# Mr. Tulliver — The Mill on the Floss character guide > Mr. Tulliver in The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Tulliver, old Tulliver, honest Mr. Tulliver **First appearance:** 0000-book-i-boy-and-girl ## Snapshot Hot-tempered, honest Dorlcote miller whose pride in his name and his son leads him into a ruinous feud with Lawyer Wakem. ## Who they are Mr. Tulliver is a man of active Hotspur temper, sober but quick to boil, who farms by instinct and litigates by stubbornness. His long lawsuit against Wakem drains the mill and darkens his household, yet he dreams of Tom's education as the family's redemption. His pride, his flashes of triumphant rage, and his tenderness toward Maggie shape the catastrophe that falls on Dorlcote. ## Relationships ### [Tom Tulliver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/characters/tom_tulliver) _family_ Father and son, with Mr. Tulliver's pride and expectations weighing heavily on Tom. ### [Mrs. Tulliver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/characters/mrs_tulliver) _family_ Husband and wife, with Mr. Tulliver's impulsive temper and Mrs. Tulliver's anxious domesticity. ### [Maggie Tulliver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/characters/maggie_tulliver) _family_ Father and daughter, with Mr. Tulliver's pride in Maggie's intelligence and his tragic downfall affecting her deeply. ### [Tom Tulliver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/characters/tom_tulliver) _family_ Father and son, with Mr. Tulliver's pride and expectations weighing heavily on Tom. ### [Mrs. Tulliver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/characters/mrs_tulliver) _family_ Husband and wife, with Mr. Tulliver's impulsive temper and Mrs. Tulliver's anxious domesticity. ### [Maggie Tulliver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/characters/maggie_tulliver) _family_ Father and daughter, with Mr. Tulliver's pride in Maggie's intelligence and his tragic downfall affecting her deeply. ### [Mrs. Tulliver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/characters/mrs_tulliver) _family_ Husband and wife, with Mr. Tulliver's impulsive temper and Mrs. Tulliver's anxious domesticity. ### [Tom Tulliver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/characters/tom_tulliver) _family_ Father and son, with Mr. Tulliver's pride and expectations weighing heavily on Tom. ### [Maggie Tulliver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/characters/maggie_tulliver) _family_ Father and daughter, with Mr. Tulliver's pride in Maggie's intelligence and his tragic downfall affecting her deeply. ## In the story ### [Book I: Boy and Girl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/i-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/ii-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/iii-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/v-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/vii-enter-the-aunts-and-uncles) Comforts Maggie and announces his decision to send Tom to Mr. Stelling. ### [Mr. Tulliver Shows His Weaker Side](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/viii-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/xii-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/xiii-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/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"](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/i-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/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”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/iv-the-young-idea) Arranges Tom's education, including drawing lessons, with vague hopes for Tom's future in business. ### [A Love-Scene](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/vi-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/vii-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/i-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/ii-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/iv-a-vanishing-gleam) Briefly regains consciousness, speaks of debts and his feud with Wakem, then relapses. ### [Tom Applies His Knife to the Oyster](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/v-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/viii-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/iii-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/i-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/ii-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/vii-a-day-of-reckoning) Dies after a final confrontation with Wakem, refusing to forgive him even on his deathbed. ### [A Duet in Paradise](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/i-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/v-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/vi-conclusion) His brick grave in the churchyard was found with the stone laid prostrate upon it after the flood. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/characters/mr_tulliver - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/characters