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Definition of Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the story. Foreshadowing can be achieved directly or indirectly, by making... read full definition
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the story. Foreshadowing can be achieved... read full definition
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the... read full definition
Key Examples in The Mill on the Floss
Book 1, Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Mrs. Tulliver’s Warning:
Right at the start of the novel, when Mrs. Tulliver is complaining about Maggie’s rambunctious and unladylike behavior, she foreshadows Maggie’s death, as seen in the following passage:
“Maggie, Maggie,” continued the mother, in a tone of half-coaxing fretfulness, as this small mistake of nature entered the room, “where’s the use o’ my telling you to keep away from the water? You’ll tumble in and be drownded some day, an’ then you’ll be sorry you didn’t do as mother told you.”
Related Themes:
Book 1, Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—The History of the Devil:
Near the beginning of the novel, Mr. Tulliver’s sophisticated friend Mr. Riley finds Maggie reading “The History of the Devil” and judges her for it, as seen in the following passage:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Mr Tulliver had listened to this exposition of Maggie’s with petrifying wonder. “Why, what book is it the wench has got hold on?” he burst out, at last.
“‘The History of the Devil,’ by Daniel Defoe; not quite the right book for a little girl,” said Mr Riley.
Related Themes:
Book 1, Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—The Prodigal Daughter:
In an example of both foreshadowing and allusion, near the beginning of the novel, when Maggie is visiting Luke (the head miller at the Dorlcote Mill) and his wife, she notices a painting of the prodigal son:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Maggie actually forgot that she had any special cause of sadness this morning, as she stood on a chair to look at a remarkable series of pictures representing the Prodigal Son […] “I’m very glad his father took him back again — aren’t you, Luke?” she said. “For he was very sorry, you know, and wouldn’t do wrong again.”
Related Themes:
Book 3, Chapter 6
Explanation and Analysis—Bob Jakin's Kindness:
When the Tulliver family has an estate sale in the wake of Mr. Tulliver’s bankruptcy, Tom’s childhood friend Bob Jakin stops by and offers the family a significant sum of money. Tom and Maggie reject Bob’s money, but, as seen in the following passage, Maggie says that she hopes he will remain “a friend that we can go to”—an example of foreshadowing:
Unlock with LitCharts A+“If ever Tom or my father wants help that you can give, we’ll let you know — won’t we, Tom? That’s what you would like — to have us always depend on you as a friend that we can go to — isn’t it, Bob?”
“Yes, Miss, and thank you,” said Bob, reluctantly taking the money; “that’s what I’d like — anything as you like.”
Related Themes:
