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Quote 5. “Poor little wench! She’ll have nobody but Tom, belike, when I’m gone.” Explanation and Analysis. Although Tulliver considers asking for a return of the money he’s loaned to his impoverished sister, Mrs. Moss, he ultimately decides against it—largely because he realizes that his relationship with his sister mirrors the relationship between Tom and Maggie. Mrs. Moss is utterly dependent on Mr. Tulliver for her life and sustenance. Similarly, Maggie will be dependent on Tom in adulthood. Mr. Tulliver’s awareness that Maggie will “have nobody but Tom […] when I’m gone” signals his awareness of the fact that conventional gender roles make women powerless to shape their own economic fate. Because Maggie has very few opportunities to earn a living on her own, she will be reliant first on her father and later on her brother (and perhaps, after that, on a husband) to provide for her financially. Mr. Tulliver’s concern for her—as indicated by the exclamation “Poor little wench!”—suggests that he recognizes that such social structures can make life very difficult for women.