The Mill on the Floss, books six and seven

“The Great Temptation”

1. What are some implications of the title? Why are the events described interpreted as a “temptation,” rather than a romance?

2. “A Duet in Paradise”--Who are the participants in the duet? To whom does Stephen compare himself and Lucy? Who/what then enters the garden? How is Stephen presented? In what ways do you think the author means to criticize him?

3. How is the relationship between Stephen and Lucy described? Do you think the author feels it is lacking in any way?

4. What changes have occurred in Maggie’s outlook in the intervening two years? What does Maggie think about the suitability of seeing Philip again? What details does she omit from her account to Lucy of Philip and Tom’s clash (chapter iii), and is this omission significant? Does Lucy think the union of Philip and Maggie would be a happy outcome?

5. What themes are reiterated in the scene in which Maggie asks Tom’s permission to join a social group which includes Philip? What does Tom believe should be his relationship with his sister, and what has she done that annoys him? What prompts her/the narrator’s references to “wrong-doing”?

6. How is the relationship between Maggie and Philip presented? Does Maggie view it as a romantic one?

7. How is music made to carry some of the themes of the book? Why are Stephen and Maggie attracted to each other? Do we know if they are compatible? How is their attraction represented? What are some of the circumstances which draw them together? For example, why do they take a boat ride?

8. How does Mr. Wakem senior respond to the news that his son loves the daughter of his old enemy? How is his relationship with his son contrasted with that of Mr. Tulliver and his own children?

9. What part do Lucy and Philip play in the Tullivers’ regaining of the mill?

10. In chapter 9, what reason does Maggie give to Lucy for her intended departure from St. Ogg’s? How does she tell Lucy she views the prospect of a marriage with Philip? (end of chapter 9) Do you believe she knows her own intentions?

11. What are some features of Stephen’s courtship? On what grounds does Maggie reject his pleas? What do you think of her claim that they owe to Lucy and Philip a denial of their feelings for each other? Of his claim that she owes a duty to herself and to him?

12. What symbolism inheres in Stephen and Maggie’s riverboat journey? Why do they both feel their absence will cause consternation at home? What does the narrator seem to feel were Maggie’s options? Might there have been others?

13. Why isn’t Lucy able to persuade Tom to ignore his repugnance to Philip? What does the narrator present as Tom’s motives? (end of chapter 12)

14. How does Philip react to the relationship between Maggie and Stephen? What sentiments does he express in his farewell letter to her? Does the tone suggest that he hopes they may marry?

15.What motives prompt Maggie to return home at the book’s end, and what emotions does she continue to feel toward Stephen? Do you think her actions/emotions are consistent? Repressive and self-destructive?

“The Final Rescue”

1. To what “rescue” does the title refer? Might more than one form of “rescue” be meant?

2. What attitude do Mr. Ken and Lucy express toward Maggie’s situation and prospects? How does Tom react to her situation? Her mother? Her aunt Pullett? The society of St. Ogg’s?

3. What options does Maggie seem to have, and which of these does she choose? Is there symbolism inherent in the timing of the flood’s beginning? 4. What is Tom’s response to Maggie’s attempt to save his life? How are brother and sister joined? In your view, does this ending seem to resolve the tensions of the book? Or reenact them?

Granted the assumptions of the narrator about the inviolability of original ties, can you think of any way in which Maggie might have achieved a resolution of her many inner conflicts on the threshold of maturation?

5. What events occur after the siblings’ deaths? Do these affect our views of any of the participants?

6. Does the narrator/author wish the reader to believe that a great moral “rescue” has enabled Maggie to be reunited with her childhood companion? Or might other feelings prompt the book’s violent ending?

7. Is this book a tragedy? What enduring themes does it seem to raise? Which of these may have had special relevance for Victorian women?

8. On what grounds might some reviewers have found this an “immoral” book? On what grounds might you defend or criticize its intentions?