The Mill on the Floss

Literature and music are motifs of escapism and modes of honest communication throughout the novel. Literature provides Maggie with a source of imagination as a child. Her voracious reading defines her well-developed intellect. She even reads adult books that the adults in her life deem inappropriate for a girl, making her thirst for literature emblematic of her subversive nature. During her family’s later hardships, literature takes her away from her loneliness and poverty and fills her with peace. When Maggie’s reading and desire to study is criticized or mocked, Eliot is demonstrating how society impedes the intellectual and emotional growth of women. On the other hand, when men recognize and share Maggie’s love for books—as Philip and Bob do—their intellectual connection nurtures a degree of equality, respect, and affection between the characters.

Music is similarly associated with escapism and connection, because within music, characters can escape their external conflicts and get in touch with their true, hidden emotions. Maggie transcends her physical and emotional space when she listens to music, which is why her poverty is so damaging to her psyche. Without access to music, she forbids herself from feeling her true emotions. Stephen struggles to communicate his emotions well, both to himself and to Maggie, yet when he sings at the Deane’s house, he secretly communicates his feelings to her. Thus, music is not simply for entertainment but is used to express all that can’t be said because of society’s boundaries.