Mr. Tulliver Character Analysis in The Mill on the Floss

Mr. Tulliver is Mrs. Tulliver’s husband and Tom and Maggie’s father. He is generous, warm-hearted, and kind, particularly to his daughter (unlike other family members, he is very proud of Maggie’s cleverness and encourages her reading). He financially supports his impoverished sister, Mrs. Moss, refusing to call in a loan he gave her for several hundred pounds, even when his own finances are in a disastrous state. However, he is also hot-tempered and stubborn. He feuds with his wife’s family and takes out an unwisely large loan in order to avoid having to borrow money from his sister-in-law Mrs. Glegg, whom he hates. He constantly initiates lawsuits against his neighbors, convinced that they have been trying to steal his land, and he maintains a years-long vendetta against a lawyer, Mr. Wakem, whom he thinks is the cause of all his misfortunes in business. When one of Mr. Tulliver’s frequent lawsuits ends in disaster and bankruptcy, Mr. Wakem buys the mill and makes Mr. Tulliver his employee. This enrages Mr. Tulliver, who makes his son swear on the family Bible that he will take revenge against the Wakems. Mr. Tulliver’s revenge schemes continue until the day he dies, when he beats Mr. Wakem with a horsewhip.

Mr. Tulliver Quotes in The Mill on the Floss

The The Mill on the Floss quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Tulliver or refer to Mr. Tulliver. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

).

“It’s no mischief much while she’s a little un, but an over-‘cute woman’s no better nor a long-tailed sheep—she’ll fetch none the bigger price for that.”

Related Characters: Mr. Tulliver (speaker), Maggie Tulliver

Related Literary Devices:

Page Number and Citation: 12

Explanation and Analysis:

“I want him to know figures, and write like print, and see into things quick, and know what folks mean, and how to wrap things up in words as aren’t actionable. It’s an uncommon fine thing […] when you can let a man know what you think of him without paying for it.”

Related Characters: Mr. Tulliver (speaker), Tom Tulliver, Mr. Wakem, Mr. Riley

Page Number and Citation: 22

Explanation and Analysis:

“Poor little wench! She’ll have nobody but Tom, belike, when I’m gone.”

Related Characters: Mr. Tulliver (speaker), Maggie Tulliver, Tom Tulliver, Mrs. Moss, Mr. Moss

Page Number and Citation: 79

Explanation and Analysis:

“We don't ask what a woman does—we ask whom she belongs to. It's altogether a degrading thing to you to think of marrying old Tulliver’s daughter.”

Related Characters: Mr. Wakem (speaker), Maggie Tulliver, Mr. Tulliver, Philip Wakem

Page Number and Citation: 394

Explanation and Analysis:

Mr. Tulliver Quotes in The Mill on the Floss

The The Mill on the Floss quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Tulliver or refer to Mr. Tulliver. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

).

“It’s no mischief much while she’s a little un, but an over-‘cute woman’s no better nor a long-tailed sheep—she’ll fetch none the bigger price for that.”

Related Characters: Mr. Tulliver (speaker), Maggie Tulliver

Related Literary Devices:

Page Number and Citation: 12

Explanation and Analysis:

“I want him to know figures, and write like print, and see into things quick, and know what folks mean, and how to wrap things up in words as aren’t actionable. It’s an uncommon fine thing […] when you can let a man know what you think of him without paying for it.”

Related Characters: Mr. Tulliver (speaker), Tom Tulliver, Mr. Wakem, Mr. Riley

Page Number and Citation: 22

Explanation and Analysis:

“Poor little wench! She’ll have nobody but Tom, belike, when I’m gone.”

Related Characters: Mr. Tulliver (speaker), Maggie Tulliver, Tom Tulliver, Mrs. Moss, Mr. Moss

Page Number and Citation: 79

Explanation and Analysis:

“We don't ask what a woman does—we ask whom she belongs to. It's altogether a degrading thing to you to think of marrying old Tulliver’s daughter.”

Related Characters: Mr. Wakem (speaker), Maggie Tulliver, Mr. Tulliver, Philip Wakem

Page Number and Citation: 394

Explanation and Analysis: