North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

 North and South

by Elizabeth Gaskell

Margaret Hale and her family must move to an industrial town in the north of England called Milton. Her father has resigned as a clergyman due to a conflict of his faith. He moves the family to this place to become a tutor to working men, far away from their home in Helstone (in the south) so he does not have to be reminded of his failures there.

Margaret is resigned to go, believing she never cared for Helstone anyway, having returned to her parents after being raised by her aunt Shaw. She goes believing she will be lonely, though, as the Hales are used to gentlemen and ladies of a higher stature, and does not think anyone in her class will be living there. The Hales are rather poor, so this is a curious attitude, but I guess since her Aunt Shaw had some wealth the entire family socially benefited from it.

In Milton Margaret becomes a regular visitor to a poor family after taking an interest in the sickly daughter of a working man named Higgins. She learns the attitudes of the working class and the rivalry between Higgins and the mill owner Mr. Thornton. Higgins has been a part of the union that is striking the mill. Mr. Thornton takes lessons from Mr. Hale, falls in love with Margaret, but is rebuffed by her and decides that she is insufferable and refuses to speak to her.

In the background Margaret's brother Frederick has been accused of mutiny and is hiding in Spain to protect his life. If he returns to England he could be tried and killed and there is a reward for his capture. This is a secret in the Hale family.

The book basically discusses class differences and how the north and the south differ based on class and worker complacency. In the south the rich live and play with their workers being quiet, though somber and tired. In the north there is industry and activity, and a growing unrest between the workers who want to earn what they believe they are worth and the managers and mill owners who refuse to hear what the workers have to say. Margaret, a society girl from the south, comes to represent a blending of both places as she grows to understand the workers of the north and to sympathize with them, to work to bring a compromise between the two sides, namely between Higgins and Mr. Thornton.

The story ends as you would imagine a Victorian novel to end. It was okay. I didn't hate it, but I doubt I would read it again. I liked the ideas presented and that the main character was a woman who had subversive leanings. I liked the exploration of the working class and the change of heart that Mr. Thornton has in regards to his employees. The prose was meandering and sometimes a little boring. What really annoyed me about the book was the dialect that was hard to read at times. I had James Joyce flashbacks. In the end I gave North and South 3 stars. It was a good story and I liked the characters and the plot, but the writing made me want it to end faster than it did.