The Mill on the Floss · Chapter
II: The Christmas Holidays explained
Mr.
What happens
Mr. Tulliver's resentment toward Lawyer Wakem intensifies as he contemplates legal action against Pivart over water rights for irrigation. Tom learns that Philip Wakem will also attend Mr. Stelling's school, causing him unease. Mr. Tulliver, though proud of the shared educational opportunity, dismisses Tom's concerns, focusing instead on his legal battles.
Themes in this chapter
Pride and Fall
Mr. Tulliver's pride in his family's mill and his stubborn refusal to yield to the Dodsons or Wakem drives him toward a potentially ruinous legal battle.
Family Obligation and Conflict
Tom's discomfort with his father's quarrels and the tension between Mr. Tulliver and the Dodson family illustrate familial obligations and conflicts.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Tulliver
Obsessed with his legal dispute against Pivart and his animosity toward Wakem, he ruminates on water rights and the law, seeing it as a cockfight where a stronger knave is needed to defeat a weaker one.
- Tom Tulliver
Uncomfortable with his father's irritable talk about quarreling, he learns that Philip Wakem will be at Mr. Stelling's school and worries about attending with the son of his father's enemy.
- Mrs. Moss
Listens to her brother Mr. Tulliver's grievances about Pivart and Wakem, expressing anxiety about the possibility of going to law.
- Philip Wakem
Mentioned as the son of Lawyer Wakem, who is to be sent to Mr. Stelling's school; described as a poor deformed creature taking after his mother.
- Lawyer Wakem
The object of Mr. Tulliver's deep resentment, believed to be behind Pivart's irrigation scheme and other legal troubles; his son is to attend the same school as Tom.
Key passages
“Iteration, like friction, is likely to generate heat instead of progress, and Mr. Tulliver's heat was certainly more and more palpable.”
Repeating the same arguments only made Mr. Tulliver angrier, not closer to a solution.
Illustrates Mr. Tulliver's escalating frustration over the legal dispute.
“Law was a sort of cockfight, in which it was the business of injured honesty to get a game bird with the best pluck and the strongest spurs.”
Mr. Tulliver viewed the law as a contest where an honest person needed the cleverest lawyer to win.
Reveals Mr. Tulliver's cynical yet pragmatic view of legal justice.
“It's a sign Wakem thinks high o' Mr. Sterling, as he sends his son to him, and Wakem knows meal from bran.”
Mr. Tulliver takes pride that Wakem chooses the same school for his son, indicating the school's quality.
Shows Mr. Tulliver's grudging respect for Wakem's judgment despite their enmity.