Book I: Boy and Girl
The miller who decides to give Tom a better education than his own; he is proud, opinionated, and concerned with family respectability.
Outside Dorlcote Mill
Mentioned as talking with Mrs. Tulliver by the fire in the left-hand parlour.
Mr. Tulliver, of Dorlcote Mill, Declares His Resolution About Tom
Declares his resolution to give Tom a good education and dismisses the idea of consulting the aunts and uncles.
Mr. Riley Gives His Advice Concerning a School for Tom
Seeks advice on Tom's education, expresses traditional opinions and concerns about practical learning.
Tom Comes Home
Mr. Tulliver scolds Tom for being hard on Maggie and shows his fondness for her.
VI: The Aunts and Uncles Are Coming
Dismisses his wife's worries about the Dodson sisters and insists on inviting sister Deane, showing his independent streak.
Enter the Aunts and Uncles
Comforts Maggie and announces his decision to send Tom to Mr. Stelling.
Mr. Tulliver Shows His Weaker Side
Shows his weaker side through affection for Maggie and reluctance to press his sister, while trying to assert financial resolve.
XI: Maggie Tries to Run Away from Her Shadow
Rescues Maggie from the gypsies, comforts her, and ensures she faces no reproach from the family.
Mr. and Mrs. Glegg at Home
Mentioned as the source of Mrs. Glegg's anger; he quarreled with her and drove her out of the house.
Mr. Tulliver Further Entangles the Skein of Life
Writes a letter to Mrs. Glegg repaying her loan, driven by pride; later forced to borrow from a client of Wakem.
Book II: School-Time
Arranges Tom's education with Mr. Stelling, hoping to give his son a better start in life.
Tom's "First Half"
Proudly arranges Tom's education with Mr. Stelling, mistaking the clergyman's brazenness for shrewdness; drives home satisfied with the arrangement.
II: The Christmas Holidays
Obsessed with his legal dispute against Pivart and his animosity toward Wakem, he ruminates on water rights and the law, seeing it as a cockfight where a stronger knave is needed to defeat a weaker one.
IV: “The Young Idea”
Arranges Tom's education, including drawing lessons, with vague hopes for Tom's future in business.
A Love-Scene
Visits Tom and warns him against too close a friendship with Philip due to his father's character.
The Golden Gates Are Passed
Has lost his lawsuit and all his property; fell from his horse and now lies at home, unconscious of his surroundings except for Maggie.
Book III: The Downfall
Suffers a downfall after losing his lawsuit, leading to financial ruin and a decline in health.
What Had Happened at Home
Suffers a stroke after learning of Wakem's mortgage; lies insensible but calls for Maggie.
Mrs. Tulliver's Teraphim, or Household Gods
Lies in a state of living death, unaware of the family's crisis; his condition deepens the children's sorrow.
A Vanishing Gleam
Briefly regains consciousness, speaks of debts and his feud with Wakem, then relapses.
Tom Applies His Knife to the Oyster
Mr. Tulliver is mentioned as lying ill in bed, a source of both pity and resentment for Tom and Maggie, and the cause of the family's downfall.
VI: Tending to Refute the Popular Prejudice Against the Present of a Pocketknife
Mr. Tulliver lies in a living death, insensible during the sale, with spasmodic rigidity.
VII: How a Hen Takes to Stratagem
Shows gradual signs of recovery from his paralysis but remains unaware of the impending sale of the mill.
Daylight on the Wreck
Confronts his bankruptcy and the sale of his property, reviews the family Bible, and struggles with the offer from Wakem.
IX: An Item Added to the Family Register
Struggles with his promise to Bessy, feels broken like a tree, and dictates a vengeful entry in the family Bible.
Book IV: The Valley of Humiliation
Mr. Tulliver is broken by his financial failure, grappling with pride and bitterness as he loses his mill and his standing in the community.
I: A Variation of Protestantism Unknown to Bossuet
Portrayed as a regular churchgoer who nonetheless records his vindictiveness in his Bible, embodying the family's blend of religious observance and pagan-like beliefs.
II: The Torn Nest Is Pierced by the Thorns
Sullen and incommunicative, he is preoccupied with repaying creditors and feels bitter about Maggie's future; he scrimps on household expenses.
A Voice from the Past
Gloomy and focused on revenge and debt; sees Maggie's virtues as a reminder of her diminished prospects.
Book V: Wheat and Tares
Still embittered by his downfall and fixated on revenge against Lawyer Wakem, influencing the family's stance.
In the Red Deeps
Maggie's father is mentioned as having strong feelings about the Wakems, and Maggie fears that any friendship with Philip would make her father's life harder.
Aunt Glegg Learns the Breadth of Bob's Thumb
Mr. Tulliver reluctantly agrees to Tom's trading plan, showing his diminished authority and sense of being 'unlucky'.
IV: Another Love-Scene
Maggie declares she will never do anything to wound her father, setting a boundary on her relationship with Philip.
VI: The Hard-Won Triumph
Overwhelmed with joy and relief upon learning his debts can be paid; dreams of revenge against Wakem.
A Day of Reckoning
Dies after a final confrontation with Wakem, refusing to forgive him even on his deathbed.
A Duet in Paradise
Deceased; remembered as a hot-tempered man who had a dreadful quarrel with Mr. Wakem before his death.
Showing That Tom Had Opened the Oyster
Though deceased, Mr. Tulliver's dying wish for Tom to reclaim the mill drives Tom's ambitions and is a central motivation in this chapter.
Conclusion
His brick grave in the churchyard was found with the stone laid prostrate upon it after the flood.
