Summary
Eliot takes us into the ancient town of St. Ogg's to meet Mr. and Mrs. Glegg, whose marriage runs on a steady diet of petty quarrels and mutual irritation. The chapter opens with a beautiful description of their historic riverside town, complete with the legend of St. Ogg, a ferryman who helped a mysterious woman cross the river and was blessed for his kindness. But the real drama unfolds at the Glegg breakfast table, where Mrs. Glegg is still fuming about yesterday's confrontation with Tom's father, Mr. Tulliver. She's threatening to call in the money she's loaned him, using it as a weapon in her ongoing war with her husband. Mr. Glegg, a retired wool merchant who now putters obsessively in his garden, finds himself caught between his wife's wounded pride and his practical concern about family finances. Their argument escalates over porridge and tea, with Mrs. Glegg dramatically retreating upstairs with her religious book and threatening to eat nothing but gruel. Yet by evening, after both have had time to cool off and consider the financial implications, they're discussing the Tulliver situation 'quite amicably.' The chapter brilliantly shows how some couples use conflict as their primary form of communication, and how financial decisions become battlegrounds for deeper emotional needs. Mrs. Glegg's threat to withdraw her loan isn't really about money—it's about respect, control, and feeling heard in her marriage.
Coming Up in Chapter 13
While the Gleggs settle their domestic dispute, Mr. Tulliver is about to make decisions that will entangle his family's fate even more deeply. His pride and stubbornness are leading him toward choices that will have lasting consequences for Tom and Maggie.
Share it with friends
An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
Mr and Mrs Glegg at Home In order to see Mr and Mrs Glegg at home, we must enter the town of St Ogg’s,—that venerable town with the red fluted roofs and the broad warehouse gables, where the black ships unlade themselves of their burthens from the far north, and carry away, in exchange, the precious inland products, the well-crushed cheese and the soft fleeces which my refined readers have doubtless become acquainted with through the medium of the best classic pastorals. It is one of those old, old towns which impress one as a continuation and outgrowth of nature, as much as the nests of the bower-birds or the winding galleries of the white ants; a town which carries the traces of its long growth and history like a millennial tree, and has sprung up and developed in the same spot between the river and the low hill from the time when the Roman legions turned their backs on it from the camp on the hillside, and the long-haired sea-kings came up the river and looked with fierce, eager eyes at the fatness of the land. It is a town “familiar with forgotten years.” The shadow of the Saxon hero-king still walks there fitfully, reviewing the scenes of his youth and love-time, and is met by the gloomier shadow of the dreadful heathen Dane, who was stabbed in the midst of his warriors by the sword of an invisible avenger, and who rises on autumn evenings like a white mist from his tumulus on the hill, and hovers in the court of the old hall by the river-side, the spot where he was thus miraculously slain in the days before the old hall was built. It was the Normans who began to build that fine old hall, which is, like the town, telling of the thoughts and hands of widely sundered generations; but it is all so old that we look with loving pardon at its inconsistencies, and are well content that they who built the stone oriel, and they who built the Gothic façade and towers of finest small brickwork with the trefoil ornament, and the windows and battlements defined with stone, did not sacrilegiously pull down the ancient half-timbered body with its oak-roofed banqueting-hall. But older even than this old hall is perhaps the bit of wall now built into the belfry of the parish church, and said to be a remnant of the original chapel dedicated to St Ogg, the patron saint of this ancient town, of whose history I possess several manuscript versions. I incline to the briefest, since, if it should not be wholly true, it is at least likely to contain the least falsehood. “Ogg the son of Beorl,” says my private hagiographer, “was a boatman who gained a scanty living by ferrying passengers across the river Floss. And it came to pass, one evening when the winds were high, that there sat moaning by the brink of the river a woman with...
Master this chapter. Complete your experience
Purchase the complete book to access all chapters and support classic literature
As an Amazon Associate, we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats
Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Weaponized Withdrawal
Using your resources, presence, or cooperation as punishment when feeling disrespected or unheard, often hurting yourself in the process.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to recognize when people use their resources as emotional weapons rather than practical tools.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when someone threatens to withdraw something valuable—time, money, cooperation—and ask yourself what they're really trying to communicate.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Calling in a loan
When someone demands immediate repayment of money they've lent, often used as a power move. In the 1800s, family loans were common but could destroy relationships when called in suddenly.
Modern Usage:
Today we see this when family members use money as leverage in arguments, like threatening to stop helping with rent or car payments during a fight.
Genteel poverty
Being poor but trying to maintain middle-class appearances and dignity. The Gleggs represent this - they have some money but constantly worry about losing social status.
Modern Usage:
This is like families who struggle financially but still try to keep up appearances on social media or in their neighborhood.
Domestic warfare
The ongoing battles between married couples who use everyday interactions as weapons. Eliot shows how some couples communicate primarily through conflict and manipulation.
Modern Usage:
We see this in relationships where partners use silent treatment, withholding affection, or financial control instead of honest communication.
Family honor
The idea that one person's actions reflect on the entire family's reputation. Mrs. Glegg feels personally insulted by how Mr. Tulliver treated her, seeing it as disrespect to the whole family.
Modern Usage:
This shows up today when family members get upset about relatives' social media posts, career choices, or relationships that might 'embarrass the family.'
Patriarchal marriage
A marriage structure where the husband legally controls finances and decisions, but the wife finds indirect ways to wield power. The Gleggs show how this creates ongoing power struggles.
Modern Usage:
Modern versions include relationships where one partner controls the money while the other uses emotional manipulation or household management as their form of power.
Provincial town
A small, traditional community where everyone knows each other's business and family histories go back generations. St. Ogg's represents this insular world where reputation matters enormously.
Modern Usage:
Think small towns today where gossip travels fast, everyone knows your family history, and moving up socially is nearly impossible.
Characters in This Chapter
Mrs. Glegg
Family matriarch and antagonist
She's furious about being disrespected by Mr. Tulliver and threatens to call in his loan as revenge. Her dramatic retreat upstairs with her religious book shows how she uses moral superiority and financial power to control situations.
Modern Equivalent:
The family member who holds grudges forever and uses money or family connections as weapons when she feels disrespected
Mr. Glegg
Peacekeeper and voice of reason
He tries to calm his wife while managing his own irritation with her dramatics. He represents practical concerns about money versus emotional reactions, and shows how some people avoid direct confrontation.
Modern Equivalent:
The spouse who tries to keep the peace by avoiding conflict, focusing on practical matters while tiptoeing around their partner's emotional outbursts
Mr. Tulliver
Absent debtor whose actions drive the conflict
Though not physically present, his disrespectful treatment of Mrs. Glegg yesterday has triggered this entire domestic crisis. His pride and hot temper have put his family's financial security at risk.
Modern Equivalent:
The family member whose pride and bad decisions create problems for everyone else, especially when money is involved
Key Quotes & Analysis
"I'm not going to find fault with my own sister's husband, I'll say that for him."
Context: She says this sarcastically while clearly preparing to do exactly that - find fault with Tulliver.
This shows Mrs. Glegg's passive-aggressive communication style. She positions herself as reasonable and family-loyal while simultaneously attacking. It's a classic manipulation tactic.
In Today's Words:
I'm not one to talk bad about family, but...
"You women never know the value of money - you think, everybody must be ruined to satisfy your spite."
Context: He says this when frustrated with his wife's threat to call in the loan over hurt feelings.
This reveals the gender dynamics of their marriage and era. He dismisses her emotional needs as 'spite' while focusing only on financial practicality, showing how couples can completely miss each other's real concerns.
In Today's Words:
You're being emotional and you don't understand how money actually works.
"I shall call it in, you may depend - I shall certainly call it in. I don't know what you call security when a man's going to law about the water-course."
Context: She's threatening to demand immediate repayment of the money she loaned to Tulliver.
This shows how financial decisions become weapons in family conflicts. She's not really worried about the money - she's using the loan as leverage to punish Tulliver for disrespecting her.
In Today's Words:
I'm taking back every penny I gave him, and he can figure out how to pay me back right now.
Thematic Threads
Power
In This Chapter
Mrs. Glegg wields financial control as her primary source of power in family dynamics
Development
Introduced here - shows how economic leverage becomes emotional weapon
In Your Life:
You might recognize this when someone uses their money, skills, or presence to control situations instead of addressing conflicts directly.
Pride
In This Chapter
Mrs. Glegg's wounded pride drives her to extreme threats that could harm the whole family
Development
Building on Tom's pride themes - now showing how pride operates in marriage
In Your Life:
You see this when your hurt feelings make you want to 'show them' even if it costs you something important.
Marriage
In This Chapter
The Gleggs use conflict as their primary form of communication and connection
Development
Introduced here - contrasts with other relationship dynamics in the story
In Your Life:
You might recognize couples who seem to need drama or arguments to feel engaged with each other.
Class
In This Chapter
The Gleggs' social position gives them financial power over working families like the Tullivers
Development
Continues class exploration - now showing how money flows between social levels
In Your Life:
You see this in how people with more resources can make or break those with less, often without considering the human cost.
Communication
In This Chapter
Important feelings get expressed through dramatic gestures rather than direct conversation
Development
Introduced here - shows indirect communication patterns
In Your Life:
You might catch yourself making big statements or threats when what you really need is to be heard and understood.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What does Mrs. Glegg threaten to do when she feels disrespected, and why does this give her power over the family?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Mrs. Glegg use the loan as a weapon instead of directly addressing her hurt feelings with her husband?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see this pattern of 'weaponized withdrawal' in modern workplaces, families, or relationships?
application • medium - 4
If you were Mr. Glegg, how would you address your wife's real needs without giving in to the threat?
application • deep - 5
What does the Glegg marriage teach us about how people communicate when they don't know how to ask for what they really need?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map the Power Dynamic
Think of a recent conflict where someone (including yourself) used withdrawal or threats as leverage. Draw or write out what each person really wanted versus what they actually said or did. Then identify what kind of power each person had and how they used it.
Consider:
- •What was the surface issue versus the deeper emotional need?
- •What resources or leverage did each person control?
- •How did the conflict actually resolve, and what patterns emerged?
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you felt powerless in a situation and considered using withdrawal or threats to regain control. What were you really hoping to achieve, and what might have worked better?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 13: Pride's Expensive Price Tag
What lies ahead teaches us pride can turn potential allies into permanent enemies, and shows us good intentions often backfire when pride is involved. These patterns appear in literature and life alike.