English Essays

North And South Critical Response

During the 19th century, a new way of thinking evolved that defied the creativity and mystification of Romanticism being shaped by the political, social, scientific and industrial advances of the day. The Realist movement instead was used to accurately depict real life and focus upon individuals in their social environment. The Industrial Revolution, mostly in northern England, provided inspiration for a numerous amount of Realist texts, which sought to portray how the new advances impacted the traditional way of living and social structure. Elizabeth Gaskell's novel North And South was inspired by the author's own experiences of industrialisation and seeks to represent the conditions faced by the workers in order to depict the changing society, increasing the audience's awareness of these issues. In doing so, Gaskell achieves the Realist goal of depicting everyday life and conveying a socially responsible message.

North And South contains details and settings that have not been glorified or exaggerated and are instead a representation of real life, effectively demonstrating Elizabeth Gaskell's Realist way of thinking. The novel was highly influenced by Gaskell's experience in industrialised cities especially in Manchester, on which she has based the fictional town of Milton-Northern which is used as the setting for the novel. The Victorian era saw an increase of factories being built around Manchester, with most of them being cotton mills similar to Marlborough Mill in North And South. Gaskell's realistic settings in Milton are described by the protagonist, Margaret Hale, as having an air which had "a faint taste and smell of smoke", a "deep lead-coloured cloud hanging over the horizon" and factories that are "puffing out black 'unparliamentary' smoke". 'Unparliamentary' is referring to the Town Improvement Act of 1847, which attempted to reduce the amount of smoke polluting England, however, the law was ignored by most and even offended some people, such as Gaskell's character, John Thornton. Gaskell lived in an area that was dubbed the 'Workshop of the North', which allowed her novels to be accurate in the small details of everyday life and influenced her Realist way of thinking which she successfully conveys in her novels.

Gaskell's North And South gives an insight into England's working-class in the north compared to the privileged middle class southerners represented by the Hales and Lennoxs, providing an excellent example of the culture and values of the Realist period. Gaskell uses Margaret Hale to represent the changing attitudes of society towards class and propriety by having her, to begin with, idolizing her home town of Helstone. Initially her views on moving to Milton are written similarly to her mother's, who enquires "you can't think the smoky air of a manufactoring town, all chimneys an dirt like Milton-Northern, would be better than this air, which is pure and sweet", representing the aristocratic views and lifestyle of the time. However, as Gaskell has Margaret begin to interact with the people of Milton, she finds the town different than expected. Gaskell has Margaret learn to admire and thrive on the energy of the city and has her feel a "strange unsatisfied vacuum" in her "heart and mode of life" when she returns to Helstone. As Margaret is portrayed to realise that the Romantic view shaped by her southern upbringing is flawed, she begins to appreciate that industrialisation provides better opportunities for the working classes to improve their living conditions. Gaskell reveals this to her protagonist when Nicholas Higgins, a local millhand, asks her whether he could get a job in the south, to which she hastily replies "those that have lived there all their lives... labour on, from day to day, in the great solitude of steaming fields - never speaking or lifting their poor, bent, downcast heads". The north allowed the mill workers a chance to earn money and gain independence, whereas the rural workers in the south were constantly at the mercy of landowners. Gaskell insinuates that industrialisation in the north is the future for modern society, but will not be achieved until we change our way of thinking. Gaskell has written Margaret's altered perspective as a representation of society's changing views of industrialisation, effectively reflecting the values of Realism.

In her social condition novel, North And South, Elizabeth Gaskell provides an adept reflection of the Realist way of thinking. In her novel, Gaskell has a former mill worker, Bessy Higgins, pass away from a factory related illness, most likely to be byssinosis. In the 19th century, many mill workers had to operate in appalling conditions, with humid temperatures and dust from the cotton causing many diseases. As a result, the average life expectancy was very low and death was not uncommon for the working-class people like Bessy. Gaskell composes Bessy's death to have a significant impact on Margaret and consequently on the audience, as it exposes the inhumane conditions handled by the working-class on a daily basis. The portrayal of the dangers faced by those who work in the mills and the use of social concerns to stimulate awareness in the reader presents an excellent reflection of Gaskell's Realist way of thinking.

Elizabeth Gaskell's novel, North And South, is a terrific example of a Realist text as it exposes the unfairness of the social structure, influencing the reader's desire to make a change. Gaskell uses the event of a strike in the text to immortalise the Preston 'lock-out' that occurred in 1853. 'Lock-outs' were used by factory owners to ban workers who were threatening to strike and to employ new labour. These replacements were called 'blacklegs' and were often recruited from nearby countries and even from Ireland, as the mill owner John Thornton does in North And South. Unfortunately, this can lead to riots, as it did with the Preston 'lock-out' and in a similar riot in North And South when the workers at Milton became "enraged beyond measure at discovering that Irishmen were to be brought in to rob their little ones of bread". Gaskell uses the strike to demonstrate the current challenge to the structure of society. The rise of the trade unions came as a result to the worker's newfound independence and power and allowed them to defend themselves form the injustices that have been forced upon by employers. Gaskell represents this change in the friendship between employer John Thornton and employee Nicholas Higgins. Initially, Thornton's opinions reflected the Victorian belief that men should make their own fortune in life and it was only a weakness of character that hindered their progress. However, after becoming acquainted with Higgins he discovers the hardships faced by the workers and re-evaluates his opinion on what his responsibilities are as an employer. Gaskell's representation of the relationship between the employers and the workers expose the imbalance of power present during the 19th century, raising the awareness in the reader, which skilfully conveys the values of Realism.

Elizabeth Gaskell's novel, North And South, is a great example of a Realist text as it, through the use of realistic settings, themes and events, reflects the culture and values of the Realist period and demonstrates the Realist way of thinking.