Maggie in The Mill is a girl who has a strong desire for love and happiness. A secret date with Philip runs counter to the sense of responsibility established in the past. Keeping a relationship with Philip will hurt her feelings with her brother, and her family will also be affected. Maggie's deep love for her brother and family is an unforgettable memory of the past and her loyalty to the sacred past that constitutes her complete life. It was this love that made her restrain her impulsive feelings for Philip. Therefore, for Maggie, the real moral authority is based on emotion, which has become an inseparable part of her life and a "memory that will remain in her heart forever". At the end of the mill, when the flood came, Maggie risked her life to rescue the trapped Tom. Brother and sister reconciled and embraced and sank into the raging river. Maggie's short life is a life of constantly overcoming her own weaknesses and pursuing a lofty spiritual realm. She won't regret it until she dies. She realized the sublimity of surpassing herself that she pursued as a teenager. In this sense, The Mill is also a love novel. The author "not only tries to provide us with entertainment, but also inspires us to think and feel like priests." The mystery of life in the novel is more like a Greek tragedy, and Maggie is the best warm female image. In order not to hurt her father and brother, but also for her family, although Philip really understands her, she still suppresses her love; In order not to hurt her cousin Lucy, she finally gave up her love for Steven; In order to save Tom from drowning, she resolutely went into the water to save people. The author always lets Maggie choose between this dilemma. Rebellion, obedience and dependence, self-pursuit and self-abandonment, these conflicts reflect Maggie's ambivalence towards love. In the end, in her choice, she chose the latter, giving up, observing social morality and making others happy at the expense of herself. Maggie made women jump out of the narrow emotional circle, broke the image of women as little women in the patriarchal society with a broader mind, and changed the female consciousness of "love is supreme". However, Maggie's nature determines that she will always regard her love for her brother as the center of her life. Many times, she dare not disobey his "paternalistic" moral norms. " Since you can't do things, you must obey those who do them. "Tom regards his will as the idea that Maggie should obey, which makes him always play a self-righteous and domineering role in front of Maggie. Through Maggie's life, what we see is endless inner emotional conflicts. Indulge or suppress herself, pursue ideals or submit to reality, choose true love or take responsibility, choose friendship or betray her family, but she always has to choose but can't. This kind of emotional dilemma makes it difficult for her to get peace of mind and a complete and balanced understanding of herself. As the "Imitation of Christ" in The Miller said: "(You) should understand that narcissism is the most harmful thing in the world. If you want to pursue your own will and enjoyment, there will always be troubles. I would rather pursue the cross and follow it. Blessed are those who listen to God's call instead of the voice of the world. Listening to the truth is from the heart. It gives you the only guidance; Get out of yourself and don't indulge in narcissism; Give up yourself and you will get inner peace. "
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