69 pages • 2 hours read
Elizabeth GaskellNorth and South
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1854A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 8-11Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 8 Summary: “Home Sickness”
Maria is not happy with her new home in Milton, especially with the dreary weather. The move has been expensive, and the family is low on funds. Margaret reads a letter from Edith describing her adventures in Corfu since the wedding. They enjoy many outdoor activities, and Margaret envies Edith’s freedom: “[E]dith’s life seemed like the deep vault of blue sky above her, free-utterly free from fleck or cloud” (91). Edith’s letter reminds Margaret of Helstone but also of carefree, luxurious days of living in London. She thinks of Lennox and considers what he would have thought of her father’s demotion.
Maria and Dixon both come down with a cold, and Margaret must go into town in search of another house cleaner. She struggles to find any viable candidates as the women prefer to work in the mill. People in town do not understand why the Hales need a house cleaner. Margaret notes most boys in town begin work at the factory as adolescents and do not attend college. Some men, like Thornton, realize later the need for classical education and seek a tutor.
Seeing his pupils has raised Richard’s spirits. As Margaret walks through town, the men’s catcalls make her uncomfortable: She finds the people of the town ill-mannered and rude. She tries to notice the trees and bird songs, but the bustle of the streets drowns out the peacefulness of nature. A man called Nicholas Higgins stops Margaret to compliment her smile. His daughter, Bessy, is sickly, and Margaret asks if she might come to their house. Higgins is reluctant to accept but sees it brings Bessy joy. Margaret’s view of Milton improves now that she has made a friend.
Chapter 9 Summary: “Dressing for Tea”
Richard invites Thornton to tea. Maria is displeased as all her good clothes are being washed (she also complains about the weather), but Margaret tells her not to worry because she is helping Dixon with the laundry and ironing. Maria is ashamed her daughter is reduced to helping with the laundry. Before Thornton’s arrival, Margaret notes she did not have a good relationship with him the last time they met. Richard responds, “I don’t know that you would ever like him or think him agreeable […]. He is not a lady’s man” (102). Margaret hopes the visit will go well and lighten her spirits as she has been suffering from headaches.
At Thornton’s house, he dresses for tea, but his mother is angry he feels the need to change for the Hales. She thinks they are luring him in to marry off Margaret.
Chapter 10 Summary: “Wrought Iron and Gold”
Thornton immediately notices the difference between the Hales’ drawing room and his own. He thinks his is nicer in its simplicity but does note the coziness of the Hales’ home from Margaret’s touch. He watches her serve the tea, paying close attention to how her bracelet moves on her arm. He also notes how close she is with her father. Margaret observes her father’s feminine facial features and contrasts them with Thornton’s strong, handsome face. She particularly likes his smile.
Richard and Thornton discuss classic literature but quickly move to debating the merits of industrialization. Thornton cannot imagine languishing in a quiet country town. His comments upset Margaret, and she strongly rebukes his assertion, saying the men of Milton appear miserable: “I see men here going about in the streets who look ground down by some pinching sorrow or care-who are not only sufferers but haters” (111). Thornton, seeing he has hurt her feelings, attempts to recover by gently suggesting she does not know the town well enough yet.
Maria and Thornton discuss air pollution: He says he has taken steps to filter the emissions from his factory, but parliament stymied the effort. Thornton is an industrialist and does not approve of the government meddling in business. He goes on to explain the rapid development of the industrial model: Early manufacturers were money hungry and exploited their workers. Now, the power is more equitable, allowing men who once were poor and uneducated to raise themselves out of poverty. Margaret wonders about those who cannot rise out of poverty, and Thornton says they are only an enemy to themselves. Thornton tells the story of his rise to success from shop boy to the business owner after his father’s premature death. He is proud of his success and ability to provide a better life for his mother. Thornton leaves with an awkward exchange with Margaret: He tries to shake her hand as she is curtsying. He thinks to himself she is beautiful but contentious.
Chapter 11 Summary: “First Impressions”
Richard recognizes Margaret is not fond of Thornton. In response, Margaret tells her father she admires his story of working in the shop to provide for his family but does not like his view of the poor. Richard provides more details about Thornton’s life, which he heard from Bell. Thornton’s father was a wastrel and died by suicide when he could not pay his debts. The family lived in poverty while Thornton worked in the shop, eventually earning enough to pay off all the creditors.
Maria is not feeling well, and Margaret worries the move to Milton has made her ill: “She lay awake very long this night, planning how to lessen the evil influence of their Milton life on her mother” (121). To ease the strain on her mother, Margaret tries again to find another servant to help with the housework. While she is out, Margaret sees Bessy, who is upset Margaret never visited them as she promised. Margaret goes home with Bessy and sees she is quite ill. Bessy is deeply religious and speaks often of going to heaven. Higgins is not religious but worries about Bessy’s failing health: “I could wish there were a God, if it were only to ask Him to bless thee” (125). Margaret promises to visit the following day. Margaret reports to her parents that she could not find another servant. Richard announces Mrs. Thornton will visit the next day.
Chapters 8-11 Analysis
The family readjusts to life in Milton, though Richard adapts more easily than the women. Distracted by his tutoring and enthralled with the robust nature of the people of Milton, Richard is unaware of his wife and daughter’s anguish. Maria struggles with depressive episodes, though Gaskell does not name the condition. The concept of mental health was not well understood in the 19th century, and individuals afflicted with any range of disorders would be misunderstood as insane or even possessed. Women were the most vulnerable targets of misdiagnoses and abuse due to the Victorians’ lack of medical knowledge. Margaret funnels all her anxiety into helping run the home, and her mother turns to prayer. Gaskell further develops Margaret’s strength of character in her helping with menial household chores and in larger decision-making. Edith’s letter exquisitely detailing her marital bliss only deepens Margaret’s depression. In a traditional Romantic-era storyline, Margaret would be jealous of the marriage, which was the sole aim of any eligible middle- or upper-class woman. However, nature-loving Margaret is envious of Edith’s outdoor adventures and her freedom to enjoy them. Margaret feels trapped, smothered both Milton’s smog and by the oppressive responsibilities of caring for her parents.
Margaret finds the people of Milton as disagreeable as the weather. Their fast-paced way of life is far removed from the lifestyle she is accustomed to. Thornton represents all that she dislikes about the town, and she sets her mind to disapprove of him before learning much about him at all. Their first meeting is strange, and when he joins them for tea, Margaret holds fast to her first impressions of him.
Margaret sees his unsympathetic view of the poor as a serious character flaw. Their first meeting ends symbolically with Thornton attempting to shake her hand, a modern, nongendered way of greeting, and Margaret using the more traditional feminine curtsy. Thornton also carries his preconceptions about Margaret from their first meeting and his mother’s assertions she is out to trap him into marriage. Gaskell uses the common trope of misunderstandings to develop the relationship between the two characters. Both have false beliefs about the other that prevent them from further exploring their relationship. As Margaret learns more about Thornton’s tragic family life, her respect for him grows.
Bessy’s introduction brings the ills of the industrial age alive. Suffering from lung disease from breathing in the unfiltered factory air, young Bessy represents how the Industrial Revolution affected the most vulnerable individuals in society. Poor air quality, long work hours, and lack of basic medical care led to chronic and fatal illnesses in many working-class and poor individuals, many of whom were children. Though Milton’s residents are skeptical of charity, Margaret’s compassionate nature toward the poor is reignited in her friendship with Bessy. The child speaks as though she has made peace with her fate. Her pious acceptance of certain death briefly takes Margaret out of her travails and reminds her of the value of human connection.
Related Titles
By Elizabeth Gaskell
