The Family Council explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Family Obligation and Conflict

  The family council highlights the tension between individual interests and collective duty, as the aunts and uncles debate their obligations to the Tullivers while protecting their own wealth.

• Social Class and Respectability

  The fear of disgrace and the loss of social standing permeate the discussion, with Mrs. Glegg emphasizing the shame of being sold up and the need for the children to know their 'condition i' life.'

• Gender Roles and Limitations

  Women like Mrs. Tulliver and Mrs. Moss are portrayed as emotionally vulnerable and financially dependent, while Mrs. Glegg exerts power through her money but is still constrained by her husband's authority.

Characters to notice

• Tom Tulliver

  Shows remarkable self-command and practical judgment for a fifteen-year-old, proposing to his aunts that they advance their inheritance to save his mother's furniture. He also recalls his father's words about not distressing the Mosses, demonstrating loyalty and a sense of duty.

• Maggie Tulliver

  Depressed and weary after watching through the night, she is drawn to her aunt Deane for comfort. She is distressed by the family's troubles and the harsh words of her aunts, but is silenced by Tom when she tries to speak up for her father.

• Mrs. Glegg

  Dominant and severe, she lectures Tom and Maggie on their new condition, insisting they must be humble and work. She angrily rejects Tom's proposal to use her money, asserting her control over her own savings.

• Mrs. Tulliver

  Crushed and despairing, she brings out her silver teapot in a futile attempt to save it from being sold, showing her attachment to her household treasures and her inability to grasp the financial complexities.

• Mrs. Moss

  Arrives to offer repayment of a debt to her brother, expressing her family's willingness to sacrifice despite their own poverty. She is trembling and submissive under the scrutiny of the aunts and uncles.

• Mr. Glegg

  More sympathetic than his wife, he engages with Tom's proposal and draws him out, but is careful not to overstep his wife's authority. He also warns Mrs. Moss about the legal implications of the note.

Key passages

• “But I began wi' doing with little, you see; I could live on a basin o' porridge and a crust o' bread-and-cheese. But I doubt high living and high learning 'ull make it harder for you, young man, nor it was for me.”

  Uncle Glegg tells Tom that he started with very little and could survive on simple food, but he fears that Tom's expensive education and comfortable upbringing will make it harder for him to face hardship.

  Reflects the theme of education and self-improvement versus practical experience, and the tension between social class expectations.

• “I could work and pay that every year. I'd do anything to save my mother from parting with her things.”

  Tom promises to work and pay the interest on any money advanced by his aunts, showing his determination to protect his mother's household possessions.

  Highlights Tom's emerging sense of responsibility and his willingness to sacrifice for family.

• “And my money, as was my own father's gift, and not yours, Mr. Glegg; and I've saved it, and added to it myself, and had more to put out almost every year, and it's to go and be sunk in other folks' furniture, and encourage 'em in luxury and extravagance as they've no means of supporting.”

  Mrs. Glegg angrily asserts that her money is her own, earned through her own savings, and refuses to let it be used to support what she sees as the Tullivers' wasteful habits.

  Illustrates the theme of family obligation and conflict, as well as gender roles, with Mrs. Glegg defending her financial independence.