Portrayal of Women in Eliot’s The Mill on the Floss

Abstract

This the sis focuses on Maggie in the novel The Mill on the Floss, by George Eliot. An examination of her life is presented which is anchored in feminist critical theory and focuses on the ordeal Maggie has to endure in a patriarchal society.The intention is to examine the female's situation through a feminist viewpoint with focus on the stereotypes that emerged about them. From a feminist perspective, the tribulation Maggie endures in a patriarchal society is studied.In the novel, Maggie is often compared to the animal and thus an alien.By implication, she is treated as a secondary being.Eliot uses descriptions of her that are associated with the(othering), animal’s stereotypes. This testifies to the fact how oppressively women were treated by patriarchal society in Victorian time.