The 'flood' that concludes 'The Mill on the Floss' is an example of what literary device common in George Eliot’s work?
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Correct answer: The intervention of the organic, natural world
While some critics call it a deus ex machina, the flood is prepared for throughout the novel through recurring imagery and local history. It represents the overwhelming power of nature and the past over the individual's will, a key Eliot theme.
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