The Mill on the Floss

When Mr. Tulliver first hears the news that he lost his lawsuit, he maintains his calm and figures that many people have a vested interest in keeping his family stable. He believes that his property will be saved by the mortgage owner, who can advance money and take rent from Mr. Tulliver, and also assumes that they can ask the Pullets for help to make sure their furniture doesn’t get sold to pay the debts. He sends for Maggie but keeps the details of his financial stresses a secret from Bessy, because to Mr. Tulliver, “The possession of a wife conspicuously one’s inferior in intellect is, like other high privileges, attended with a few inconveniences, and, among the rest, with the occasional necessity for using a little deception” (Page 200). However, Mr. Tulliver discovers that his mortgage holder, Mr. Gore, has fallen into financial difficulties and has sold his mortgage of Mr. Tulliver’s property to Mr. Wakem.

Mr. Tulliver is later found fallen off his horse, unconscious and in possession of the letter about the mortgage ownership. Maggie returns home and the doctor assures her that though her father hasn’t regained his memory, that he asks for her is a good sign.