"He shrank from hearing Margaret's very name mentioned; he, while he blamed her – while he was jealous of her – while he renounced her – he loved her sorely, in spite of himself."
The protagonist of this novel is a women names, Margaret Hale. She has been whisked away from her comfortable life in Hampshire. This is due to her father's crisis of conscious in regards to the principles of the church. They move to the industrial town of Milton in the north. Here, she met her father's pupil; John Thornton, the local mill-owner. Margaret and John shared a tumultuous relationship with a fierce attraction that was often buried by deep opposition. Through this resistance, Margaret became more aware of the social injustices that were occurring around her. To John's dismay, she made her opinions well-known. Her views were in part sculpted by her familiarity with the struggles of a local mill workers family; the Higgins.
(Warning: Spoilers)
This novel was elegant, politically enlightening and deeply romantic. I loved it! I have read a fair few 19th century novels, and this is one of my favourites. This book had both brains and beauty. Margaret and John's relationship continuously echoed the tensions between the mill-workers and mill-owners throughout the book. They were both intelligent individuals with a deep love for their hometowns and differing opinions. Yet, despite them not seeing eye to eye on many situations, they complemented each other. It portrays how well Gaskell was able to develop characters.
North and South is different from other 19th-century novels I have read. Due to Gaskell writing in a third-person omniscient style, I was able to see the perspectives of many characters. It provided the story with a more rounded feel for each character and helped me invest more in the relationship between Margaret and John. As the reader, I could see their hearts softening to each other despite what they would say or how they would act. It was tantalisingly frustrating at times; however, it also brought me deeper into their world.
Gaskell allows her readers to see how much John is in love with Margaret; I was able to understand his actions towards her and see how pure his intentions were towards her.
It is a rarety that as readers, we can see how the male lead views the female protagonist through his own eyes, especially in earlier works such as this. This perspective made me understand how vulnerable Margaret made him, how much he adores her, and it is so refreshingly beautiful. I also love how it isn't creepy at all (you know how some male leads the way they are described can give you the ick). Gaskell has managed to portray John as a fiercely loyal, handsome, loving man. Gaskell's depiction of John's admiration towards Margaret did not make him any less manly in my eyes. But instead, his direct and respectful intentions made him even more striking.
When Margaret became friends with the Higgins family, they opened Margaret's eyes to social injustice. They were prideful but loving people. The mill workers were asked to work the same amount of time for lower wages; a majority of the masters wanted to monitor how they spent their money. They didn't want their workers to be giving a portion of their earning to the workers union. It would act as cover in case of a strike. Higgins was so passionate for the workers union and his fellow workmates. His commitment to the cause bled through the page.
This book was not limited to romance but also spoke on class divides, fair wages and rights to representation. Gaskell was a woman out of time. To be a 19th-century female author and write such a book as this, (as far as I am concerned) qualifies her to be called "woke".
I thoroughly enjoyed this book; from start to finish. I enjoyed the dated language, the social formalities and the fitting poems that Gaskell chose as epigraphs for her chapters. Each page felt planned and intentional. Elizabeth Gaskell is now one of my literary favourites, and I can't wait to read more of her works.
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