What kind of a girl/woman/person do you think George Eliot is presenting/creating/defining with Maggie? Look at her from a couple of perspectives. There are plenty of models of womanhood--for better or for worse--that Eliot presents in the novel, with the Dodson sisters, Mrs. Moss and even Mrs. Snelling. We also have the narrative perspective--how do you think the narrator feels about Maggie (which, of course, can be seen not only in how she describes Maggie, but in how she describes the other women)? And then you also have the perspective of the men--Mr. Tulliver, Tom and Philip.
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When Georg Eliot is creating Maggie I see Maggie as a courageous, outgoing, and daring little girl who is filled with a lot of passion and life. Maggie may be a nine year old in the beginning of the story but she shows heart. She definitely stands out from everyone not only based on appearance but in personality. She is a modern day Florence Nightingale giving all the reasons why she refuses to follow the conventional rules and regulations of being a mannerable young lady.
ReplyDeleteHer biggest fan is her father who not only encourages her but protects her even when she commits an act like cutting her hair.
Through a narrative perspective Eliot compares Maggie to the Dodson sisters as an unconventional character. The Dodson sisters are obedient, proper and incapable of walking a crooked line. They see Maggie as a "wild" child who is too smart for her own good. The men in the story excluding Mr. Tulliver see Maggie's outbursts as a cry for attention. Although none of the aunts and uncles approve of the way the Tulliver's let Maggie run loose they justify there beliefs based on the type of upbringing Mr.Tulliver must have had and find that Maggie's behavior could never be anything different.
Maggie is unfortunate because she is limited by her gender--she cannot run and play and do the things that her brother wants to do, nor can she express her eagerness to learn because it is unbecoming of her sex. For a girl her age, Maggie is extremely intelligent and carefree. Her brother finds her silly and is jealous of her quickness at learning, but he belittles her in order to boost his own ego while at the same time discourage his sister Maggie from hoping that she will get anywhere with her smarts.
ReplyDeleteOf course, one of the first things that people will notice about Maggie is her rejection of feminine ideals. The cutting of her own hair is symbolic of her attempt to rid herself of the standards set for females in her time. Her mother is baffled by her daughter's unwillingness to conform to the normal idea of what a little girl should be like and Maggie is resentful of everyone comparing her to her cousin Lucy. Maggie obviously struggles with who she is because her individuality is highly discouraged by her family. Her mother is constantly scolding her and seems to ignore how smart her daughter is while others humor Maggie's shows of intelligence.
I think the narrator feels a little sorry for Maggie because Maggie appears to be deeply misunderstood by everyone except for her own father. Her father's acceptance of Maggie is hardly worth much due to others' beliefs that he is of a lower class and wasn't raised in the same way as the privileged Dodson sisters, for example.
There are so many references from the men in this novel as to the inferiority of women, I think Eliot uses Maggie to demonstrate that the opposite is true. Even though just about everybody thinks she's trouble, her mother's side of the family anyway, we see clearly that she has a whole lot on the ball. Yes she's impulsive, and precoscious and a tom-boy but she's got a tremendous amount of heart.She feels for Philip, she stands up to her mother's crazy family and she knows how to gently handle Bob when he tries to give them money, she's also smarter than Tom. Maggie exhibits a certain degree of humility which is interesting to me when juxtaposed with just how often women are put down in the book. Maybe a woman can just be without having to consider herself any better or worse than anyone else, and how telling it is that the men always have to point out how much better they think they are than the women
ReplyDeleteMaggie is the strong independent woman. She plays the role of the unconventional female who wills her way into her own persona. She fights the common norms, refuses to conform, but longs for love and acceptance. She is a character who is bold, courageous, and intelligent. She is witty and charming. Although she is introduced as only a girl, throughout the novel we are able to see a new side of her. Maggie has an immense amount of passion and continually longs for the acceptance and love of others.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator, George Elliot, allows other characters to pick at Maggie and point out flaws but she is always quick to dispute the claims. She views Maggie in a positive light, possibly in the light that she herself would like to be seen in as an independent female who goes against the norms but for the good of all.