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The Mill on the Floss · Character

Mrs. Tulliver

Maggie and Tom's anxious, doting mother, whose pride lives in her linen, her china, and the respectability she fears losing.

supporting

Also known as aunt Tulliver, poor Mrs. Tulliver, Amiable Mrs. Tulliver

First appearance: Book I: Boy and Girl

As a supporting figure in The Mill on the Floss, Mrs. Tulliver is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Maggie and Tom's mother, who worries about Maggie's unruly hair and behavior, and values the Dodson family's standards of propriety.
In the storyBook I: Boy and GirlOpen this moment free

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Mrs. Tulliver is a soft, fussing woman who measures love in household order and dreads the disgrace of debt almost as much as the loss of her possessions. As the mill's fortunes sink, she is scolded by her own servant…

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The fuller portrait of Mrs. Tulliver sits in Reading Lens — open the free preview to keep reading with notes on the page.

See Mrs. Tulliver in Book I: Boy and Girl

Character Web

32 connections

A slice of how Mrs. Tulliver sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

KEKeziaMSMr. StellingMTMaggie TulliverTTTom TulliverMTMr. TulliverMTMrs. Tulliver

Relationship types

  • Family
  • Other

Character groups

  • Major characters and family
  • Minor characters and background
  • Protagonist

+27 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

SetupEscalationAftermathClimax
  • Setup
  • Escalation
  • Breaking point
  • Aftermath
  • Closing

In this excerpt, the emotional/psychological peak occurs when Maggie, despite her "heavy heart" and initial re…

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Relationships

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Mrs. Tulliver in Book I: Boy and Girl

In the story

Mrs. Tulliver appears across 37 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Chapter companion notes

Spoil-light check-ins for Mrs. Tulliver unlock in the free preview.

See Mrs. Tulliver in Book I: Boy and Girl