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Thursday, May 23, 2019

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell


Margaret Hale has been living happy and peacefully in a Southern small village: Helstone, when suddenly her father - a parishioner - announced that he has decided to leave the Church due to his "miserable doubts". As it was disgraceful in 19th century, he must leave Helstone, and consequently with the whole family, to live in a Northern industrial (cotton manufacturing) city called Milton.

Like the two poles of earth, the North is completely different from the South. It's noisy, busy, harsh, ugly. But live there they must. Margaret was then introduced to the never ending conflicts between masters and workers. And to a handsome mill-owner, self-made entrepreneur called John Thornton.

This was my first Gaskell, and I'm slightly surprised to find that her writing was straightforward and bold, very unlike the flowery Dickens - who was her mentor when she first became author. Frankly speaking I personally didn't find Gaskell's writing very distinguishable, but her topic is very engaging - and bold for her time.

For 25 years I have been working as a business assistant in two different trading companies selling industrial parts to factories. So I am quite familiar with Gaskell's industrial topic: masters vs workers. In my opinion, the never ending conflicts will always be there, and will never end. What about Gaskell's ideal relationship of Mr. Thornton and Higgins, then? Wouldn't it possible to apply such mutual understanding atmosphere in real factories? My answer is: it's just a dream! I don't know how it goes in other countries, what I offer here is my personal insight from my own experience in Indonesia. There might be some factory owners like Thornton, who really care for their workers, and not merely about profit; who see the workers as assets, not machines. But seriously, if I were a master myself, and must continually be annoyed by strikes demanding unreasonable higher wages, I would do what Thornton or others did in this novel: punish the perpetrators and replace them with better ones. Or, just move the factory away.

But how about the workers' perpetual poverty? Don't the masters have consciences? More often than not (again, from what I see), it's the workers’ own foolishness. They keep demanding high wages, but work lazily. They spend more than their income, so they apply for credit to the masters. If the masters refused (because by and by they'll take it for granted), they'll say that the masters are bad, they don't care for them, and so on. Mr. Thornton makes a good example by approaching the workers and treating them kindly (eating lunch with them, for example). The reality is, no sooner than the masters allow himself to be placed almost equal with the workers, why, the workers won't pay any respect to them. They will get lazier and more demanding. No, I don't buy Gaskell's suggestion in this novel. Clearly she didn't understand industrial business. I understand that she wrote this to promote humanity, but then, the mill owners were businessmen, they just do what others do: to make a living. If the workers cannot cooperate, the company could not running well for both sides.

Apart from the industrial controversy, North and South is also about the struggle of its characters to face what life has in store for them. There's a bit of a Darwinian touch in it. Of the Hales, only Margaret was able to adapt to her new life, to make peace with the past (mistakes), and to welcome the future. And that's why she eventually meets a brighter one. Her mother is the opposite; she could never accept reality, kept going to the golden days of her past. The bitterness finally eroded her life. The same happened to Mr. Hale.

Speaking of Mr. Hale, I still don't get what his "miserable doubt" really was. Does it mean that he did sermons and other services for years, then one day did not really believe on what he's been preaching? He said it isn't religion, but then what? Of all characters, I hate him most, for being weak (vague), coward, and selfish.

Second of all, I hate Mrs. Hale too for being whiny, self-centered, irresponsible. How could she demand Frederick - the fugitive son - to come home while the risk was that big for the family? Being dying doesn't mean you can ask anything without thinking about the safety of others! And that was a foolish decision too from Margaret to grant it - unfortunately not the last either! She seems to always say or do things she shouldn't, and never do what she should.

John Thornton is my most favorite. He reminded me of my own boss - a self-made businessman, tough, fair, no nonsense, respectable, kind hearted but not sentimental. If his worker went to do riot against him like Boucher did in this novel, I'll gladly recommend him to be sacked!

All in all, I loved North and South. It offers a different but relevant and interesting topic compared to general Victorian novels. Not one of my most favorites perhaps, but it's been heart-warming and delicious. I'd certainly read more from Mrs. Gaskell!

Score: 4 / 5


13 comments:

  1. Ah ha! I LOVED your review and your insights! I'll be back to comment when I've mulled over your thoughts ....

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    2. So I don't have a comment but a question. Do you think it's not possible to have a "master" be kind or friendly with his workers because he would lose their respect, or do you think given certain circumstances and behaviour of both parties that it is possible? I wonder if there are examples where a happy balance can be achieved?

      I do like your comments about workers. Many people are so self-entitled nowadays that they can't see beyond their own little cage. They actually work against their own happiness as well as being a challenge for others.

      I really liked North and South but there are many Gaskells that I like better. You have some gems coming up! :-)

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    3. Thanks Cleo! That's a difficult question. I think the key is in the economical gap between master and workers. The bigger the gap, the more difficult your ideal can be achieved; as the poors always dislike the riches, and the workers feel that it's they who do the hard working while the masters just sit comfortably in their luxury offices, then why they get less then the masters? Maybe the happy balance can be more succesful with smaller factories, like home industries, where the gap isn't that big. Just maybe... Anyway, still think it's our society perpetual problem, just like racism and all that.

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  2. You'll find some similarities between this book and her first one Mary Barton (that too is about worker/owner conflicts). I don't really understand why Mr Hale has to disrupt his whole family and take them to the other end of the country .

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    1. Interesting! I think my next Gaskell would be Mary Barton. Have heard some praises of it in the Gaskell readalong group.

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  3. N&S is not a favorite b/c I found it drawn out...although I did appreciate the plot. I guess I felt a little sarcastic toward the character of Thornton; I did not understand what he saw in Margaret so soon after meeting her, especially because she was not easy to warm up to.

    Did you happen to see the BBC version? I think I liked that a lot more than the book b/c it gets right to the point.

    Anyway, I am still open to reading another Gaskell in the future.

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    1. On the contrary, I think Mr. Thornton is the best-of-the-rest character from N&S! :) And at first he thought she is haughty, his views changed - I think - after the riot (where Margaret showed her emotion).

      But I agree, it's a bit drawn out. Not my favorite either, but I'm prepared to read still another Gaskell (maybe Mary Barton).

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  4. I believe Mr. Hale's decision has something to do with Gaskell's own marriage to a Unitarian. I believe the Unitarian do not have creeds and that and other things might come in conflict with the Church of England. I think I remember some mention and/or contrasts in Ruth as well. She doesn't adequately explain it in the novel, if I remember, but it's along those lines.

    I found it somewhat drawn out too , Ruth, but I still loved reading it. However, it's not my favourite Gaskell.

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    1. That's a very interesting bit of fact, Cleo! But nevertheless, I still can't imagine how one can suddenly change opinion on the basic doctrine like that. Seeing how indecisive Mr. Hale was in any other subject, it's just amazing how he could made up his mind so absolutely and drastically. It feels like there are two personalities in him.

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  5. I was thinking of doing a Mary Barton read-along in November if anyone is interested .....

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    1. Hmm... I don't think I can squeeze any Gaskell soon, but let's see...

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  6. Fascinating review... I appreciate you sharing your personal perspective. It's been a long time since I read this, but I do remember the plot from the BBC miniseries.

    I sympathize with 19th-century workers, when two-day weekends and sick leave didn't exist. It was a whole different world than the U.S. today, where most people now have a much higher standard of living than even the upper class of 150 years ago. I do think a good leader should always be fair and generous, while expecting high standards of work. From what I've seen in the IT industry (granted, a completely different ballgame!), I think it is possible to develope mutual respect and trust, but there will always be people who are discontent or selfish, on both sides.

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