# Mrs. Tulliver — The Mill on the Floss character guide > Mrs. Tulliver in The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** aunt Tulliver, poor Mrs. Tulliver, Amiable Mrs. Tulliver **First appearance:** 0000-book-i-boy-and-girl ## Snapshot Maggie and Tom's anxious, doting mother, whose pride lives in her linen, her china, and the respectability she fears losing. ## Who they are 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 and reduced to fetching in the drying clothes herself. Her helpless tenderness and her small vanities make the family's decline feel intimate and domestic. ## Relationships ### [Maggie Tulliver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/characters/maggie_tulliver) _family_ Mother and daughter, with Mrs. Tulliver's conventional worries clashing with Maggie's unconventional nature. ### [Tom Tulliver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/characters/tom_tulliver) _family_ Mother and son, with Mrs. Tulliver doting on Tom and relying on his practical judgment. ### [Mr. Tulliver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/characters/mr_tulliver) _family_ Husband and wife, with Mr. Tulliver's impulsive temper and Mrs. Tulliver's anxious domesticity. ### [Mr. Tulliver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/characters/mr_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_ Mother and son, with Mrs. Tulliver doting on Tom and relying on his practical judgment. ### [Tom Tulliver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/characters/tom_tulliver) _family_ Mother and son, with Mrs. Tulliver doting on Tom and relying on his practical judgment. ### [Maggie Tulliver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/characters/maggie_tulliver) _family_ Mother and daughter, with Mrs. Tulliver's conventional worries clashing with Maggie's unconventional nature. ### [Mr. Tulliver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/characters/mr_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_ Mother and daughter, with Mrs. Tulliver's conventional worries clashing with Maggie's unconventional nature. ## 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) Maggie and Tom's mother, who worries about Maggie's unruly hair and behavior, and values the Dodson family's standards of propriety. ### [Outside Dorlcote Mill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/i-outside-dorlcote-mill) Mentioned as talking with Mr. 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) Suggests killing fowl for a family dinner to discuss Tom's education; frets over Maggie's wildness and hair. ### [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) Expresses motherly concerns about Tom's care and feeding at school. ### [Tom Is Expected](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/iv-tom-is-expected) Scolds Maggie for her naughtiness and threatens to tell her aunts, lamenting Maggie's behavior as a judgment. ### [Tom Comes Home](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/v-tom-comes-home) Mrs. Tulliver fusses over Tom's appearance and worries about Maggie's whereabouts. ### [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) Anxious about the upcoming family visit, she frets over her children's behavior and her sisters' opinions. ### [Enter the Aunts and Uncles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/vii-enter-the-aunts-and-uncles) Anxious and melancholy, mediates between her husband and her sisters. ### [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) Anxiously discusses finances with her husband and plans to visit her sister Pullet. ### [To Garum Firs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/ix-to-garum-firs) Visits Mrs. Pullet to ask her to persuade Mrs. Glegg to make up the quarrel; worries about her husband's financial decisions. ### [Maggie Behaves Worse Than She Expected](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/x-maggie-behaves-worse-than-she-expected) Anxious about Maggie's whereabouts, fears Mr. Tulliver's reaction if Maggie is lost. ### [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) Referenced indirectly as Mrs. Glegg's sister, for whose sake Mrs. Glegg might let Mr. Tulliver keep the money. ### [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) Hopeful that mediation will resolve the family quarrel, but her mention of it provokes Mr. Tulliver's pride. ### [Book II: School-Time](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/book-ii-school-time) Expresses concern about Tom's schooling and the family's financial decisions. ### [Tom's "First Half"](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/i-tom-s-first-half) Accompanies Mr. Tulliver to King's Lorton and is pleased with Mrs. Stelling's motherly demeanor and household advice. ### [Book III: The Downfall](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/book-iii-the-downfall) Distraught over the loss of her household goods and the family's fall from respectability. ### [What Had Happened at Home](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/i-what-had-happened-at-home) Distraught and helpless; wants Tom fetched home; defers to her sisters. ### [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) Distraught over the impending sale of her household goods, especially those marked with her maiden name; blames her husband for their ruin. ### [The Family Council](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/iii-the-family-council) Crushed and despairing, she brings out her silver teapot in a futile attempt to save it from being sold, showing her attachment to her household treasures and her inability to grasp the financial complexities. ### [A Vanishing Gleam](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/iv-a-vanishing-gleam) Entered the room after being fetched by Maggie, agitated by the news of her husband's revival. ### [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) Mrs. Tulliver appears briefly, entering the room as Maggie rushes away in tears, highlighting her role as a passive, grieving presence in the household. ### [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) Mrs. Tulliver is mentioned as having sat imprisoned in the silent chamber during the sale, her face aged by the ordeal. ### [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) Devises a stratagem to visit Lawyer Wakem and plead for the mill, believing her personal appeal as a former Miss Dodson might sway him. ### [Daylight on the Wreck](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/viii-daylight-on-the-wreck) Expresses her distress and pleads with her husband to accept Wakem's offer to stay at the mill. ### [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) Looks scared as her husband dictates the vengeful entry, having earlier urged him to keep his promise. ### [Book IV: The Valley of Humiliation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/book-iv-the-valley-of-humiliation) Mrs. Tulliver laments the loss of her household goods and social position, clinging to memories of better times while struggling to adapt to their reduced circumstances. ### [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) Implied as a Dodson sister, reflecting the family's values of thrift and respectability. ### [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) Lost her former household activity and is bewildered; she shows humble maternity by doing heavy work to spare Maggie's hands. ### [A Voice from the Past](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/iii-a-voice-from-the-past) Puzzled by Maggie's newfound goodness; takes pride in her daughter's appearance and seeks comfort in her presence. ### [VI: The Hard-Won Triumph](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/vi-the-hard-won-triumph) Emotionally embraces Tom, expressing relief that he has made things right. ### [A Day of Reckoning](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/vii-a-day-of-reckoning) Watches anxiously by her husband's bedside, looking worn and aged from disturbed rest. ### [First Impressions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/ii-first-impressions) Mrs. Tulliver participates in the discussion about Maggie's clothes and defends Maggie's arms. ### [XIII: Borne Along by the Tide](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/xiii-borne-along-by-the-tide) Accompanies Lucy to Lindum for purchases, leaving Maggie behind. ### [Waking](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/xiv-waking) Maggie thinks of her mother as part of the home she longs to return to. ### [The Return to the Mill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/i-the-return-to-the-mill) Torn between fear of Tom and love for Maggie, she chooses to leave with her daughter, offering maternal comfort. ### [II: St. Ogg’s Passes Judgment](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/ii-st-ogg-s-passes-judgment) Visits sister Glegg to learn about Tom and the family's reaction to Maggie's return. ### [III: Showing That Old Acquaintances Are Capable of Surprising Us](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/chapters/iii-showing-that-old-acquaintances-are-capable-of-surprising-us) Conveys the family's reactions and laments the troubles, showing pity for Maggie. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mill_on_the_floss_se/characters/mrs_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