 Hello and welcome to our video summarizing everything you need to know about Elizabeth Gaskell's novel North and South. Now this was another book that was not on our radar. It was based on a request from one of our loyal listeners. We love receiving your feedback and hearing from you, so please do let us know in the comments what videos you'd love to see and will do our best to make it happen, just like we did with this novel as well as The Dream House which we did based on several requests from our listeners. Now this video in particular will give you all the information you need to know about this novel's context, its plot, including all 14 chapters and then we'll look at characters and themes. So let's get started. Now let's begin with context. So the author Elizabeth Gaskell, who was born in 1810 and she passed away in 1865, is best known for her novels debatigating scenes of the English country life which also often highlights the huge social divide between the rich and poor. She was born in Chelsea in 1810 and she was a daughter of William Stevenson, a civil servant and former Unitarian minister. She spent most of her childhood however under the guardianship of an aunt who lived in Nutsford in Cheshire, a small country near Manchester. Apart from a couple of years spent at school in Stratford upon Avon, this is also where William Shakespeare came from. She lived with various relatives in the north of England until her marriage in 1832 to the Reverend William Gaskell who was to become the famous minister of the Unitarian Chapel in Manchester's Cross Street. Their marriage was largely quite happy and it produced four daughters and a son, however her son died in infancy and it's thought that her first success called Mary Barton was written in an attempt to relieve her sadness. Following the success of Mary Barton Charles Dickens who was her contemporary actually invited Mrs. Gaskell to contribute to his historical periodical household words for which she wrote fiction for 13 years. Now this novel North and South was actually first published as part of his household words in 22 weekly parts essentially a series of different chapters which were released from September 1854 through to January 1855 and later Gaskell inserted various passages and added several new chapters. Now another important contextual fact that you need to understand is of course what was happening at the time of writing and this was during the Victorian era at the time of the Industrial Revolution. Now do bear in mind that between 1760 and 1850 inventions in the textile industry and enormous industrial changes led to extensive industrialisation. Thus this was the era of the Industrial Revolution where production began to be made in factories instead of being at home and hence the Industrial Revolution of course Elizabeth Gaskell wrote during this period. It took place across Britain and Britain was rich in coal which provided energy for factories and Britain could also count on cheap raw materials coming from its colony. Many people left the countryside and went to live and work in the new large cities that were formed and workers however were paid very little and they lived in terrible conditions however factory owners made a lot of money and became very rich. They used the cheap raw materials brought from the colonies and for workers during the Industrial Revolution life in the city was very difficult. They worked very long hours for a little pay and women and children especially worked a lot and they were paid far less than men. Consequently Victorian England was a really difficult place for most working class people who lived in grinding poverty and of course this is also reflected in North and South. Also the introduction of the 1834 new poor law appeared to actually criminalise being poor. What the new poor law ensured was that the poor who were housed in work houses were clothed and fed however in return for this care all work house paupers would have to work for several hours each day leading many to call the work houses prisons for the poor. The poor themselves hated and feared the threat of going to the work house under this law so much so that there were riots in northern towns and of course we know that there would be a riot in this novel which we're going to discuss later on. Now when it comes to actually the plot let's go into a summary first off of what happens broadly. Now broadly this novel talks about the relationship between Margaret Hill young middle class women from the south and John Thornton who's a mill owner in Milton which is a fictional industrial town in the north and this town is modelled on Manchester which is a very vibrant city in England which is also in the north. Now this story also deals with the relationship between workers and masters so let's look at a detailed chapter summary beginning with chapter one. So Margaret is at her aunt's shores house in London where she's been living for 10 years her cousin Edith will soon marry Captain Lennox and live in Greece after the wedding. After 10 years of London life Margaret will go back to the quiet country vicarage where her parents live and Mr Henry Lennox the captain's brother is interested in Margaret. Now in chapter two Margaret returns home to Helpstone. Things are not as pleasant as they used to be. Henry Lennox visits and confesses his love for her but she rejects him. Mr Hill is a lowly clergyman from the church of England and has serious doubts about the authority of the church. He decides to resign his position and move the family to Milton a northern industrial town in the north of England. Dixon the family's servant goes with them. Now in chapter three Mr Hill's friend Mr Bell who's an academic in Oxford and owns properties in Milton his hometown helps Mr Hill and Margaret find a suitable house in Milton, Northern. Margaret meets Mr Thornton for the first time he's a manufacturer who runs a mill in Milton and he's Mr Bell's tenant and becomes a friend and student of Mr Hill's. Mr Hill then starts to earn a living as a private tutor and the new life begins. Margaret meets a factory worker Nicholas Higgins and his daughter Bessie. In chapter four Mr Thornton comes to the Hill's house for tea. Margaret is so graceful that he can't take his eyes off her. Mr Hill and Mr Thornton then discuss a relationship between the mill owners and the workers and Margaret and Mr Thornton talk about the differences between the north and south as well as between middle-class people and people on trade. Margaret then goes to Bessie's house and learns that her illness is caused by unhealthy working conditions. Mrs Hill is also becoming more and more unwell. She tells Margaret that Frederick lives in Spain. Frederick is Margaret's brother who can't live in England since he is wanted by the police because he's taken part in a mutiny. Now in chapter five Mrs Thornton who's Mr Thornton's mother and Fanny his sister visit the Hills and Mr Hill and Margaret visit the Thorntons in return. Mr Hill and Mr Thornton discuss the strike which is about to begin and Mr Thornton plans to bring in workers from Ireland if the strike goes on for too long and Margaret then visits Bessie and talks about the strike as well. In chapter six the doctor tells Margaret the truth about Mrs Hill's very serious illness from which she's likely to die soon and she and her mother get closer than ever. Margaret hides the truth from her father she thinks he can't handle it. Margaret then visits Bessie and learns that John Boucher one of the strikers has suddenly died and his family's suffering. Later that week Mrs Hill's condition deteriorates and Mr Hill learns the truth. The doctor suggests that the Hills could borrow a waterbed from the Thorntons as it might help Mrs Hill. In chapter seven Margaret goes to the Thorntons to ask for a waterbed but she arrived there at the bad time. The strikers are angry with Mr Thornton who brought in workers from Ireland and the riot starts. Margaret gets hurt trying to save Mr Thornton and Mr Thornton visits her the next day and expresses his feelings for her and proposes marriage. Margaret bluntly rejects him but he realizes that nothing can stop him from loving her. In chapter eight Mrs Hill wishes to see Frederick before she dies. Margaret writes to Frederick informing him of her mother's wish. Mr Thornton then learns from a doctor about Mrs Hill's condition and he brings her basket of the finest fruit. Margaret gets the news of Bessie's death and suggests Nicholas that he talk with her father. She also asks Nicholas to go to Mr Thornton to try and get a job at his mill and Mr Thornton comes to bring fruit to Mrs Hill again but he's really cold towards Margaret. His bad behavior makes Margaret think about him more than ever before. In chapter nine when Mrs Thornton visits Mrs Hill, Mrs Hill asks her to be Margaret's friend. Frederick returns just in time to see Mrs Hill but shortly after he sees her she dies. He then has to leave for the funeral as he's in great danger of being caught by the police. Margaret goes to the station to see him off at night and Mr Thornton then sees him near the station and he thinks the man with Margaret may be her lover. At the station a man called Lenards recognises Frederick and tries to catch him and Frederick pushes him away. He falls off the platform. Frederick sets off to London to see Henry Lennox who's lawyer about finding witnesses to support him in a court case about his part in the mutiny. In chapter 10 the police inspector comes to see Margaret because Lenards has died after a fall at the station. Someone has seen her there. Margaret denies this fearing that Frederick may be exposed. The police inspector asks Mr Thornton for his advice since he is the magistrate who has seen Lenards that night. He makes a decision not to hold an inquest so that Margaret will be protected from being shamed in public but he wonders why she's lied about being at the station and who the young man is. Realising what Mr Thornton has done for her, Margaret starts thinking about her feelings towards him. In chapter 11 Mrs Thornton visits Margaret to keep her promise to her mother. She admonishes Margaret not for telling a lie but for walking with a gentleman in the evening. Margaret feels insulted and later she examines her own feelings and realises she loves Mr Thornton but she thinks it's too late as he no longer loves her. Meanwhile Mr Thornton visits Nicholas Higgins to offer him work despite the fact that he took part in the strike. Margaret is impressed by this but tries hard to pretend that she doesn't care about him not realising he still cares about her. Mr Bell suspects that something's going on between Mr Thornton and Margaret. In chapter 12 letters from Frederick tell Margaret that Henry Lennox cannot help him find the witnesses for the truth about the mutiny. Now he can never return to England but he's happily married to a girl in Spain. Mr Hell starts to have difficulty in breathing and Mr Bell invites him to Oxford. Mr Hell dies there. Mr Shaw then comes to Milton to take Margaret to London. Devastated Margaret says goodbye to people Milton and Mr Thornton is still in love with her however he lets her go. In chapter 13 his new life in London is boring for Margaret. Mr Bell suffers a heart attack and dies before Margaret can go to Oxford to see him. As Mr Bell has told Mr Hell before he dies Margaret inherits Mr Bell's money and possessions and Henry Lennox becomes her legal advisor and it seems like they're starting to grow closer and closer to each other. In chapter 14 in Milton Mr Thornton finally learns the truth about why Margaret has lied. Unfortunately his financial troubles have become very serious. He comes to London to see Henry to discuss business matters as he can no longer continue paying rent for the mill. Margaret as his new landlady offers to lend him his money as a business proposition so that he won't have to close down the mill. Realising her love for him Mr Thornton proposes to her again and this time she accepts and they're together at last. Now when it comes to understanding the characters let's begin of course with Margaret Hale so she's passionate, haughty, intelligent and self-possessed and she's of course the novel's heroine. She's a deep thinker but is often pushed into quick action and decision. We also find as we read the novel that she carries the weight of her family's suffering with her. Her prejudices and assumptions about the North social class and Mr Thornton are challenged however and eventually altered as the novel progresses. She endures many family tragedies but is able to achieve clarity and peace. She's religious and moral and is consumed by guilt over telling a falsehood to protect her brother. Her love for Mr Thornton grows slowly but eventually allows her to recognise his merits and decide to save his failing business. Of course the other main character is John Thornton himself, Mr Thornton. So he is the son of Mrs Thornton and the brother of Fanny, Mr John Thornton he is a wealthy and intelligent mill owner from Milton in the North. He's esteemed by his business brethren but despised by his labourers who claim he's garnishing in their wages unfairly. He develops an abiding and passionate love for the beautiful and fiery Margaret and maintains his love albeit somewhat reluctantly even when she refuses his proposal and he believes incorrectly so erroneously that she has another lover. He's prideful but rational and also comes to see the error of some of his ways and he's also courageous, intelligent, intellectually curious and also quite self-possessed just like Margaret. His business fails due to the strike but Margaret does save him at the end of the novel. Another important character is Mr Hale so he's the husband of Mrs Hale and father to Frederick and Margaret and he's charitable, mild-mannered in Halston until his religious doubts cause him to resign his parsonage and leave the Church of England and bear in mind that the Church of England was actually formed by Henry VIII. He moves his family to the industrial town of Milton and takes up the occupation of being a private tutor. He delights particularly in his friendship with his star pupil Mr Thornton. Mr Hale however is frail and faltering at times as his wife's illness and subsequent death plunges him into depression and mental perturbation and he passes away whilst is visiting Mr Bell in Oxford. The other character of course is his wife Mrs Hale and she's his wife as well as the mother of Margaret and she's in contrast with her sister because she's married for love and not for money which was very uncommon during the Victorian era. However we find that as a result Mrs Hale was actually unhappy with the lack of comforts her life as a parson's wife provides her and she complains unseasonally about the residency in that forest village. When the family finally moves to Milton however she grows deathly ill and lingers on for many months in quiet pain. Mrs Hale becomes less critical and cultivates a meeker spirit during her illness and her relationship with Margaret improves dramatically. Her dying wish is to see a son Frederick and long long after he visits she dies. Frederick Hale is another character and he's a son of Mr Mrs Hale and the brother of Margaret and he was a sailor in the British Navy when a mutiny occurred on board the ship. Suspected of participation Frederick flees to Spain and doesn't tread on English soil for fear of imprisonment and punishment likely hanging. He stealthily journeys to Milton to visit his dying mother and remains there for several days until he's detected. He then returns to Spain where he further embraces Roman Catholicism and marries a Catholic girl called Dolores. He works with Henry Lennox to try and combat the charges against him but he's unable to do so hence he remains living abroad. Dixon is another important character so he's the or rather she's the hell's fiercely loyal servant who travels with them to Milton and remains in their employ. Dixon doesn't much care for Mr Hale and considers herself the loyal and trusted confidant of Mrs Hale. She idiosyncratically believes that the problems Mrs Hale faces are due to Mr Hale. Her favorite child is Frederick but she grows to respect and love Margaret as the novel progresses and Dixon doesn't really appear to have a family of her own in this novel. Mrs Thornton of course is another key character so she's the mother of Mr Thornton and Fanny and she's a formidable, strong-willed and opinionated woman. She's immensely proud of her son's achievements and is a proponent of capitalism and the power of the masters over the laboring masses. She strongly dislikes Margaret for most of the novel citing her haughtiness, misplaced pride and haughtacity to reject Mr Thornton as a worthy suitor for her husband. At times though she admires Margaret's passion and pluck and much prefers it to her own daughter's nervousness and timidity. She has a heightened sense of honour and accepts Mrs Hale's deathbed request to advise and counsel Margaret if necessary. Fanny Thornton is another interesting character so she's the daughter of Mrs Thornton and sister of Mr Thornton and she's a nervous, weak and irresolute young woman. Her mother can't help but compare her deficiencies to son's strong character so Fanny is easily prejudiced against the working classes and she suffers from ailments and her emotions are easily taxed when the mob storms her house, she sobs hysterically and faints the ground and she also marries a wealthy businessman. Another important character is Nicholas Higgins so he is a poor working man and the father of Bessie and Mary. Nicholas is proud, hard-working, prickly but also intelligent. He proclaims his atheism but appears to be embracing some aspects of Christianity as the novel nears its close. A fervent belief in the oppression and tyranny of masters over labouring men, he is a community man in the union and he organises a major strike. He is devastated when the strike fails due to the mob's action and when his daughter Bessie dies and after Boucher's death he takes responsibility for the man's family and gains employment at Mr Thornton's mill. Another important character is Bessie Higgins so she's the daughter of Nicholas Higgins and sister of Mary Higgins and she is an extremely sickly young girl of Margaret's age. She inhales fluff in her lungs when working at the factory and is so sick she can barely leave her home. She's at times calm and resigned to her fate whilst at other times she's quite wild and raving, quite spiritual doubting and also lone spirit so she's a very mixed character. She admires Margaret and takes comfort in her visits and the religion that she espouses. Her own religion has a slightly apocalyptic bent and she's firmly opposed to the strike and she tries to keep her father from doing much harm. She does eventually die from her illness but Margaret notices how peaceful she finally looks upon death. Another character is Henry Lennox and he's the brother of Captain Lennox, a successful lawyer. He is not unattractive and he has a sharp wit. He's also quite pragmatic and is not given to romance. Nevertheless he believes himself in love with Margaret and proposes marriage to her while the family is still living in Halston and he's quite vexed when she refuses him. Later he does agree to help Frederick Hale combat the charges levied against him and he tries to win Margaret once more. Another character is Mr Bell so he's Mr Hale's former tutor at Oxford and Margaret's godfather and he helps Mr Hale secure a position in Milton as a private tutor. Following Mrs Hale's death, Mr Bell visits Mrs Hale, Mr Hale rather, and Margaret and he discovers how much he admires and loves his goddaughter. He encourages the two Hales to return to Oxford where he believes life is much easier and more fulfilling than in Milton and after he dies he leaves everything in his estate to Margaret. John Boucher is another character so he's a working man with a large family and he refuses to join the union committee and is less rational and patient than Higgins. During the strike, he's anxious and anguished about how to feed his family. He leads several hundred rubble-ruises in a mob to Mr Thornton's home and threatens violence. After the mob is dispersed and the strike fails, Boucher tries to procure employment but is denied and thus he commits suicide by drowning. George Lennards is another character so he's a young man who served on the same ship as Frederick. Lennards was dissolute, drunken and also quite troublesome. Intoxicated, he does encounter Margaret and Frederick at the train station and recognises Frederick. He grabs him since he hopes to turn him into the authorities to get a reward and Frederick pushes him away and he falls a few feet below and of course this fall is what leads to his death although his health problems were documented already. Now when it comes to understanding the themes, the first is of the industrial north versus the rural south. Now north south essentially argues that the industrial midlands represents the future and a better future at that by dramatising Margaret's helped gradual conversion from Helton to Milton. Her godfather, Mr Bell, who playfully complains that her residence in Milton has quite corrupted her, describes Margaret as, and to quote from the novel, a democrat, a red republican, a member of the peace society, a socialist to which Margaret responds, Papa it's all because I'm standing up for the progress of commerce. Mr Bell would have had it to keep still, exchanging wild beasts for acorns. Margaret has in fact become converted to industrialism, urban life, a rising working class, and many other aspects of modern life so when she and Thornton marry, both have actually tempered their original views. Another important theme is that to do with class divisions. Now many Victorian authors at this time, including Lewis Carroll's, Elizabeth Gaskell, Thomas Carlyle and Charlotte Bronte, all of whom lived at the same time, hence the word contemporaries, they all in their writing criticise class prejudice. And of course, in North and South, Gaskell shows her dislike of rigid social stratification, social stratification means social divisions, by presenting a very positive example of class relations in Mr Hell's treatment of Margaret's working class friend, Nicholas Higgins. Gaskell presents hell as the ideal. He sees the man before he sees the social position, the person behind the title. Now, Margaret held extreme prejudices against the North, particularly against tradesmen at the beginning of the novel. However, as the novel progresses, she truly appreciates her father's fairness and later won in the book. She teaches Mr Thornton that, and to quote, all men are created equal. Hence, Gaskell attempts to pass this same idea on to her reader. Now also, it's really interesting to note that the title of the book North South indicates the contrast between the way of life in the industrial North of England in contrast to the wealthiest South. And of course, this is embodied in the two main characters, Margaret Hill, who's well educated, a young woman from a Southern middle class family, versus John Thornton, who's a formerly poverty stricken, but now wealthy cotton manufacturer from the new industrial North. Hence, a major theme of the book is the need for social reform and for better understanding between both employers and workers and the rich and the poor. Another important theme, but also very closely connected, is that of working class inequality. So if you remember from what we talked about when it came to context, the industrial revolution had brought technology that enabled products to be manufactured on a large scale. Hence, this revolution led to the employment of thousands and thousands of people in factories across England. With all this change, however, came hardship and trouble, including the constant clash between workers and owners of factories over wages and working conditions. Workers formed unions as a result to address their interests, and sometimes these unions struck out in an attempt to get their employers to address their grievances. Now, do you remember during the time contextually in November 1853, workers in Preston, which is in Lancashire, the northern part of England, went on strike for a number of reasons. And according to them, the mill owners had promised a general 10% raise in wages with a return of prosperity in 1847. However, when prosperity to returned, in other words, when the English economy was doing quite well, wages didn't increase. The factory owners had not kept their promise. And hence, workers insisted that the masters give them a raise. The masters, of course, the factory owners threatened to close down their mills and leave thousands of workers unemployed. Now, this actually happened in real life. Now, of course, Gaskell, who was alive at that time, took note. And hence, there's a similar strike that takes place in this novel. All of the workers refused to work for the cotton mill owners in Milton for reasons quite similar to those cited for the Preston hands. Now, their employers pay them poorly, and they plan on reducing their wages. And according to the workers, the owners basically get rich off the work, while they force workers to take a pay cut. Now, the events and details in Gaskell's novel clearly mirror the events in Victorian society. There's a complete lack of communication, in addition to the contempt that we sense many of the mill owners had for their workers. And of course, this contempt is also shown in Mr. Thornton's own attitudes. And this was seen as a root of troubles between workers and mill owners. This attitude, of course, is shown in the novel through Mr. Thornton's character. And at first, Mr. Thornton feels that it is the workers' fault that they're so poor. He feels that they actually deserved to live in these horrid conditions. However, later on in the novel, Mr. Thornton does change after being greatly influenced by Margaret. And he learns that these men are not that different to him. They're just like him, and they don't deserve to be scorned and looked upon with contempt. To quit from the novel, once brought face to face, man to man, with an individual of the masses around him, and take notice of the character of master and workman. In the first instance, they had each begun to recognise that we have all of us one human heart. Now, of course, what this quotation shows perhaps is that perhaps if the mill owners during Victorian society had followed Mr. Thornton's suit, all of this animity and tension between factory hands and factory owners actually would have been eventually dissolved. So that's all when it comes to understanding all these different areas of Elizabeth Gaskell's novel North and South. If you found this video useful, we'd really appreciate it if you could consider subscribing to our channel, but also giving this video a big thumbs up. Also, make sure you visit our website, www.firstreadcheaters.com. There you will find revision guides for both this novel, but also several other novels when it comes to your English studies, but also make sure you check out other of our videos, which can really help you in your journey to getting either that great grade in English and of course, to passing your coursework. Thank you so much for listening.