English Language and Literature Commons^™

Drowning In Sacrifice: Maggie Tulliver’S Role In George Eliot’S The Mill On The Floss, Kami E. Bates

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Upon examining the personal rejection and eventual demise of Maggie Tulliver, the protagonist of The Mill on the Floss, it becomes evident that her death is a sacrifice through which she demonstrates the morality of George Eliot’s religion of humanity. Maggie is a headstrong, intelligent, and memorable character who does not fit into her community and ultimately drowns in a flood while attempting to save her loved ones. The story begs the question: why must such an endearing main character perish? One possibility is that her character flaws make her downfall inevitable. The high-class and hypocritical members of the …