Gender Discrimination and Maggie Tulliver’ PersonalTragedy in The Mill on the FlossAbstract:In George Eliot‟s The Mill on the Floss, gender discrimination plays an important role in Maggie Tulliver‟s personal tragedy. As Maggie‟s tragic fate develops largely out of the deep-seated local prejudice on gender, this essay accordingly focuses on how gender discrimination in Maggie‟s social environment leads to her personal unhappiness.Key words:Gender discrimination Maggie Tulliver TragedyIntroductionGeorge Eliot‟s The Mill on the Floss, Maggie Tulliver‟s individual conflict with social environment is a root cause to the long pain and suffering in her life. The social values of St. Oggs, primarily the local attitudes towards gender, contribute enormously to Maggie‟s private tragedy. As Maggie‟s tragic fate develops largely out of the deep-seated local prejudice on gender, this essay accordingly focuses on how gender discrimination in Maggie‟s social environment leads to her personal unhappiness.1. Description of St. OggSt. Oggs is a place where the image for good women has already been established as pretty, obedient, affectionate, even unintelligent, and where the only happy women are those willing to fit in with such image. Being what St. Oggs expects them to be is an essential guarantee for the survival of women in a society so rigid and ruthless. Except for Maggie, all women in St. Oggs are subjects to this overwhelming, irresistible and individuality -universalizing social force. Lucy, for example, is voluntary to be a witless …little darling” who is “exactly the sort of woman” men in St. Oggs long prefer and appreciate. With the awareness of men‟s finding charm in her silliness, she is still reasonably satisfied to sacrifice her individuality for the acceptance by people her “little girlish heart” holds important. Similar to Lucy, Mrs. Tulliver‟s view on woman‟s natural role and social duty is also in perfect accordance with St. Oggs‟s convention. In a word, women like Lucyand Mrs. Tulliver accept their place prescribed by men, and are thus have almost no conflict with their society. The prize they receive is a perfect harmony with their environment and a consequential peaceful and satisfactory life; the price they pay is the replacement of their unique individuality by a collective character so highly universalized and so stiflingly lifeless.2. Maggie’s living life2.1 Maggie’s happinessMaggie is nonetheless different from these happy women in St. Oggs in that she is indulged in the course of being a real human in the full sense of the word. She is unique as a woman in specific and a human being in general. Maggie‟s resistance to St. Oggs‟inhuman fetter on her individuality and uniqueness inevitably leads to her tragedy in life.2.2 Maggie’s Psychology changesBy nature, Maggie not only lacks the quality of an ideal female, but also the willingness to be one. Such open defiance towards the traditional idea on gender is shown even at a young age. As a little girl, in a place where the correct image for little girls is blonde, doll-like and docile, she is a “mistake of nature” with her straight black hair, uncontrolled nature and impulsive manner. The denial of her appearance and behavior constantly upsets young Maggie, but she shows almost no tendency to transform into an ideal girl. She would rather cut her hair short than make it curly and smooth, and she would rather escape to another world, the gypsies‟ kingdom which she believes will accept and appreciate her unique individuality, than beg for acceptance in the world of St. Oggs. When Maggie has grown up, her reluctance to be an ideal woman is even openly demonstrated. Apparently, housework does not hold an appeal to her as to her mother, and being a docile creature is far too difficult for her than for her cousin Lucy.Besides her bearing no resemblance to an ideal feminine image, Maggie has a feature that makes her almost man-like. She is clever. This unwomanly cleverness places her in an even unfavorable position. According to Tom, a clever Maggie is “a nasty conceited thing”who “everybody ll hate”Mr. Stelling, highly educated as he is, concludes her “superficial cleverness”cannot help her “go far in Anything” Maggie also longs for things that are only men‟s privileges. She has a natural thirst for knowledge. “Seeing and knowing Things”makes he “in love with this world”From books, music and intelligent conversation she derives greatsatisfaction.2.3 Maggie’s EndingTherefore, it is more than clear that Maggie‟s chance of survival is slim. In St. Oggs, gender prejudice decides there are only two kinds of people, proper men and proper women. However, Maggie belongs to neither kind, as being men contradicts her gender and being women contradicts her nature. Thus, while the happy women in St. Oggs willingly play their social roles as inferior creature adjacent to men, there is no social role for Maggie to play. Farther more, other people, with the pride that they are “proper”men and women, despise her unfeminine trait just as despising a deformity like Philip Wakem‟s hunchback, and judge her “unwomanly boldness and unbridled passion” as “always questionable” and “detestable” Even from the ones she cares and loves most she can receive neither understanding nor sympathy. Since she highly values love, the scorn from her beloved ones, particularly Tom, makes her heart bleed like never before. ConclusionIt is true that Maggie is a mistake, not a mistake of nature, but a mistake of time. At a time when women gain acceptance from society at a price of their individuality, Maggie cannot be happy. Refusing to submit to the idea of female inferior and male supremacy, Maggie becomes a victim of gender discrimination in her environment. Her tragedy is a tragedy of society. Bibliography1. Eliot, George. The Mill on the Floss[M]. London: Penguin Books, 2003.2. Ermarth, Elizabeth.Maggie Tulliver's Long Suicide[J]. Studies in English Literature, 2004年第二期.。
