This is the journal which carries the main topic, "The three cultural myths in the mill on the floss" analyse by Yung Zeng & Huo Yang. Obviously Mill on the floss is a novel which was written in1860 by the greatest novelist George Eliot. This novel is considered as a buildungsroman also it is a heroine centric novel. However this journal paper analyses "How Maggie the main protagonist was trapped in the three cultural myths-the myth of sex difference, the myth of virginity, the myth of self-sacrifice."(zeng&yang)
The main purpose of this journal article is to throw light to the later woman to remove their conventional masks and break the wall of the cultural myths which control and effect them in their internalizing process.
"George Eliot reveals several cultural myths in her novels that are most likely to destroy or imprison the female hero, and to prevent her from discovering either her true identity or a home in the world. In The Mill on the Floss, there are at least three that are most significant to handicap Maggie Tulliver’s quest and heroism. The assumptions—the dragons that she must challenge in order to free herself—are the myth of sex differences, the myth of virginity and the myth of self-sacrifice."( zeng & yang)
According to the above cited lines the novel The mill on the floss carries the cultural myths throughout the novel. This journal paper aims to determine the three types of cultural myths which subjected the Victorian women. To enlight the research area the authors of this paper elaborate the three cultural myths of this novel.
According to the journal the first myth is, the myth of sex difference. The myth of sex difference is difference between men and women which begins from their birth. It means the boy child is encouraged to develop the qualities he needed to live whereas girl child is denied to develop the other half of human quality. ―Religiously and morally, men are responsible for god, while women for men‖. (zeng&yang)
According to the faith in Victorian era ―that woman from their birth are the followers and companies of men; they are dependent on men.‖ (zeng&yang) This kind of sex difference myth is indicated in the novel the mill on the floss. Where the authors attempt to proof their view; When Maggie wants to give her money to him (to buy some rabbits, because Tom’s rabbits have all die but at this time Tom still knows nothing about it) Tom replies, “What for? I don’t want your money, you silly thing. I’ve got a great deal more money than you, because I’m a boy. I always have half- sovereigns and sovereigns for my Christmas boxes, because 1 shall be a man, and you only have five-shilling pieces, because you’re only a girl”(zeng&yang)
In case of education and intellectual of women in Victorian patriarchal society considered to an inferior level. Women had nothing to do with education. It was the privilege of men to go into a school and study. This is also consider under the myth of sex difference, which the writers of this journal denote.
"In her childhood, Maggie’s very bud of aspiration for knowledge is smothered. Though Mr. Tulliver is proud of his daughter’s cleverness, he thinks it useless for a woman to be too clever, because ―an over-cute woman’s no better nor a long-tailed sheep – she’ll fetch none the bigger price for that." ‖ In his opinion, a girl is for marriage, and cleverness in woman will enable her to doubt man’s superiority. So, he declares that ―a woman’s no business wi’ being so clever; it’ll turn to trouble." ‖ On the other hand, his hope for Tom is different. Tom is the future bread-winner. So, education is more important for boys. It is because this reason that Mr. Tulliver sends Tom instead of Maggie to an expensive school to be ―a sort o’ engineer, or a surveyor, or an auctioneer, and Valier‖, in spite of the acknowledged fact that Tom shows no tendency of being a scholar.‖(zang &yang)
Also the authors pointed one more evident from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice;
"It is universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must in want of a wife [12]. Here Jane reveals us the different life goals for men and women – while men are to pursue a good fortune, women are to seek a wealthy husband. All a woman’s education and up-bringing are designed for this goal. She must, in other words, be "feminine‖",
and restrict herself to a woman’s place." This separate-but-equal myth not only causes fragmentation in the self; it actually masks a radical imbalance of power between men and women, which turns the myth to the separatebut-unequal doctrine.
The 2ndmyth,the myth of virginity which is devised by the authors of this article. They have mentioned that;
"The pre-fallen, preconscious, purely innocent virgin is the first model a young girl is expected to emulate. The virgin is expected to be not only chaste, but selfless. The virgin exists outside of time and process, without an ego. This virgin can be seen in the high mimetic form as in the Virgin Mary or in the low mimetic form as depicted in Patmore’s paean to married bliss, The Angel in the House"(zang&yang)
The Victorian society’s expectation is a woman must fulfill the beneficent functions which nature has assigned to her. The virginity in this novel is demonstrated by the lucy’s character whereas Maggie was ignored and she was consider as a naughty.
"Always perfectly groomed and utterly docile, Lucy grows up to be an ideal choice of wife,
This slim maiden of eighteen was quite the sort of wife a man would not likely to repent of marrying – a woman who was loving and thoughtful for other women, not giving them Judaskisses with eyes askance on their welcome defects, but with real care and vision for their halfhidden pains and mortifications, with long ruminating enjoyment of little pleasures prepared for them."
"Meanwhile, Lucy is not perfect enough to override men’s confidence of their masculinity and superiority. Stephen Guest chooses her because,‖She did not strike him as a remarkable rarity. A man likes his wife to be pretty: well, Lucy was pretty, but not to a maddenly extent. A man likes his wife to be accomplished, gentle, affectionate, and not stupid; and Lucy had all these qualifications"(zang&yang)
Despite the fact, in service of the virginity myth,women have been discouraged from seeking the experiences necessary to be a knowledge and vocation seeker. A female character’s guilt may make her accept even unreasonable criticism or punishment. These proofs from the novel constitute the myth of virginity where George eliot drives the focus of the readers.
The 3rd myth which is the last analytical part of this journal article is the myth of self- sacrifice. According to the authors,‖ To be a totally innocent virgin, would be to be utterly unknown, particularly to one’s self. The myth of self-sacrifice is an extension of the virginity myth: women embody nurturance, loving, and selflessness. Gorthe’s Makarie in the novel Wilhelm Meister’s Travels summarizes the self-sacrifice of women‖(zang&yang).
This cultural myth is the significant reason for the tragedy of this novel where the protagonist subjected to death. Because according to the patriarchal society;
"women’s duty of self-renunciation into a most criminal self-extinction, in which a woman must kill herself—to smother their aspiration, their goal, their self, to chip away at anything important to be an independent human being. But if she refuses to do so, she is undesirable and subject to social exile, hardship, and death. Thus, women are caught in a double bind: if they cannot be perfect women, they are banished and killed; but if they manage to be perfect, they lead a life in death."(zeng&yang)
This is the fact which took place in Maggie’s life too, in this novel the mill on the floss.
When her family loses its money, Maggie’s options are even further circumscribed, and her major problem is a total lack of intellectual or emotional stimulation. At this point in her life, she comes across Thomas a Kempis in her brother’s schoolbooks, and reads,
"Know that the love of thyself doth hurt thee more than anything in the world…. If thou seekest this or that, and wouldst be here or there to enjoy thy own will and pleasure, thou shalt never be quiet no free from care: for in everything somewhat will be wanting, and in every place there will be some that will cross thee….if thou wilt have inward peace, and enjoy an everlasting crown…. If thou desire to mount to this height, thou must set out courageously; and lay the axe to the root, that thou mayst pluck up and destroy that hidden inordinate inclination to thyself, and unto all private and earthly good."
Maggie takes this religious philosophy of self-denial as a solution to the dilemma between her earthly desire and the circumscribed environment.
The dragon that prevents the female hero from self-fulfillment is more an internal force than an external one. The inner dragon is an internalization of the outer society’s negative messages about her self- worth. In The Mill on the Floss, the dragon of culture myths—the myth of sex difference, the myth of virginity, and the myth of self-sacrifice— confirms the status quo and makes her afraid to go beyond the understanding of her potentials. These conspires to make Maggie content with being a heroine only – that is, a secondary, supporting character in a man’s story, who is unworthy and unable to do anything other than self- destruct for the sake of others. Therefore, it is especially essential for female hero to recognize the confinement of the repressing patriarchal society and try hard to slay the cultural myths of passivity, purity, and virginity. Whether they succeed or not, they cease to believe in what the patriarchal society tells them.
Reference
- Yang Zang Rui&Yang Hang(2018),"THREE CULTURAL MYTHS IN THE MILL ON THE FLOSS‖college of foreign studies,Gullin university of electronic technology,chaina.
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