Father's Ambitions for His Son — The Mill on the Floss

Mr. Tulliver declares his intention to give his son Tom a proper education, not to make him a miller like himself, but to equip him with the skills of lawyers and businessmen who seem to hold all the power. He wants Tom to become 'a bit of a scholar' who can match wits with the smooth-talking professionals who intimidate working people like himself. Mrs. Tulliver, practical as always, worries about the logistics, who will wash Tom's clothes, how will she send him food? Their conversation reveals the tension between Mr. Tulliver's social ambitions and his wife's domestic concerns.

We also meet young Maggie, their daughter, who bursts in with tangled hair and a rebellious spirit. Her parents see her intelligence but worry it's 'too much' for a girl. Mr. Tulliver notes that Tom seems to take after his mother's slower side, while Maggie has inherited the Tulliver sharpness, a reversal that troubles him.

The scene sets up the central conflict: a working-class family's attempt to climb socially through education, while grappling with their children's natural temperaments and society's expectations. Mr. Tulliver's desire to protect his family from being outsmarted by educated elites drives his educational plans, but his limited understanding of what that education entails hints at future complications.