Why North and South by Gaskell Should Have Been the First Classic You Read

A masterful blend of the class struggle that came with the rise of industrialization and a love story between two people who seldom agree with one another. North and Southby Elizabeth Gaskell is a must read and one of the best classics to be acquainted with.

Why North and South?

Those who do not enjoy classics complain about how every classical heroine’s main ambition is to secure herself a nice husband and how the slow language does not keep their interest in the book. While I do not guarantee a fast paced book, Elizabeth Gaskell’s Margaret Hale is one of the most relatable heroines to the modern day reader. She is not on the hunt for a husband; she shifts to a new place and is trying to fit in; she is trying to strengthen her relationship with her mother and she has opinions of her own. The story is narrated against the backdrop of the rise of industrialization and spans into its merits and demerits.

In Brief

North and South, as the name makes it evident, is the story of the two regions that are vastly different from one another. Mr. Hale and his family move from the bucolic Hampshire to the industrial Milton. Mr. Hale who was a clergyman in the south no longer feels inclined to serve the church and moves north to take up a teaching job. Mrs. Hale and his daughter, Margaret, are in for a surprise in their new house. Margaret tries to find the ‘beauty in the vulgarity’ while her mother is vexed by the change of residence. The three main characters in the book are Margaret, Mr. Thornton (a self-made, proud mill-owner with with a likeness to Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice) and Nicholas Higgins (a worker who heads the worker’s union). There is a clash of ideas and ideals throughout the novel and Margaret, being new to the place, often becomes the middle ground between both the classes.

I loved Margaret as a heroine. She is not overly bold or unrealistically ambitious which is an often used cliché in books to portray women in a strong manner. She is at peace with her new life on her own terms, makes new friends and tries to understand how a complex class system runs the town. What makes Margaret a perfect heroine is that she is like a baby exposed to a strange world and so we, readers, are completely at ease while learning about the social hierarchy that runs Milton, through her eyes. She holds no prejudices against the working class, who are often crass in their language, nor admiration for the so-called masters, who have risen to higher positions in society by their hard work. Through Margaret, Gaskell gives us a heroine who is eager to be acquainted with the problems of her new society as well as tries for a mutual existence, if not a complete reconciliation, between the clashing classes. Needless to say, such clashes are still unresolved between the administrative hierarchies in all our present day workplaces, be it the corporate sector, manufacturing or academic.

Mr. Thorton and Mr. Higgins are two sides of the same coin. Both are proud, honest and hard working. While they do not see eye-to-eye in the beginning of the book, we see a more tender and humane side of both the characters as the story progresses. The gradual change in the relationship between these two men is definitely done with panache and is one of my favourite portions in the book. Gaskell always shows two sides of the coin- she might talk about worker’s conditions, but she also talks about employment opportunities; she might talk about the harshness of mill owners but she also lists out the reasons they behave so; she talks about the smoke filled, dreary Milton and the ill workers, but she also tells us why the residents love living there.

Like every classic, we have a set of stereotypical side characters who were equally loveable and some are even shocking. Mr. Thorton’s mother, for example, revels in her son’s success and is a haughty lady and harsh mistress. We see a motherly side of her when she is worried about her son. Bessy, Margaret’s friend in Milton, is another character that evokes sympathy. Mr. Bell, a friend of Mr. Hale’s, is like a fairy-godmother in this story and he is a good one indeed.

Last, but not the least, is the love story of Margaret and Mr. Thorton. They disagree on so many occasions but their inner emotions leave the reader in deep anguish. The language is beautiful and emotionally evocative. It is in the blossoming of this young love that we see the pride and prejudices of both the characters which is one reason that North and South is often called as Pride and Prejudice in a new (new?) bottle.

The Bad

The ending left me heavily disappointed. Of course it was expected that it will be abrupt since there were so few pages left and you know the book will not end without a happy ending. But I wanted a bit more of the story; what happened to the characters after that and so on. Mr. Hale’s conversion from a clergyman to a teacher was an interesting aspect of the story. Though he does not give up his religious Christian beliefs and ponders on them at several instances in the later parts of the book, Gaskell never elaborates on this decision other than saying that Mr. Hale was unhappy with his job. I would have loved to confirm if his decision  was due to the church’s doctrines or his zest for teaching.

Final Verdict

I loved this book. If you dislike classics, this is the book you should read; this is the one you should have started with. The story has a realistic tone to it and the main storyline does not involve ball dancing to secure husbands. A loveable heroine with a sense of social justice, and the two men (Let me emphasize that these three main characters do not form a love triangle) who are so different in their views but so similar in their disposition make North and South a very agreeable novel.

North and South was my introduction to Elizabeth Gaskell’s writing and I would love to explore more of her novels. I have kept Gaskell’s books on high priority in my Classics Club list of books to read in the next five years. Having finished Ruth, the story of a fallen woman, my next pick would be Wives and Daughters.

Title : North and South
Author : Elizabeth Gaskell
Publisher : Penguin Classics
Published : 2012 (Originally 1854)
Language : English
Pages : 544
Rating : 5/5