She does not turn away from the hard issues, which always puts me in mind of Hardy, and she does not tie anything up with a bow to make it seem sweeter than it is. No one tackles the serious issue of morality with a more even hand than George Eliot. Frequently we see society forcing round pegs into square holes and wondering at the shavings that are left behind. Tom, her brother, is not suited for study, and would make a better use of his time by learning the business of the mill, but he must endure the schoolhouse because he is meant to make something more of himself. Maggie is quick and bright, but her father, who loves her dearly, expresses a concern that such attributes are not an asset in a girl. The thing is, I came to it this time from a much older point of view, and while I’m sure that the love story and the tragedy were the focus of my first reading, the familial love and the questions of how much we owe to the feelings of others, if those are soothed to the detriment of ourselves, are the central issues I found myself struggling with this time around. I remember being blown away and the two of us discussing it at length, and I have always regarded it as my favorite Eliot, although I have read many others since and consider Middlemarch to be a masterpiece of literary achievement. It was an English class assignment for my older sister, and, as I frequently did, I stole away to read the book while it was in her possession.

I first read Mill on the Floss when I was thirteen years old.

Mill on the floss gutenberg