# Mr. Tulliver Further Entangles the Skein of Life explained — The Mill on the Floss

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

## What happens

Mrs. Pullet mediates between Mrs. Glegg and the Tullivers, but Mr. Tulliver's pride leads him to write a letter repaying Mrs. Glegg's loan, widening the family rift. Mrs. Glegg maintains her principles regarding her will, while Mr. Tulliver is forced to borrow from a client of his enemy Wakem.

## Themes in this chapter

### Pride and Fall

Mr. Tulliver's pride drives him to repay Mrs. Glegg's loan, leading to further entanglement with his enemy Wakem.

### Family Obligation and Conflict

The family rift between the Tullivers and the Dodsons deepens despite mediation efforts, highlighting conflicting obligations and pride.

## Character check-ins

### Mrs. Glegg

Receives Mr. Tulliver's letter demanding repayment of her loan; maintains her principles regarding her will and family honor.

### Mrs. Pullet

Attempts to mediate between Mrs. Glegg and the Tullivers, but her efforts are undermined by Mr. Tulliver's pride.

### Mr. Tulliver

Writes a letter to Mrs. Glegg repaying her loan, driven by pride; later forced to borrow from a client of Wakem.

### Mrs. Tulliver

Hopeful that mediation will resolve the family quarrel, but her mention of it provokes Mr. Tulliver's pride.

### Tom Tulliver

Teases Maggie about aunt Glegg's visit; prepares to go to school.

### Maggie Tulliver

Grieves at Tom's impending departure for school.

## Key lines

> Mr. Tulliver had a destiny as well as Oedipus, and in this case he might plead, like Oedipus, that his deed was inflicted on him rather than committed by him.

Mr. Tulliver's fate, like that of Oedipus, seems to force him into actions he would not have chosen freely.

_The narrator compares Mr. Tulliver's predicament to the Greek tragedy of Oedipus, emphasizing the theme of unavoidable destiny._

> Mrs. Glegg did not alter her will in consequence of this letter, and cut off the Tulliver children from their sixth and seventh share in her thousand pounds; for she had her principles.

Despite her anger, Mrs. Glegg did not change her will to disinherit the Tulliver children, because she adhered to her principles of fairness among kin.

_Highlights the Dodson family's rigid sense of honor and the importance of blood relations in inheritance._

## Links

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