Oroonoko and Maggie - Conflict of the Self - In this essay I will be interested in the conflict of the self of the protagonists of two novels - Oroonoko: or the Royal Slave and The Mill on the Floss.

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                                                          Pavlína Tejcová – 6th year

                                                        Independent Readings

                                                        PhDr. Vera Palenska, CSc.

                                                        20 June 2004

Oroonoko and Maggie - Conflict of the Self

     In this essay I will be interested in the conflict of the self of the protagonists of two novels – Oroonoko: or the Royal Slave  and The Mill on the Floss. Even though the novels may seem at first glance incomparable, dealing with societies of different periods and cultures, both are works of almost startling sadness and of affecting stories of personal tragedies. Protagonists´ personalities, their inner selves, are in constant clashes with the societies that surrond them. They  are in a way outsiders, whose attemts to conform can never be fulfilled, as they don´t fit into the value systems of their periods.

     The Mill on the Floss, as all Eliot´s novels, was written in Victorian England and the values of that society are reflected in the book. This was a male dominated society, (even though ruled by a woman Queen Victoria) where women were treated as second class citizens, expected to marry and remain at home, unless they chose a respectable profession such as teaching. The text makes it clear that Maggie is expected to fit the Victorian mold for womanhood, which includes being submissive and passive, leaving “education“ to the males.  Similarly, the white Surinam community  expects Oroonoko to fit its opinions about blackness and savagery of a slave.

     Aphra Behn´s Oroonoko was written in 1688, at a period when to express the views on an african american slave openly and passionately, was unsuited for a person, let alone a woman, to do. Throughout the story Behn is also taking a stand for women’s freedom of writing. Not only is she presenting facts based on an African American, she is taking the utmost liberty and honour in doing so, and in turn she is able to convince the readers of her time that Oroonoko is more than just a slave ; he is a tragic hero.

     Like many nineteenth century literary girls, Maggie´s intelligence and emotional capacity outflank those of her family and cause problems. As Maggie Tulliver approaches adulthood, her spirited temperament brings her into conflict with her family, her community, and her much-loved brother Tom, who is hopelessly limited in his understanding. Still more painfully, she finds her own nature divided between the claims of moral responsibility and her passionate hunger for self-fulfillment, between self-sacrifice and self-indulgence. Maggie simply seems to experience everything with more emotion than others do.

     Throughout the novel, Maggie is closely associated with the natural world and constantly in clash with the alien world of social formality.  She is described as “wild” and “untameable” and her conscience is her only moral instructor ; she operates instinctually, as the child of nature. For her, the immediate experiences of life are generous and selfless love for others and natural joy when such feelings are reciprocated.  It is therefore clear that no matter how hard she tries to negotiate between the sharp emotions that she feels and her desire not to inflict the consequences of those emotions on her family and friends, she can´t ever manage to succeed. 

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      But it is not only her emotions that make her so exceptional, it is also the uniqueness of Maggie´s appearance. She has a darker skin at the time when lightness is prized in a larger cultural arena (For example in Book Fourth, Maggie becomes frustrated by the traditional plot lines in which the light, blond women live happily ever after in love).  Maggie´s family views her darkness as ugly and unnatural, yet by the end of the novel, it has made men perceive Maggie as more beautiful because her darkness is a rarity. However, her most ...

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