North and South

Elizabeth Gaskell's novel North and South is a tale of love, growth, and change. It is set during the Industrial Revolution. North and South was published in 1855 but originally serialised from 1854-55 in a weekly literary magazine called Household Words. This magazine was edited by none other than Charles Dickens, who suggested the title to Gaskell. Below is an explanation of the book's genre and summary. We will also explore a little bit about Gaskell herself, the characters of North and South, and the relevant themes in the novel.

North and South: Elizabeth Gaskell

Elizabeth Gaskell was born Elizabeth Stevenson in London in 1810. Her father was a Unitarian but resigned his position on personal grounds and Gaskell lost her mother in childbirth. As a result, she was sent to live with her mother's sister.

As you might guess, similarities can be drawn here with North and South (but remember, this doesn't mean it's an autobiography!). Two of her other popular novels include Cranford (1851-53) and Wives and Daughters (1865). Gaskell is known for capturing Victorian social life accurately. She also often dealt with women's issues.

Fig. 1 - Elizabeth Gaskell is one of the best-known female Victorian writers.

Elizabeth Gaskell died in 1865 at the age of 55 but her novels are timeless, and all of them have been adapted to television.

Summary of North and South

Gaskell's novel centres on the life of Margaret Hale, a young woman of eighteen who has spent her adolescence acting as a companion to her much wealthier cousin, Edith. Because of this, Margaret has been brought up in the privileged world of middle-class London. This changes when Edith gets married and Margaret moves back to what she sees as her idyllic rural family home in Helstone. This is where her father, Richard Hale, has his vicarage. From this point onward, Margaret's life undergoes a series of dramatic changes and developments as she enters adulthood.

Margaret soon discovers that, due a loss of faith, her father is resigning his vicarage and moving to the town of Milton-Northern (a fictional version of Manchester) to take up a job as a tutor. Therefore, the whole family must move there. Moving from Southern rural Helstone to Northern industrial Milton sets up the main conflict in Gaskell's novel, North versus South. This addresses the expansion of industry that was happening in the 19th century due to the Industrial Revolution.

It is in Milton that Margaret faces challenges to her natural beliefs that have been heavily shaped by living a privileged southern English lifestyle. Many of these challenges are personified by the character of John Thornton, a factory owner who has built himself up from poverty and represents industrialisation. He and Margaret initially meet because he is a student of her father's and the two do not see eye to eye because of their different values. But learning to accept others' values for what they are and seeing beyond her own narrow ideas are key to Margaret's maturity in North and South. Thornton also develops through Margaret's influence. In Gaskell's novel, Margaret represents the South while John represents the North as the two struggle to find a balance.

Despite their differences, John Thornton is Margaret's love interest in this novel. North and South is also a romance. Their love develops gradually, as does everything in this novel. One incident that is particularly relevant is when Thornton's workers are furious with him as he has hired cheaper Irish labourers. This is to replace them while they are striking because of their poor working conditions.

Thornton is hiding from his workers but Margaret convinces him to go out and try to reason with them as per her liberal ways. Thornton does so. But when she believes him in danger, Margaret throws herself in front of Thornton, being hit by a rock as a result. This action, according to 19th-century manners, makes it seem as though Margaret has an affection for John Thornton. To save her reputation, John proposes. Margaret is not yet able to deal with her feelings for John Thornton and rejects him. This is much to his mother's delight as she thinks Margaret is snobby (as does John, initially!).

Margaret's life in Milton also brings her face to face with much tragedy and death, a great deal of it due to industrialisation. She befriends the Higgins family whose patriarch, Nicholas, is a union representative. Gaskell is showing the growth of unions at the time to protest the poor working conditions.

Fig. 2 - North and South is known for its exploration of complex moral and ethical issues, including the role of women in society, the responsibilities of employers to their workers, and the importance of individual morality and conscience

Margaret spends a great deal of time with Nicholas's daughter, Bessy, who is deeply unwell because of inhaling cotton dust from the local factories, which eventually leads to her death. Throughout the novel, Margaret Hale also loses her mother, who has long suffered from illness, and her father. All of these tragedies gradually propel Margaret more and more into the adult world.

Margaret's brother, Frederick, comes to visit their mother in her dying days. He has been exiled from England since his involvement in a mutiny in the navy. At the train station, he is involved in a physical fight with another naval man who disapproved of the mutiny, with this man later dying from his injuries. Margaret must lie to the police to prevent her brother from going to prison. Thornton is also aware of this as he too saw the incident. Because he is a magistrate he closes the case so Margaret will not be discovered. This changes her opinion of him but John Thornton believes Frederick to be her lover so he does nothing.

After her father's death, Margaret spends some time with his close friend and her godfather Mr Bell. The two visit Helstone together but Margaret finds it is no longer as idyllic as she remembers, which shows how much growth and change she has undergone. When Mr Bell dies he leaves Margaret a fortune, including the landlord's rights to John Thornton's house (John had fallen into financial difficulties).

Thornton visits her where she now lives in London and Margaret offers him money to help out. The combination of this and Thornton's newfound knowledge that Frederick is in fact Margaret's brother propels him to propose again. Now, a mature adult, Margaret accepts him.

North and South: the book's genre

North and South is a realist novel. It has believable characters with a plausible plot and deals with everyday issues. Specifically, it can be seen as a work of social realism.

North and South is also a bildungsroman. This is a text in which a (typically young) main character grows and develops into maturity throughout the story. Margaret Hale is a young woman of eighteen at the start of North and South who is set in her ideas. By the end of Gaskell's novel, she has matured and learned to accept others' views. This is exemplified by her relationship with John Thornton.

Themes in North and South

The main themes of North and South are love, class, the Industrial Revolution, and North vs. South.

North vs. South

The title of Gaskell's novel details the central conflict in the text, North vs. South. The North represents modern industrialisation whereas the South represents the traditional rural world. These two ways of life were still battling for dominance when Gaskell was writing North and South.

Margaret can be seen as representing the southern way of life while John Thornton represents the northern. John Thornton exemplifies new industry and opportunities as he has built himself up from poverty.

North and South is also a love story between Margaret Hale and John Thornton. Because they represent the north and south, this is also linked to the previous theme. At the beginning of Gaskell's novel, the two are very different people and agree on little. Margaret thinks John is too harsh and he thinks her too snobby.

They develop respect for each other as North and South progress. Margaret convinces John to be more humane and use his money for charitable purposes. And Margaret's interactions with John teach her to accept others' points of view and to respect those who have made money in new industries.

At the end of North and South, Margaret and John have reconciled and it is obvious they will soon marry.

There have been many theories on what this marriage symbolises in Gaskell's novel. One theory is that it represents finally finding a balance between the traditional Southern English ways and the modern, industrial Northern English ways. Another is that Margaret and John's relationship is a realistic one that shows the difficulties couples struggle with in the modern world and that they must learn to understand each other for things to work.

Class

Class is also a key theme in North and South. This adds to the realism of the novel. It is narrated in the third person but we see the world through Margaret's eyes. Margaret belongs to the middle class. Because of this, she is an outsider to much of the poverty she sees in Milton. This is particularly represented by the Higgins family that Margaret meets and befriends.

The daughter of the family, Bessy, is deeply ill due to inhaling cotton dust and eventually loses her life because of this. Margaret's interactions with Bessy help challenge many of her prejudices. Bessy's father, Nicholas, is an active union man who is very involved in the strikes that impact Thornton's factory. Gaskell is showing here the typical social issues that arose for the working class as a result of the Industrial Revolution. There is also growth throughout North and South on the issues of class via Margaret's influence.

As she gradually moves past her own prejudices, Margaret pushes John Thornton, as a factory owner, to respect and negotiate with his workers more. This leads to a greater understanding between John and Nicholas Higgins and a better factory owner-worker relationship despite them being from very different classes.

The significance of North and South

In the canon of English Literature, much of North and South's importance comes from its social realism. Gaskell captured a very specific period in English history that she was living through.

She deals with many of the social issues that came about because of the Industrial Revolution. These include poor working conditions, ill-health due to the proximity to factories, adjusting to a new industrial world from one that was agricultural, and many more. Elizabeth Gaskell does not offer any easy solutions to these issues but she does represent them accurately and with nuance.