Gaskell North and South
A.1.) Gaskell ‘North and South’ essay.
Gaskell’s ‘North and South’, set in Victorian England, is the story of Margaret Hale, a young woman whose life is completely turned on its head when her family moves to northern England. As an outsider from the agricultural south, Margaret is initially shocked by the aggressive northerners of the dirty, smoky industrial town of Milton, but as she adapts to her new home, she defies social conventions with her ready sympathy and defense of the working poor. Her passionate advocacy of the lower classes leads her to repeatedly clash with charismatic mill owner John Thornton over his treatment of his workers. While Margaret denies her growing attraction to him, Thornton agonizes over his foolish passion for her, in spite of their heated disagreements. As tensions mount between them, a violent unionization strike explodes in Milton, leaving everyone to deal with the aftermath in the town and in their personal lives.
Gaskell’s novel could certainly be described as a social commentary; England at the time was extremely class-conscious, yet In almost all cases, Margaret does not so much choose sides as acknowledge mutually dependent and beneficial relationships. Though her family has very little in the way of money or assets, her family roots are in the gentry, yet when the family is moved up North to Milton, Margaret befriends and socializes with both ends of the social spectrum, mill owners and workers. Margaret is even capable of initiating a friendship of sorts between worker and owner, Higgins and Thornton even come up with a plan together to provide a canteen for the workers to get hot food. Differences in life in the South and life in the North are compared and contrasted often in a very subtle fashion, as are the differences in values and class structure. It is also very interesting to note that the difficulties of the lives of the impoverished factory workers are highlighted, however the difficulties faced by the factory
Gaskell’s ‘North and South’, set in Victorian England, is the story of Margaret Hale, a young woman whose life is completely turned on its head when her family moves to northern England. As an outsider from the agricultural south, Margaret is initially shocked by the aggressive northerners of the dirty, smoky industrial town of Milton, but as she adapts to her new home, she defies social conventions with her ready sympathy and defense of the working poor. Her passionate advocacy of the lower classes leads her to repeatedly clash with charismatic mill owner John Thornton over his treatment of his workers. While Margaret denies her growing attraction to him, Thornton agonizes over his foolish passion for her, in spite of their heated disagreements. As tensions mount between them, a violent unionization strike explodes in Milton, leaving everyone to deal with the aftermath in the town and in their personal lives.
Gaskell’s novel could certainly be described as a social commentary; England at the time was extremely class-conscious, yet In almost all cases, Margaret does not so much choose sides as acknowledge mutually dependent and beneficial relationships. Though her family has very little in the way of money or assets, her family roots are in the gentry, yet when the family is moved up North to Milton, Margaret befriends and socializes with both ends of the social spectrum, mill owners and workers. Margaret is even capable of initiating a friendship of sorts between worker and owner, Higgins and Thornton even come up with a plan together to provide a canteen for the workers to get hot food. Differences in life in the South and life in the North are compared and contrasted often in a very subtle fashion, as are the differences in values and class structure. It is also very interesting to note that the difficulties of the lives of the impoverished factory workers are highlighted, however the difficulties faced by the factory