The Mill on the Floss Lesson Plan

How does Maggie's moral quandary reach its climax in Book 6?

In the sixth book, Maggie’s inner struggle between doing what’s right for the community and satisfying her own desires comes to a head. Though she had earlier chosen to see Philip against her family’s wishes, she believed that those wishes were based on a hatred that was wrong and unfair, and she believed that no one would ever find out, and so would not be hurt by her choices. Plus, Maggie believed, because of his urging, that Philip's happiness depended on their meeting. In this book, however, her (short-lived) decision to elope with Stephen clearly lacks justification - she knows Lucy and Philip will be...