Dark Spirituality as a Symbol of Female

Dark Spirituality as a Symbol of Female Frustration:

Voodoo Gothic and the Mill on the Floss

George Eliot's The Mill On the Floss is arguably one of the most widely read novels of the Victorian period. Although many differ as to just why this is the case, one thing is clear -- what was once a rather straightforward tragic tale, tinged with the time's popular romantic/gothic influence, has become a bastion of feminist criticism. Although many readers, especially those contemporary to the work's publication, expressed strong disappointment with the fate of Maggie -- especially at the end of the novel, the advent of feminist criticism brought many readers to begin to strongly identify with the fate, and the message, George Eliot was trying to convey. (Jacobus 62) Maggie Tulliver's representation of the tragedy of intellectual womanhood mired in the doom of repressive Victorian society -- is particularly satisfying. For these critics, they find the themes of light and dark, God and the Devil, good verses evil, and the gothic overtones (represented most strikingly in Maggie's voodoo doll scene), as striking symbols of the tragedy of the position of Maggie as a woman "out of the mold." Further, even her eventual death is viewed as an inevitable outcome for a woman destined to have "no place" of belonging.

According to George Eliot, herself, she was a "realist" writer -- a characteristic specifically described by her as "an artist who values the truth of observation above the imaginative fancies of writers of "romance" or fashionable melodramatic fiction." (Ashton 19) If, then, the reader is to consider The Mill on the Floss, as a work in realism, one cannot fail to regard the position of Maggie to be a keen representation, on the part of Eliot, of her perception of the reality of the women of her time. Indeed, this is especially true if one considers Maggie to be a representation of intelligent women, outside of the realm of "traditional female roles." Further, if one is to consider Maggie to be a representation of the Victorian notion of "unacceptable" modes of being, one cannot fail to draw a parallel between Maggie and Eliot, herself.

Indeed, Eliot uses a wealth of observation concerning the interactions between the protagonist of the tale, Maggie Tulliver, and the various other characters (male and female) as well as the various circumstances of the story. It is thought these observations that Eliot communicates to her readers about her central characters act as a device to illustrate her perception of the "reality" of the social/cultural world that she inhabits. An excellent example of this comparison is in Maggie's difficulty with "connection." Certainly, from the beginning of the novel, one notes that because of Maggie's strikingly intelligent, unusual (for her time) nature, and uncommon appearance, she seems to never achieve any real measure of connectedness with those around her -- After all her own parents not only criticize her, but are made markedly uncomfortable by her and her ways. Even those men with whom she forms relationships with later in life either in friendship or romantically either fail to connect with her, or her with them. In addition, the simple fact that Maggie goes through the entire novel not only without finding real satisfaction romantically with the opposite sex, but fails to have any real relationships with women as well, (Ashton 83) -- perhaps signifies Eliot's beliefs and experiences from her own life; namely, that when a woman is out of sync, she is cast out of the realm of belonging on all levels, male and female -- family, friend, and stranger. In essence, according to Eliot, she becomes doomed to a non-existence eventually symbolized by her death.

Although from the beginning, the reader notes that Maggie has a strong desire for male approval, especially from her brother, Tom, she still suffers from a great deal of frustration at their hands. To be sure, desiring male approval was not unusual in a time and culture where women were relegated to existing as the "chattel" or property of men. After all, when women as a group are oppressed, and live under the power of the male members of their culture, their only real sense of personal belonging, safety, and power (such that it is) depends completely on the acceptance and approval of the men in their lives.

Thus, to be accepted, they were expected to be pretty, entertaining, self-effacing, and useful in the home -- yet it was not only not particularly important for them to demonstrate "non-domestic" intelligence. They were certainly not encouraged to develop education or intelligence as a virtue -- and, if for some reason, they did, it would be of particular importance to glow just a bit less brightly then the men in their lives -- love or no. Not only was Eliot keenly aware in her own life of this reality -- hence her pseudonym, but she specifically illustrated the fact in the story in question. Indeed, the reader sees the tragedy of this reality.

An excellent example of the reality of the cultural attitude concerning women's intelligence during Eliot's time -- again, a reality Eliot clearly wants to convey in the tale, is in Mr. Tulliver's opinion of Maggie's intelligence as "unnatural," saying "It's a pity but what she'd been then lad -- she'd ha'been a match for the lawyers, she would. It's the wonderful'st thing." (Eliot 68)

Indeed, the reader sees that, more than once, Mr. Tulliver compares his son, Tom with Maggie, and notes her superior intelligence and reason. However, this only vexes him. This is because he sees no value in Maggie's intelligence whatsoever. Actually, quite the opposite -- it embarrassing him.

Of course, the tragedy is that Maggie, in spite of her father's dismissal of her intellect, she nonetheless, suffers from an immense need to please her father -- as well as to receive affection and approval from him, Eliot writes, "How she wished that [he] would stoke her head, or give her some sign that he was soothed by the sense that he had a daughter who loved him!" (Eliot 371)

Even more symbolic of the terrible position of intelligent women in Victorian times is Maggie's relationship with her brother, Tom -- a relationship that is both loving, and damaging.

To be sure, Tom is without peer the most important person in Maggie's life. Even more than her father, Maggie longs to please and maintain a close relationship with her brother. Ironically, however, Tom is also the one most capable of hurting her. Not only is Tom a symbolic representation of all that she cannot have as a woman, a fact that cannot fail to cause her significant pain, but her need to feel close to him is even more striking and painful when held up against that fact

The reader notes that Maggie so desperately wants to please Tom, yet, "Tom indeed was of opinion that Maggie was a silly little thing: all girls were silly...still he was very fond of his sister and always meant to take care of her." (Eliot 92) Unfortunately, the reader senses with these words that this is not destined to be the case.

In addition, the fact that Tom sees Maggie as "silly," perhaps as many men dismiss any intelligent woman, illustrates quite clearly that he was also threatened by her, and her natural intelligence (also symbolized by her physical difference). Even worse, his eventual cruelty in disowning Maggie underscores the terrible reality of all that is at stake for a woman should she choose not to conform (or be unable to conform) to her society's expectations of her. After all, the perpetration of cruelty in spite of love is exponentially worse than cruelty springing from pure hate. It is a terrible truth that glares in the lives of Eliot and Maggie -- that in spite of everything, the punishment for nonconformance toward the "womanly ideal" is the loss of love and belonging. For, when her brother says, "You will find no home with me...You have been a curse to your best friends...I wash my hands of you forever. You don't belong to me!" (Eliot 612) he demonstrates that her love for him (and his for her) cannot compete with the demands of society. Indeed, society demands nothing less than complete obedience.

Even if one is tempted to imagine that Maggie can find a certain acceptance in her friendship with Philip, to do so would be a grave error. After all, it is no accident that Eliot crafts Philip to suffer from a "deformity." For, it is this deformity that symbolizes the impossibility of having a normal male-female relationship on equal, and "normal" terms. Further, even her attraction to Steven is doomed from the start because of his unavailability, again symbolic of the impossibility of her having a "normal" relationship as she is. (Carlisle 7)

Of course, this reality is ultimately driven inequitably home in the final end of Maggie and Tom, when they drown in each other's arms. Here, the reader notes that the only way that they could be together, again symbolizing the relationship between the true intelligent woman and "man," as a group, is in death -- in other words, there is no real possibility of reconciling the "Maggie's" of the world with a place within society. The only option is complete obliteration of the "different" intelligent woman. Maggie dies in the murky depths, while Eliot, herself dies in name. There is no difference.

Interestingly, however, Eliot does not merely stop at telling a tale of tragedy without a representation of her fierce struggle with the social realities behind the tragedy. She does not merely satisfy herself with "she lives and she dies." On the contrary, however tragic the death of Maggie and Tom may be in and of itself, the real story is in the struggle Eliot demonstrates against this unjust reality within the motifs of darkness.

Clearly, Eliot demonstrates within the story the fury and injustice of the situation, both for her, and for Maggie (her symbolic representation of all women like her). She does this by infusing the essence of the real struggle (and, perhaps of her own struggle in life) within the many representations of dark, the gothic, the devil, and the occult within the work.

Of course, The Mill on the Floss is a tragedy. However, the real atmosphere of gloom, and of unease comes not from the mere tragic outcome of the story. Instead, the reader notes that from the beginning of the novel that the other characters view Maggie as an "ominous" figure. Her own father darkly predicts her future, her mother calls her a "wild thing," and "a Bedlam Creatur." Further, she is specifically linked with the image of "the devil" in her knowledge of "The History of the Devil," and in her own similarity to the "coloring" of the devil, himself. Although these aspects of the story certainly foreshadow the eventual doomed fate of Maggie, they also represent her spirit of rebellion (and the rebellion of all women), in her "wild" image -- and even in her association and knowledge of the devil.

However, the most striking and clear example of this type is in the reference to the Voodoo doll in chapter four -- its dark and sinister quality as communicated by the narrator, her abuse of the doll with nails and beatings (an expression of her anger), coupled with the death of Tom's rabbits due to her "forgetting them" -- an event, although unintentional, is highly symbolic of her resistance to her situation.

Interestingly, Eliot's use of the "voodoo doll" episode would have been calculated to evoke the greatest foreboding in her readers. After all, it was during this time that not only her contemporaries were becoming aware of the existence of Voodoo (Hurbon 14), the Caribbean and Haitian native religion, but were also becoming accustomed to other examples of "gothic" writing -- including Dracula, Frankenstein, and Wuthering Heights among others.

However, it is important to note that an extremely important aspect of Voodoo that Eliot and her contemporaries, perhaps adding to its image as dark, demonic, and ominous, is the particular power women as a group hold within its practice. In an extremely patriarchal society like the one in Victorian times, one in which organized religion reinforces the subjugated nature of women trough its doctrines (Adam and Eve, Augustinian thought, male clergy, among countless other examples), the concept of a religion in which women could not only full participate, but were equal with, and sometimes more powerful than, men was patently threatening.

Not only was Eliot well aware of this aspect of Voodoo, but in placing the most infamous representation of that religion in the hands of young Maggie, she demonstrated, not only Maggie's desire to have more control over her life (remember, her mother had just prevented her from going to see Tom), but her terrible and acute frustration that she is unable to unleashed in her real life -- even as a child -- against those she loves yet oppress her. She abuses the doll -- a symbol of the freedom she will never have, in the place of her loved ones, and in protest against an unjust world.

In addition, as previously mentioned, Maggie, herself is far removed from the "norm" of womanhood in her society. Not only is she extremely intelligent, but she is also described as having "dark" features -- hair, skin, and eyes. Although these features are considered in the end to be attractive to men, her mother and father are clearly disturbed by them. In particular, Mrs. Tulliver clearly sees them as negatives, saying she looks like a "mulatter." Yet, the root of this feeling of "wrongness" in the dark appearance of Maggie, is, like the voodoo doll, rooted in the Victorian sense of "goodness" and light. Not only does Maggie not conform (although she tries) to the norms of womanly society in her day, but her very appearance echo's tragedy, darkness, and doom.

A further example of the dark/voodoo/gothic theme is contained in the various references to the devil in the book. Although Maggie does seem to be quite religious -- and affected by images like "the prodigal son," (an image she directly attributes to herself in her role in the death of the rabbits), as well as in her reading of Thomas a Kempis' work on sacrifice and self denial, the fact that her embarkation on the road of self sacrifice does not save her from suffering. On the contrary, when she progresses into adulthood her natural "dark" beauty comes into full bloom, representative of her unavoidable nature. The reader sees that she can no longer deny her tendencies -- that the road of sacrifice and self denial are not for her.

This fact, this almost completely inevitable nature of Maggie's fall into doom, even in spite of her best intentions, perhaps echo's Eliot's own experience with religion, and her realization that organized religion of her childhood could not support her own "nature" and outlook on life. Indeed, one notes that Eliot's movement in her own life toward a more "general spirituality," unfettered by the bonds of predominant Victorian religious sensibility, in some way is reflected in Maggie's inability to follow the same norms in the novel. In fact, one wonders if the fact that Eliot did not find her "place" in the organized religion of her childhood and family, prompted her to not allow Maggie to find her path within a tome of organized Christian theology.

It is extremely important when considering this question of whether Eliot's own personal experiences prompted her to craft the story of Maggie in the way that she did, it is important to note the parallels between Maggie and Eliot, herself. Although this is a common component of most feminist criticism of literature, and is a specifically strong trend in the interpretation of Eliot's work in particular, it is principally telling when one notes the way in which critics more contemporary to Eliot view her as an individual, and as an author. Note the following words in the article by Virginia Woolf, first published in The Times Literary Supplement, 20th November, 1919.

To read George Eliot attentively is to become aware how little one knows about her. It is also to become aware of the credulity, not very creditable to one's insight, with which, half consciously and partly maliciously, one had accepted the late Victorian version of a deluded woman who held phantom sway over subjects even more deluded than herself. At what moment and by what means her spell was broken it is difficult to ascertain. Some people attribute it to the publication of her Life. Perhaps George Meredith, with his phrase about the 'mercurial little showman' and the 'errant woman' on the da s, gave point and poison to the arrows of thousands incapable of aiming them so accurately, but delighted to let fly. She became one of the butts for youth to laugh at, the convenient symbol of a group of serious people who were all guilty of the same idolatry and could be dismissed with the same scorn. (Woolf)

Here, Woolf specifically touches on the nature of the "Victorian reader." Even more, she touches on the Victorian sensibility as presented in the novel, itself. Of particular importance is her observation that the late Victorian "version of a deluded woman" is half conscious and partly malicious. Indeed, this is the very reality that Eliot speaks of through Maggie. For Eliot certainly suffered as a result of her intelligence and ability every bit as much as her character in The Mill on the Floss. Take, for example, Woolf's example of the criticism leveled at Eliot by George Meredith -- "mercurial little showman...errant woman on the dais." Woolf notes that this attitude about women like Eliot (and Maggie) was the norm. The only reason more examples weren't published was they were "incapable of aiming [their arrows] as accurately" as Meredith -- yet their hatred of Eliot, and all women like her -- to them, "guilty of the same idolatry," was there nonetheless.

Indeed, the reader can see the very climate from which the character Maggie was born -- can see the terrible situation of Eliot transferred into Maggie with an intense fire that is only fanned hotter by her eventual tragic end. Even the fate of Eliot's memory would be tainted by the very society that, in effect, "killed" Maggie. Consider: