Book 1: Chapter 7 Summary

The aunts-Mrs. Glegg, Mrs. Pullet, and Mrs. Deane-arrive and, true to form, criticize the cheesecake and the time of dinner. When Mrs. Pullet cries over the death of someone who is not a member of the family, she is criticized for that. They compare Tom and particularly Maggie unfavorably with Lucy, Mrs. Deane's daughter, who is small, pretty, blonde, and docile. They feel that their sister, Bessy, Mrs. Tulliver, has married beneath herself, and they feel sorry for her because her husband "goes to the law" frequently to settle some dispute or other.

They criticize Maggie's hair as being too thick and too dark - so she takes Tom upstairs, finds scissors, and cuts her hair off. He knows she will get in trouble, but he helps her by cutting where she can't reach. Tom laughs when he sees how she...