They say that assiduous work fuels the best and happiest lives; but, what if work becomes that life? This immense level of work removes the possibility of any facet of life that does not include labor. Lord Alfred Tennyson in his poem, “The...

In order to highlight the underestimated value of women in Victorian society, Elizabeth Gaskell develops the character of Margaret: a powerful and independent woman who does not allow herself to adhere to patriarchal Victorian conventions. Through...

One can see easily that Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South is a novel that presents us with many dualities, sets of matching or opposing pairs. Not only does the title suggest this, but a quick glance through the chapter headings will say the...

Although Margaret Hale and John Thornton do not fall in love ‘at first sight,’ sight, or gazing, plays an important role in the asymmetrical power relations implicit in the courtship of the protagonists in Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South....

Most literary critics agree that Margaret Hale is the central figure in Gaskell’s North and South. Margaret’s emotional, social, and psychological contexts are often analyzed with excruciating detail, as many view her story to be of principal...

Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South is a novel dominated by the struggle of powerful personalities. The Bildungsroman style of novel explores the coming of age of Margaret Hale, the nineteen year old protagonist, and the ‘struggles’ she faces and...

Margaret Hale in Gaskell’s condition of England novel; North and South enters the public sphere of industrialised Milton. As a form of Bildungsroman, this ‘Manchester’ novel illustrates the representation of industrial life and their purchase on...

North and South is a condition of England novel which, like Gaskell’s earlier work Mary Barton, sought to give a voice to the working class and expose the middle and upper classes to their suffering through the medium of literature. Published in...

In modern day society, it is not uncommon to hear the phrase ‘A woman’s touch’, being casually mentioned in discussions of style and the exercise of compassion. The phrase, however, is an apt description for the role of women in Elizabeth Gaskell’...

Gaskell’s portrayal of Victorian society in ‘North and South’ does not seem to entirely reflect Brose’s view that faith had ‘ceased to shape their lives’. Within the novel it continues to shape their lives in terms of their ideas of propriety and...

The height of industrialism within the British era in the 1800's provoked changes that shifted the dynamics of societal structures. The stratified society of England evinces by Elizabeth Gaskell in 'North and South' polarizes wealth and class and...

Lucy Sheehan rightly asserts that Mary Barton is one of a set of mid-century Victorian novels which “document the social problems arising from industrialization, urbanization, and extreme destitution” (35). She also notes Elizabeth Gaskell’s...

Mary Barton is a story of material temptation, sexual seduction and spiritual transformation. The character Mary Barton is an impoverished girl with considerable material ambitions who is seduced by the lavish wealth of her rich suitor. Mary’s...

In Elizabeth Gaskell’s novel Mary Barton, class inequality becomes a major theme from the beginning of the book, especially in light of the possibility of a marriage between Mary Barton and Harry Carson. While Mary saw Mr. Carson as an escape from...

Russian formalism, as a movement, arose to prominence in a time of great artistic change, where experimentation and the avant-garde rose to the forefront of literature, and introduced new narrative structures and styles. Russian formalism can...

Throughout Elizabeth Gaskell’s Mary Barton, social injustice is a powerful and prevalent theme. This essay will focus especially on Chapter Six, where John Barton seeks medicine for his equally impoverished friend, Ben Davenport. This Chapter...

John Barton, father of Mary Barton, became a member of the Chartist movement after he was laid off from his original place of work when his master had failed. While he was forced to look for other work, his son got ill with the scarlet fever. With...

'We and our families are pining and in misery, and want, and starvation! We demand a fair day's wages for a fair day's work! We are the slaves of capital - we demand protection to our labour. We are political serfs – and we demand to be free.’...

In Elizabeth Gaskell’s “Our Society at Cranford,” the residing women are a group heavily opposed to change. The men in this story exist as instigators of change, and as such, rarely last long in Cranford. The most adamant opposition to these...