The Mill on the Floss · Chapter
Waking explained
Maggie and Stephen are on a boat after their impulsive flight.
What happens
Maggie and Stephen are on a boat after their impulsive flight. Maggie struggles with her conscience, feeling remorse for betraying Lucy and Philip. She resolves to return home, despite Stephen's passionate pleas to marry him. The chapter ends with them landing at Mudport, where Maggie insists they must part.
Themes in this chapter
Passion vs. Duty
Maggie's internal conflict between her love for Stephen and her sense of duty to Lucy, Philip, and her own moral principles.
Forgiveness and Redemption
Maggie seeks redemption through renunciation and a return to her past commitments, hoping for forgiveness.
Gender Roles and Limitations
Maggie's limited agency as a woman is highlighted; her reputation and future are at stake, and she must navigate societal judgment.
Characters to notice
- Maggie Tulliver
Wrestles with guilt and resolves to return home, rejecting Stephen's proposal.
- Stephen Guest
Desperately tries to convince Maggie to marry him, but is ultimately rejected.
- Lucy Deane
Maggie thinks of Lucy's trust and the pain she has caused her.
- Philip Wakem
Maggie reflects on her betrayal of Philip and the ties she has broken.
- Mrs. Tulliver
Maggie thinks of her mother as part of the home she longs to return to.
- Tom Tulliver
Maggie thinks of her brother as part of the home she seeks.
Key passages
“I cannot marry you; I cannot take a good for myself that has been wrung out of their misery.”
Maggie refuses to marry Stephen because she believes their happiness would be built on the suffering of Lucy and Philip.
Maggie's moral stance against benefiting from others' pain.
“If the past is not to bind us, where can duty lie? We should have no law but the inclination of the moment.”
Maggie argues that without the constraints of past commitments, there would be no moral duty, only fleeting desires.
Maggie's defense of constancy and duty against Stephen's appeal to present love.
“I have never consented to it with my whole mind. There are memories, and affections, and longings after perfect goodness, that have such a strong hold on me.”
Maggie tells Stephen that her love for him is not wholehearted because her conscience and past loyalties still bind her.
Maggie's admission of her divided self and her yearning for moral integrity.