy with embroidery, who is happily in the early stage of courtship with Stephen Guest.
- Stephen Guest
A fine young man, heir to the largest oil-mill in St. Ogg's, who flirts with Lucy and shows slight annoyance at Maggie's impending visit.
- Maggie Tulliver
Lucy's cousin, who is leaving her dreary school situation and coming to stay with Lucy; described by Stephen as a 'fat, blond girl' based on his guess.
- Philip Wakem
Mentioned as a sensitive tenor who avoids Tom Tulliver due to the family quarrel; Lucy hopes Maggie will not object to seeing him.
- Tom Tulliver
Maggie's brother, who refuses to be in the same room as Philip Wakem and is praised by Lucy for his principles.
- Mr. Tulliver
Deceased; remembered as a hot-tempered man who had a dreadful quarrel with Mr. Wakem before his death.
Key passages
“She and Stephen were in that stage of courtship which makes the most exquisite moment of youth, the freshest blossom-time of passion—when each is sure of the other's love, but no formal declaration has been made, and all is mutual divination, exalting the most trivial word, the lightest gesture, into thrills delicate and delicious as wafted jasmine scent.”
Lucy and Stephen are in the early, thrilling phase of courtship where they are certain of each other's love but haven't officially declared it, making every small interaction intensely romantic.
This passage captures the idealized, pre-engagement stage of their relationship.
“Surely the only courtship unshaken by doubts and fears must be that in which the lovers can sing together.”
A courtship where the couple can sing together is likely free from uncertainty and anxiety.
The narrator suggests that musical harmony reflects emotional harmony in a relationship.