The Mill on the Floss Lesson Plan

How does Eliot use the novel's opening chapter to frame the upcoming story?

The opening chapter of The Mill on the Floss frames the novel to come. The narrator introduces us to Dorlcote Mill with a tone of dreamy nostalgia; at the end of the chapter, we realize she is, in fact, literally dreaming. This device of an adult looking back fondly to childhood crystalizes one of the main themes of the book - nostalgia.

The narrator considers the lives of Maggie and Tom from an adult perspective, both acknowledging and reveling the innocence of youth. This reverence for childhood innocence is emphasized by the last image of the book. Maggie and Tom die in an idealized version...