# A Day of Reckoning explained — The Mill on the Floss

> Chapter companion for The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot.

## What happens

Mr. Tulliver, after triumphantly settling his debts and regaining his honor, encounters Lawyer Wakem and succumbs to a violent outburst of long-suppressed hatred. The physical and emotional strain proves fatal, and he dies in the early morning, unforgiving to the last. Tom and Maggie reconcile in shared grief.

## Themes in this chapter

### Pride and Fall

Mr. Tulliver's triumphant pride after regaining his honest name leads directly to his fatal confrontation with Wakem, illustrating the destructive power of pride.

### Forgiveness and Redemption

Maggie's plea for her father to forgive Wakem and her own request for Tom's forgiveness highlight the central tension between holding grudges and seeking reconciliation.

### Family Obligation and Conflict

Tom's sense of duty to his father and the final reconciliation between Tom and Maggie underscore the theme of family bonds strained by external pressures.

## Character check-ins

### Mr. Tulliver

Dies after a final confrontation with Wakem, refusing to forgive him even on his deathbed.

### Tom Tulliver

Returns home after the creditors' dinner, dejected by his father's outburst; present at his father's death and reconciles with Maggie.

### Maggie Tulliver

Kneels by her dying father, pleading for him to forgive Wakem; afterward seeks Tom's forgiveness and reconciliation.

### Mrs. Tulliver

Watches anxiously by her husband's bedside, looking worn and aged from disturbed rest.

### Lawyer Wakem

Meets Mr. Tulliver by the mill gates and provokes him with a condescending remark about farming.

### Bob Jakin

Visits to congratulate Mr. Tulliver on his good fortune, but the mood is overshadowed by the day's events.

## Key lines

> But mingled seed must bear a mingled crop.

Good and bad outcomes are intertwined, and one cannot expect pure joy without sorrow.

_Narrator's reflection on the mixed nature of the Tullivers' fortunes._

> I had my turn—I beat him. That was nothing but fair. I never wanted anything but what was fair.

I got my revenge and defeated him; that was only just. I have always sought only what is fair.

_Mr. Tulliver's dying justification of his attack on Wakem._

> Does God forgive raskills?—but if He does, He won't be hard wi' me.

Does God forgive scoundrels? If He does, then He will not be harsh with me.

_Mr. Tulliver's final, troubled thoughts on divine forgiveness._

> Tom, forgive me—let us always love each other

Tom, forgive me—let us always care for one another.

_Maggie's plea for reconciliation with Tom after their father's death._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/vii-a-day-of-reckoning
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters