This paper will focus on the character development of the workers in Elizabeth Gaskells novel "North and South" to determine which consequences the social struggle has on them and to what extent this social struggle represents the lower working class during the industrial revolution in the first half of the 19th century. The main focus on the socio-historical framework will be on the working and living conditions of the workers in during the era of 1800 to 1850. This paper will also explore how realistic the description of the living and working conditions of the working class are.
The novel "North and South" by Elizabeth Gaskell strives, much like the other novels that belong to the emerging subgenre of social novels; to explore the conflict between capital and labour in English manufacturing towns. The conflict between the factory owners and their workers within the North and South is rooted in low wages and provokes a strike that is managed by a trade union. The strike is unsuccessful, leads to a riot and results in an improvement in negotiations between employees and employers.
At a glance
- Grade: 1.3 (1.0 is the best grade)
- Compares Nicholas Higgins and John Boucher’s responses to the strike
- Contrasts workers’ conditions in Manchester with those in fictional Milton
- 16 sources in the bibliography
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1. The living and working conditions as a framework
1.1 The living and working conditions of the English workers
1.2 The living and working conditions in North and South
2. The social struggle defined
3. Characterisations
3.1 Nicholas Higgins
3.2 John Boucher
4. Comparison
5. Conclusion
Objectives and Themes
This study examines how social struggle affects the development of working-class characters in Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South and asks how far their experiences represent those of the lower working class during the Industrial Revolution.
- Working and living conditions in industrial Manchester and fictional Milton
- Class conflict, trade unions and strikes
- Nicholas Higgins’s character and commitments
- John Boucher’s family and experience of the strike
- Contrasting responses to hardship and collective action
Excerpt from the Book
1.2 The living and working conditions in North and South
The novel provides the audience with the stereotypical image of the industrialised town of Milton-Northern in the early stages of its readings. When Margret explains to her mother that they will move from their home in the agricultural South of England, Mrs. Hale states that ‘the smoky air of a manufacturing town, all chimneys and dirt like Milton-Northern’ (Gaskell. 2012.: 50) would not improve her health. Later, when Margret first comes close to the city she observes that “the air had a faint taste and smell of smoke” and the cloud she thought to be a nimbus, turns out to be the smoke of the factories (ibid.: 67).
While the main city of Milton-Northern is pictured as ‘[…] long, straight, hopeless […]’ (ibid.: 68), the rent is not even attainable for the Hales; who had the maximum of 30 pounds a year, which roughly comes down to 12 ½ shilling per week. The wage of one of the mill workers, Nicholas Higgins, is 16 shillings a week (ibid:161) to cover all maintenance cost, which includes diet and rent.
Unable to pay for the rent in the inner city the family moves to Crampton, the suburb of Milton-Northern, where they are able to afford a house (ibid: 69). Crampton’s structure is marked by the factories in its back streets (Gaskell. 2012.: 82). These factories cause the air to be full of smoke that is “driven into every opening in choking white wreaths” (ibid: 75). The closer a house is to the factories, the noise of the machineries are so loud that they are deafening (cf. ibid.: 133).
Another part of Crampton, where the Higgins family lives is described as a “crowded area” with “squalid” (ibid.:105), “crowded narrow streets” (ibid.:117), standing in strong contrast to the ‘long, straight […] streets’ (ibid.: 68) of the main city; which underlines that the working class isn’t able to afford the life in the inner city and has to live in slums. The house of the Higgins itself is small and unhygienic (ibid.: 118). This rather unhygienic situation is due to the absence of someone who is able to take care of the cleaning and the narrow structure of the place.
Chapter Summaries
Introduction: The introduction presents the novel’s social conflict and sets out the study’s focus on working-class character development and historical representation.
The living and working conditions as a framework: This chapter considers workers’ housing, health and employment in industrial England alongside the conditions depicted in Milton.
The social struggle defined: This chapter outlines class conflict and the role of trade unions, strikes and negotiation in nineteenth-century industrial relations.
Characterisations: Separate analyses examine Nicholas Higgins and John Boucher, their family responsibilities, attitudes to the union and experiences of the strike.
Comparison: The study contrasts the two workers’ priorities, relationships with the union and responses to hardship.
Conclusion: The concluding chapter assesses the relationship between the novel’s portrayal of the two workers and the historical circumstances discussed in the study.
Keywords
Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South, Industrial Revolution, working class, social struggle, character development, Nicholas Higgins, John Boucher, trade unions, strikes, Manchester, Milton, working conditions, social novel
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the study about?
It examines working-class character development and social struggle in Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South.
What are its central themes?
Its themes include industrial working and living conditions, class conflict, trade unions, family responsibilities and responses to a strike.
What is the study’s main research question?
It asks how social struggle affects the workers’ character development and how far their experiences represent those of the lower working class during the Industrial Revolution.
What method does the author use?
The author conducts a comparative literary analysis of two characters, drawing on the novel and historical and scholarly sources to establish a social context.
What does the main discussion cover?
It moves from historical and fictional working conditions to class conflict, individual character analyses and a comparison of the two workers.
Which keywords characterise the study?
Key terms include North and South, the Industrial Revolution, working-class life, trade unions, strikes and character development.
Why are Nicholas Higgins and John Boucher compared?
Both are mill workers affected by the strike, but they have different family circumstances, priorities and relationships with the union.
How does Manchester relate to the study’s analysis of Milton?
The study compares conditions in industrial Manchester with those depicted in Milton, the novel’s fictional manufacturing town.
What role do trade unions play in the discussion?
Trade unions provide a context for examining collective action, wage disputes and the different pressures experienced by Higgins and Boucher.
- Citation du texte
- Luisa van Gansewinkel (Auteur), 2018, The Novel as a Mirror for Social Struggle, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/931520
