North and South

As Margaret oversees the management of the move, she emerges as the heroine of her family. Gaskell characterizes Richard as weak and paralyzed by his guilt. Despite being the cause of their exile, he cannot summon the courage or will to make decisions. Meanwhile, Maria languishes in denial and self-absorption, rendering her unable to help plan for the move. Margaret shows remarkable courage and industriousness for her age. She notes her inward struggle with sadness and grief but admits to hiding from the world. Her tender relationship with her father humanizes her, showing her vulnerability. As they pray together, her father’s humble faith restores her hope.

Gaskell presents a subversive look at family life in this era. Traditionally, the patriarch is the decision maker with the female family members submitting to his authority. In contrast, Richard not only allows Margaret to participate in the decision making, but he also hands over the directives to his daughter.

As the family journeys north, the landscape and people change physically, and there is a corresponding change in their behavior. In Helstone, people moved through their days slowly, though not lazily, leaving room for leisure and interludes of connection with fellow townsfolk. The pace of Milton is brisk and intentional but emotionless. Margaret finds the landscape and the systematic detachment of the people bleak and monotonous. She misses the fragrant gardens and lush forests of Helstone. Featureless row homes meant to house the workers line Milton’s streets, and the sky is so polluted with industrial emissions that Margaret mistakes the smog for a raincloud.

In Milton, Gaskell paints a portrait of a city embracing the Industrial Revolution. New industries provide more jobs, but the price of living increases dramatically, trapping people in a capitalistic, consumeristic cycle. Factories produce enormous amounts of product in a short amount of time but pollute the environment with hazardous by-products. Margaret represents the old way of life, and she will struggle to assimilate to this city and its mechanized, modernized customs.

Thornton’s introduction brings a new character and a potential love interest for Margaret into the narrative. Thornton is quite different from the working-class individual Margaret earlier envisioned. He is industrious, yet he still desires a classical education, thus his need for Richard’s tutelage. Margaret, however, cannot accept him as a proper gentleman as he does not fit her ideal of a well-bred Englishman. As a clergyman’s daughter, Margaret has less money than Thornton, but per the English class structure, she outranks him due to her education. Thornton represents a new type of wealth, one birthed out of the industrialized economy instead of inheritance and primogeniture. Just as Margaret judges him harshly in her first impressions, Thornton also, upon meeting her once, deems her prideful and judgmental toward people like himself. Margaret carries herself with a distinctive air of confidence for her age, which Thornton misinterprets as derogation. Despite the strained first meeting, Thornton cannot deny his immediate and strong attraction to Margaret.