George Eliot – “The Mill on the Floss” – Exam Based MCQs
1. The Mill on the Floss is written by: (UGC NET)
A) Charlotte Brontë
B) George Eliot
C) Jane Austen
D) Elizabeth Gaskell
Ans: B) George Eliot
2. The real name of George Eliot is: (SET)
A) Mary Wollstonecraft
B) Emily Brontë
C) George Sand
D) Mary Ann (Marian) Evans
Ans: D) Mary Ann (Marian) Evans
3. The central female character of the novel is: (PGTRB)
A) Maggie Tulliver
B) Dorothea Brooke
C) Esther Lyon
D) Gwendolen Harleth
Ans: A) Maggie Tulliver
4. The novel is set mainly around the town of: (UGC NET)
A) London
B) Bath
C) St. Ogg’s
D) Manchester
Ans: C) St. Ogg’s
5. The river associated with the title is: (SET)
A) Thames
B) Floss
C) Severn
D) Avon
Ans: B) Floss
6. Tom Tulliver is Maggie’s: (PGTRB)
A) Brother
B) Cousin
C) Uncle
D) Teacher
Ans: A) Brother
7. The Tulliver family owns: (UGC NET)
A) A church
B) A factory
C) A theatre
D) Dorlcote Mill
Ans: D) Dorlcote Mill
8. Mr. Tulliver’s main conflict is with: (SET)
A) Reverend Stelling
B) Lucy Deane
C) Mr. Wakem
D) Stephen Guest
Ans: C) Mr. Wakem
9. Philip Wakem is: (PGTRB)
A) Maggie’s brother
B) Mr. Wakem’s son and Maggie’s friend
C) A mill worker
D) A sailor on the Floss
Ans: B) Mr. Wakem’s son and Maggie’s friend
10. Lucy Deane is Maggie’s: (UGC NET)
A) Sister
B) Aunt
C) Teacher
D) Cousin
Ans: D) Cousin
11. Stephen Guest is primarily associated with: (SET)
A) Lucy Deane (as her suitor)
B) Mrs. Glegg
C) Mr. Tulliver
D) Aunt Pullet
Ans: A) Lucy Deane (as her suitor)
12. Maggie’s greatest struggle is between: (PGTRB)
A) Science and faith
B) Wealth and poverty
C) Passion and social duty
D) War and peace
Ans: C) Passion and social duty
13. The Dodsons are primarily known for: (UGC NET)
A) Artistic life
B) Respectability, property, and narrow social codes
C) Radical politics
D) Sea adventures
Ans: B) Respectability, property, and narrow social codes
14. Reverend Stelling is Tom’s: (SET)
A) Uncle
B) Business partner
C) Cousin
D) Tutor
Ans: D) Tutor
15. The novel is often considered partly autobiographical because it reflects Eliot’s: (PGTRB)
A) Childhood experiences and intellectual struggles
B) Life as a sailor
C) Political career
D) Travel in India
Ans: A) Childhood experiences and intellectual struggles
16. One important theme of the novel is: (UGC NET)
A) Pure fantasy
B) Gothic horror
C) Moral responsibility and consequences
D) Courtly love only
Ans: C) Moral responsibility and consequences
17. Tom’s attitude towards Maggie is often: (SET)
A) Completely understanding
B) Judgmental and strict
C) Romantic and dreamy
D) Indifferent always
Ans: B) Judgmental and strict
18. Maggie’s intense reading of ascetic/self-denial ideas is linked with: (PGTRB)
A) Milton’s Paradise Lost
B) Shelley’s poems
C) Darwin’s Origin of Species
D) Thomas à Kempis / religious devotional reading
Ans: D) Thomas à Kempis / religious devotional reading
19. Maggie is often portrayed as: (UGC NET)
A) Intelligent, passionate, and socially constrained
B) Completely selfish and cruel
C) Only comic and shallow
D) Always indifferent to family
Ans: A) Intelligent, passionate, and socially constrained
20. Philip Wakem’s physical condition is: (SET)
A) Perfectly athletic
B) Not mentioned
C) He is physically deformed/disabled
D) He is blind
Ans: C) He is physically deformed/disabled
21. The novel belongs mainly to the tradition of: (PGTRB)
A) Gothic romance
B) Fantasy epic
C) Metaphysical satire
D) Victorian realism
Ans: D) Victorian realism
22. The relationship between Maggie and Stephen Guest causes: (UGC NET)
A) Celebration in society
B) Scandal and moral conflict
C) Maggie’s instant marriage
D) Tom’s praise for Maggie
Ans: B) Scandal and moral conflict
23. The narrative often uses a reflective, moral voice typical of: (SET)
A) George Eliot’s omniscient narrator
B) Stream of consciousness
C) Dramatic monologue only
D) Epistolary form only
Ans: A) George Eliot’s omniscient narrator
24. The novel explores the limitations placed on women mainly through: (PGTRB)
A) Lucy Deane’s travel
B) Mrs. Glegg’s wealth
C) Aunt Pullet’s jewels
D) Maggie’s restricted education and choices
Ans: D) Maggie’s restricted education and choices
25. Mr. Tulliver loses the mill mainly due to: (UGC NET)
A) War in Europe
B) A natural flood
C) A lawsuit and financial ruin
D) Travel expenses
Ans: C) A lawsuit and financial ruin
26. Tom’s main goal in adulthood is to: (SET)
A) Restore the family’s respectability and recover the mill
B) Become a poet
C) Join the circus
D) Sail to America
Ans: A) Restore the family’s respectability and recover the mill
27. The Dodson sisters include: (PGTRB)
A) Mrs. Bennet and Mrs. Norris
B) Mrs. Reed and Mrs. Fairfax
C) Lady Catherine and Mrs. Elton
D) Mrs. Glegg, Mrs. Pullet, and Mrs. Deane
Ans: D) Mrs. Glegg, Mrs. Pullet, and Mrs. Deane
28. Maggie and Tom’s childhood relationship is marked by: (UGC NET)
A) Pure romance
B) Deep affection mixed with conflict
C) Complete indifference
D) Only comedy
Ans: B) Deep affection mixed with conflict
29. The novel is often seen as a type of: (SET)
A) Travelogue
B) Gothic mystery
C) Bildungsroman / coming-of-age novel
D) Science fiction
Ans: C) Bildungsroman / coming-of-age novel
30. Maggie’s attraction to Stephen Guest represents: (PGTRB)
A) Emotional temptation conflicting with duty
B) Pure moral victory
C) Only comic relief
D) Financial stability
Ans: A) Emotional temptation conflicting with duty
31. The climax of the novel involves: (UGC NET)
A) A courtroom trial
B) A wedding celebration
C) A war scene
D) A catastrophic flood
Ans: D) A catastrophic flood
32. In the flood scene, Maggie’s final act shows: (SET)
A) Revenge only
B) Reconciliation and sacrifice for Tom
C) Indifference to family
D) Escape with Stephen
Ans: B) Reconciliation and sacrifice for Tom
33. The novel’s moral complexity is a key feature of: (PGTRB)
A) Fairy tales
B) Gothic romance
C) George Eliot’s realism
D) Medieval epic
Ans: C) George Eliot’s realism
34. Which character is most strongly linked with intellectual companionship for Maggie? (UGC NET)
A) Philip Wakem
B) Slackbridge
C) Mr. Sleary
D) Josiah Bounderby
Ans: A) Philip Wakem
35. The novel criticizes narrow provincial judgment mainly through: (SET)
A) Sea voyages
B) Court politics
C) Gothic castles
D) St. Ogg’s society’s reaction to Maggie
Ans: D) St. Ogg’s society’s reaction to Maggie
36. Eliot’s narrative method is known for: (PGTRB)
A) Pure action without reflection
B) Psychological insight and moral reflection
C) Magical realism
D) Fragmented modernism
Ans: B) Psychological insight and moral reflection
37. Tom’s strict moral code often reflects: (UGC NET)
A) Romantic freedom
B) Pure imagination
C) Social respectability and convention
D) Radical rebellion only
Ans: C) Social respectability and convention
38. Maggie is punished by society largely because: (SET)
A) She is seen as violating social expectations
B) She becomes extremely wealthy
C) She becomes a soldier
D) She becomes a queen
Ans: A) She is seen as violating social expectations
39. The novel’s ending is generally seen as: (PGTRB)
A) Pure comedy
B) Happy romantic union
C) A detective resolution
D) Tragic reconciliation
Ans: D) Tragic reconciliation
40. The novel highlights conflicts between: (UGC NET)
A) Myth and legend only
B) Individual desire and social duty
C) Science fiction and fantasy
D) War and diplomacy only
Ans: B) Individual desire and social duty
41. Which best describes the novel’s tone? (SET)
A) Purely comic
B) Purely romantic
C) Sympathetic, reflective, and moral
D) Only sensational and thrilling
Ans: C) Sympathetic, reflective, and moral
42. The Mill on the Floss is often praised for Eliot’s: (PGTRB)
A) Deep psychological realism
B) Magical fantasy worlds
C) Epic heroic battles
D) Pure symbolism without character
Ans: A) Deep psychological realism
43. Maggie’s relationship with Lucy is characterized by: (UGC NET)
A) Hatred only
B) Business partnership
C) No interaction
D) Affection, loyalty, and painful conflict
Ans: D) Affection, loyalty, and painful conflict
44. The novel’s portrayal of women suggests that: (SET)
A) Women have complete freedom always
B) Women’s talents are limited by social expectations
C) Women dominate all law courts
D) Women are absent from society
Ans: B) Women’s talents are limited by social expectations
45. The novel ends with Maggie and Tom: (PGTRB)
A) Marrying different partners happily
B) Moving abroad
C) Dying together in the flood
D) Becoming rich factory owners
Ans: C) Dying together in the flood
46. Mr. Tulliver is portrayed as: (UGC NET)
A) Proud, impulsive, and affectionate
B) A saintly monk
C) A cold utilitarian teacher
D) A romantic poet
Ans: A) Proud, impulsive, and affectionate
47. Tom’s rise in fortune is mainly due to: (SET)
A) Inheritance from Mrs. Glegg
B) Circus work
C) Poetry writing
D) His hard work in business/trade
Ans: D) His hard work in business/trade
48. The novel illustrates the idea that actions have: (UGC NET)
A) No consequences
B) Moral and social consequences
C) Only financial rewards
D) Only comic outcomes
Ans: B) Moral and social consequences
49. The Mill on the Floss is an example of Eliot’s: (PGTRB)
A) Modernist fragmentation
B) Gothic sensationalism
C) Realist social and psychological novel
D) Pure fantasy romance
Ans: C) Realist social and psychological novel
50. The best theme statement for The Mill on the Floss is: (SET)
A) The struggle between personal desire, duty, and social judgment
B) A heroic war saga
C) A magical kingdom story
D) A detective mystery with clues
Ans: A) The struggle between personal desire, duty, and social judgment
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