The summer before I started college, I fell in love with Jane Austen and read her six novels in quick succession. This led to a passion for all things Victorian and four separate courses in the English department that dealt with Victorian literature. Throughout, I was certain that Austen was the master of the Victorian novel and no Bronte, Dickens, or Trollope could rival her. But my discovery of North & South in my senior year was a revelation. As much as I loved Victorian lit, I had never stayed up late into the night as though I was reading some whodunit that I needed to finish before bed. But North & South inspired that kind of fervor in me, and
I found myself awake at 4 in the morning, feverishly flipping through the pages, desperate to know how the story ended. A few nights ago, the exact same thing happened as I re-read the book. This time I finished the novel at 3 a.m. and even though I knew what was going to happen, it was still just as satisfying and captivating as it had been four year earlier.
The two main characters are Margaret Hale, the daughter of a Vicar at a country parsonage in the South of England, and John Thornton, a manufacturer who runs a cotton mill in Milton, an industrial town in the North. When Margaret's father develops doubts about the church and chooses to give up his living, the family is uprooted to Milton, a town that is completely foreign to them in terms of its people, landscape, and way of life. Mr. Hale works as a private tutor and his favorite pupil is John Thornton, who wishes to remedy his lack of education and "improve his mind" by discussing the classics. He has a high position in Milton society, but Margaret Hale regards all "shoppy" people and tradesmen as being of a lower class and therefore is rather high-handed with him during their initial meetings. You can guess what happens next, it is a Victorian novel after all. But the central part of the novel is surprising in that it actually focuses more on social issues rather than the brewing romantic tension between John and Margaret.
The narrative follows a strike by the Milton mill workers and explores the relationship between the masters and workers and the price that is paid by everyone before the strike is over. Margaret befriends a worker named Nicholas Higgins and his daughter Betsy, who is dying from a lung disease that she developed due to working in a cotton mill from a young age. Throughout the story, Margaret is firm and opinionated, trying to make sense of these Northerners who are so different from the friendly, simple people she knew in the South. This isn't some simpering heroine who is sitting around dreaming of "a man in possession of a large fortune." She is out and about in Milton, fearlessly helping her friends and standing up for what she believes in. And credit to her, she is able to admit when she's wrong and adopt a new set of values. The beauty of the story is how you watch the proud Miss Hale gradually come to understand this new world that she's in, where a manufacturer has higher social status than she does, and where antiquated notions of being a gentleman are replaced by the higher ideal of just being a good man. Margaret Hale and John Thornton are a deliciously matched pair and although the plot contrivances that keep them apart are very Victorian, there is nothing old-fashioned about the characters themselves.
North & South was initially printed in serial form over 1854-1855. Gaskell complained that the strict weekly deadlines made her rush the story, and when she published the full novel in 1855, she added a few chapters and extra paragraphs to flesh out the story. However, the fact that events take place somewhat abruptly, especially towards the end of the story, only help to promote a sense of shock and urgency, which is what compelled me to stay up so late as I drew closer to the final chapters. As with any Victorian novel, the language is rich and luxurious, and other than some difficulty comprehending the Milton dialect, it is a surprisingly quick read.
People often dismiss Victorian novels as overlong prosy pieces of historical artifact. But some of the best Victorian authors were intelligent, strong-minded women, who created fiercely admirable female characters and wove intricate narratives that still serve as an inspiration for modern novelists and screenwriters. In Margaret Hale, I found a woman who is as resilient and independent as any modern heroine, and her creator, Elizabeth Gaskell is a worthy role model. Upon re-reading North & South, I found that the moment had arrived for Pride & Prejudice to relinquish the honor of being my favorite Victorian novel. Move over, Elizabeth Bennet. There's a new lady in town.
The two main characters are Margaret Hale, the daughter of a Vicar at a country parsonage in the South of England, and John Thornton, a manufacturer who runs a cotton mill in Milton, an industrial town in the North. When Margaret's father develops doubts about the church and chooses to give up his living, the family is uprooted to Milton, a town that is completely foreign to them in terms of its people, landscape, and way of life. Mr. Hale works as a private tutor and his favorite pupil is John Thornton, who wishes to remedy his lack of education and "improve his mind" by discussing the classics. He has a high position in Milton society, but Margaret Hale regards all "shoppy" people and tradesmen as being of a lower class and therefore is rather high-handed with him during their initial meetings. You can guess what happens next, it is a Victorian novel after all. But the central part of the novel is surprising in that it actually focuses more on social issues rather than the brewing romantic tension between John and Margaret.
The narrative follows a strike by the Milton mill workers and explores the relationship between the masters and workers and the price that is paid by everyone before the strike is over. Margaret befriends a worker named Nicholas Higgins and his daughter Betsy, who is dying from a lung disease that she developed due to working in a cotton mill from a young age. Throughout the story, Margaret is firm and opinionated, trying to make sense of these Northerners who are so different from the friendly, simple people she knew in the South. This isn't some simpering heroine who is sitting around dreaming of "a man in possession of a large fortune." She is out and about in Milton, fearlessly helping her friends and standing up for what she believes in. And credit to her, she is able to admit when she's wrong and adopt a new set of values. The beauty of the story is how you watch the proud Miss Hale gradually come to understand this new world that she's in, where a manufacturer has higher social status than she does, and where antiquated notions of being a gentleman are replaced by the higher ideal of just being a good man. Margaret Hale and John Thornton are a deliciously matched pair and although the plot contrivances that keep them apart are very Victorian, there is nothing old-fashioned about the characters themselves.
North & South was initially printed in serial form over 1854-1855. Gaskell complained that the strict weekly deadlines made her rush the story, and when she published the full novel in 1855, she added a few chapters and extra paragraphs to flesh out the story. However, the fact that events take place somewhat abruptly, especially towards the end of the story, only help to promote a sense of shock and urgency, which is what compelled me to stay up so late as I drew closer to the final chapters. As with any Victorian novel, the language is rich and luxurious, and other than some difficulty comprehending the Milton dialect, it is a surprisingly quick read.
People often dismiss Victorian novels as overlong prosy pieces of historical artifact. But some of the best Victorian authors were intelligent, strong-minded women, who created fiercely admirable female characters and wove intricate narratives that still serve as an inspiration for modern novelists and screenwriters. In Margaret Hale, I found a woman who is as resilient and independent as any modern heroine, and her creator, Elizabeth Gaskell is a worthy role model. Upon re-reading North & South, I found that the moment had arrived for Pride & Prejudice to relinquish the honor of being my favorite Victorian novel. Move over, Elizabeth Bennet. There's a new lady in town.
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