# XI: Maggie Tries to Run Away from Her Shadow explained — The Mill on the Floss

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

## What happens

Maggie, feeling miserable after Tom's anger, decides to run away to the gypsies, believing they will respect her superior knowledge. She encounters strangers, gives away her sixpence, and eventually finds a gypsy camp. After a frightening experience, she is rescued by her father, who brings her home without reproach.

## Themes in this chapter

### Passion vs. Duty

Maggie's impulsive decision to run away contrasts with her eventual return to family duty and her father's expectations.

### Gender Roles and Limitations

Maggie's wild, imaginative nature is seen as problematic, and her escape attempt reflects the constraints placed on girls.

### Education and Self-Improvement

Maggie's belief in her superior knowledge and her desire to teach the gypsies underscores her flawed but earnest view of education.

## Character check-ins

### Maggie Tulliver

Runs away to the gypsies after feeling unhappy and misunderstood; experiences fear and regret before being rescued by her father.

### Tom Tulliver

Angry with Maggie, prompting her decision to run away; later refrains from taunting her after their father's intervention.

### Mr. Tulliver

Rescues Maggie from the gypsies, comforts her, and ensures she faces no reproach from the family.

### Lucy Deane

Walks away with Tom, leaving Maggie alone and upset.

## Key lines

> she would run away and go to the gypsies, and Tom should never see her any more.

Maggie decides to escape to the gypsies so that Tom will never see her again.

_Shows Maggie's dramatic response to her unhappiness._

> The sudden joy was almost painful, and before her father reached her, she was sobbing.

Maggie feels an overwhelming, almost painful joy when she sees her father, and begins to cry before he even reaches her.

_Highlights the emotional relief of being rescued._

> Maggie never heard one reproach from her mother, or one taunt from Tom, about this foolish business of her running away to the gypsies.

After Mr. Tulliver's intervention, neither her mother nor Tom scolds or teases Maggie about her runaway attempt.

_Indicates the unusual silence and the effect of Mr. Tulliver's authority._

## Links

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- 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