Maggie Tulliver—Challenge to the Idealization of Womanhood

【Abstract】Maggie Tulliver is the heroine of The Mill on the Floss， whose appearance and characteristics formed a big challenge to her society. The author created such a character to challenge the idealization of womanhood in Victorian age.

【Key words】appearance； characteristics； challenge； idealization

【作者簡介】靳秀凤，唐山学院外语系，副教授。

Maggie Tulliver is a successful character created by George Eliot. Totally different from the other girls in her age，she showed her misfits to her society and her fighting spirit.

Womens predominant image in Victorian age

The Mill on the Floss was written in 1859 and it was published in April 1860，which was a complicated age full of tradition and modernity，democratization and despotism，superstition and science，passion and ration，conservatism and radicalism. However，the predominant assumptions on women did not change much—they should be “angels at home”—tender，pure-minded，unselfish and sexually ignorant. They had to play the role of a desiring wife and a responsible mother strictly restricted at home and they had to depend on men for sustenance and realization of their goals.

Womens image in the public was doomed to be inferior to men as they lacked knowledge and could not compete with men. Those who underwent some professions and tried to achieve their goals were regarded as monsters—unwomanly，unpleasing and strange-looking.

Maggies misfits to her society

Obviously，the image of Maggie is not a representative but a defiance and antagonist to her society，which threatened the dominant ideology in Victorian England. Instead of being dependent，docile，sweet and ignorant，Maggie is large，intelligent，passionate and freedom-wanting. Her misfits to her society were displayed mainly through her physical image and her spiritual pursuit.

Maggies physical image

In the characterization of the image of Maggie，the writer used the words that suggests largeness such as “tall”，“large”，“heavy” and “power”. Maggie was described in terms likely to inspire awe rather than sensuality or protectiveness in men. This boasting imagery of physical largeness suggests that Maggie would not be limited by her gender. Here the writer used physical metaphor to suggest womens greater scope in qualities of mind，such as intellectuality，strength of will or bravery.

In a society where women should be sexually passive，Maggie played a very active role and her special charm was irresistible to men. Her bodily parts，such as her arms，could resist mens suppression and became even more erotic and powerful. This explains why Stephen was attracted to Maggie the first time they met. Stephen could not resist it and “he darted towards the arm and showered kisses on it”. It can be seen clearly that Maggies sexual charm is irrational and unacceptable to the public.

In addition to her physical appearance，Maggies persistent search for knowledge could not be accepted by her society.

Maggies spiritual pursuit

Throughout the novel，Maggie had close relations with books，indicating her constant longing and search for knowledge. Her “unconscious appetite” for knowledge was as eager as her need for love，and both were as powerful as the forces within a “living plant-seed”. In all her life，she never gave up knowledge，whether in her childhood，in her familys downfall or at last moment of her life. Whats more，she tried to take advantage of knowledge to achieve different goals in her different life periods.

In her early years，little Maggie read widely all the books she could get in hand including the novels written by Daniel Defoe，John Bunyan and Aesops fables. Her father，a representative of patriarchal society，shaped unfair judgment and discrimination to Maggies intelligence，“ …And allays at her book！ But its bad—its bad. A womans no business wibeing so clever； itll turn to trouble，I doubt…”. As a result，her attempt to win respect from men was crushed into pieces. Nevertheless，she would never stop her search for knowledge； in her school age，Maggie claimed her strong opposition to the traditional view that womens intellectual ability was inferior to mens and women should be excluded from “masculine studies”； in her womanhood，Maggie considered knowledge as an effective weapon to gain equality of spirit. In fact，Maggies life-long friendship with Philip depended largely on their mutual interest in books. Even when she became a fallen woman，she decided to act as a governess to win her bread.

In conclusion，the writer presented such a lady full of rebellious spirit to challenge the idealization of womanhood and to arouse womens consciousness to fight for their equal rights，at both physical and spiritual levels.

References：

[1]Gillian，Beer.George Eliot.The Harvester Press Ltd.，1986.