She disparages her neighbors, the Gormans, for being “‘shoppy people'” who make their money “‘in trade,'” claiming her family is “‘far better off'” not associating with them (19).
Hale leaves his post with the Church, which emphasizes their middling place (77).ĭespite the Hales’ more humble means, Margaret demonstrates deep prejudice against those whose money and lives are tied to industry, whom she sees as lesser.
Nevertheless, this is not enough to stop them from later being labeled as “‘penniless”‘ by Mrs. Her own immediate family, however, is not so wealthy as to afford to “equip afresh, from top to toe” for her niece’s wedding, though they live comfortably in “‘beautiful'” Helstone (15, 13). The Hales themselves occupy a sort of middle class. Apart from her parents, Margaret has enjoyed living with her richer family in London, which allows her to present herself like “a princess” in dress and manners (9). © 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.The opening chapters of Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South begin to present the thorny issue of class prejudice – in North and South, however, there is not a simple distinction between the upper and lower classes, as the issue of new industrial wealth is thrown in. With Sally Shuttleworth, Dinah Birch and Jenny Uglowįirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9 March 2017 Can the duo overcome their ideological differences and find love?Īlso included is the fascinating programme In Our Time: North and South, in which Melvyn Bragg and guests examine how Margaret Hale's experiences echo the author's own life, and discuss Gaskell's insights into social conflicts and the changing world in which she lived.įirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 4-18 September 2022 But when a strike turns into a violent riot, and Thornton is put in danger, Margaret is forced to face up to her conflicted feelings. Witnessing the conditions at his mill, her social conscience is awakened, and she clashes fiercely with him over his ruthless treatment of the workers.
Smoky, grimy and ugly, Milton seems like a different country - one run by men with very different beliefs to her own, like charismatic mill owner John Thornton.Ī self-made entrepreneur and pragmatic capitalist, Thornton represents everything the idealistic Margaret hates. When 19-year-old Margaret Hale is uprooted from her home in the rural South of England and transplanted to the industrial North, she struggles to adapt. A major BBC Radio dramatisation of Elizabeth Gaskell's famous Victorian novel of pride, prejudice, politics and passion
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