In Jane Eyre and The Mill on the Floss, Jane and Maggie's relationships with St. John and Phillip act as a part of a challenge to the womens' principles, causing them to reevaluate what they truly value most and make a definite choice for themselves based on what they understand to be best for them. This results in emotional growth, as both women tune into their own feelings and carefully monitor them in order to make these decisions. While neither women feel any actual love towards either St. John or Phillip, these characters act as a catalyst for Jane and Maggie's self-realization. Jane's introduction to St. John and his desire for a relationship with her create an inner conflict in which she must weigh the importance of sticking to her
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When Tom scolds Maggie during Book Fourth and takes her away from Phillip, making it clear that he believes she is disgracing their father, Maggie initially feels closer to Phillip through wanting to rebel against Tom. However, after her temper cools, she acknowledges that she feels relieved that some distance has been created between her and Phillip. This reevaluation by Maggie regarding her feelings proves that she does feel the same way about Phillip; at best she loves the way he makes her feel. This, combined with the fact that it will honor her family, makes Maggie distancing herself from Phillip a demonstration of her moral growth and shows that she is capable of following some kind of principle at the expense of outside validation. Much like St. John, Phillip's role in Maggie's life is not to be her love interest, but instead to be an avenue for her to begin to unravel her own feelings and better understand what is most important to her. In this case, it is Tom's approval. Despite the similarities in both womens' internal struggles, the two novels are distinctly different in their endings. Jane Eyre concludes with Jane living out a wonderful life with Rochester despite sacrificing some of her principles, while Mill on the Floss ends with Maggie never finding happiness and eventually, her tragic demise on the river. This difference goes to show that conforming to principle is not always rewarded, and sometimes sacrificing emotional desires for what is moral goes
When Tom scolds Maggie during Book Fourth and takes her away from Phillip, making it clear that he believes she is disgracing their father, Maggie initially feels closer to Phillip through wanting to rebel against Tom. However, after her temper cools, she acknowledges that she feels relieved that some distance has been created between her and Phillip. This reevaluation by Maggie regarding her feelings proves that she does feel the same way about Phillip; at best she loves the way he makes her feel. This, combined with the fact that it will honor her family, makes Maggie distancing herself from Phillip a demonstration of her moral growth and shows that she is capable of following some kind of principle at the expense of outside validation. Much like St. John, Phillip's role in Maggie's life is not to be her love interest, but instead to be an avenue for her to begin to unravel her own feelings and better understand what is most important to her. In this case, it is Tom's approval. Despite the similarities in both womens' internal struggles, the two novels are distinctly different in their endings. Jane Eyre concludes with Jane living out a wonderful life with Rochester despite sacrificing some of her principles, while Mill on the Floss ends with Maggie never finding happiness and eventually, her tragic demise on the river. This difference goes to show that conforming to principle is not always rewarded, and sometimes sacrificing emotional desires for what is moral goes