Nort and South Essay by Elizabeth Gaskell

Examine the Representation of Women in North and South relative to their context.

Introduction

Dominant paradigms of the Victorian era controlled the marital, social and psychological independence of women. In the Victorian era society was divided over the role of women with opposing schools of thought campaigning for opposite ideals. Thinkers like Hannah More and Edmund Burke promoted the patriarchal structure of society because of "the natural sexual difference between men and women". Their conservative beliefs that men represented reason and women emotion were the dominant patterns of thinking Victorian society. However thinkers like Harriet Martineau and Mary Wollstonecraft rebuked traditional attitudes and demanded equality for the sexes by arguing that women's capacity to reason was equal to men. Elizabeth Gaskell engages in the debate to explore conflicting ideals about women in North and South, using archetypal characters to represent the different ideas. Through the protagonist Margaret and (Unseen Text) the reader is positioned to appreciate the degree of social, marital and psychological freedom received by women.

- Margaret's indignant exclamation "how different men were to women!" (p33) heralds the distinct roles of males and females

Social

Victorian society expected women to be beautiful and obedient when in public . Conservative Victorian values promoted that women be invisible in the public sphere. Gaskell establishes Margaret Hale to be an anomaly who is unaffected by society "superficial consequences of a good house, clever and agreeable society." Margaret's social indifference defies the

* Cousin Edith typifies beauty expected of women "looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons", "looking like Sleeping beauty just startled from her dreams"

* Restrictions at Harley street which Edith abides to, but Margaret dismisses (in Harley street rigid social values and expectations are exercised- women belonged to the home sphere, and her life did not extend beyond it)

* the yearning tone of "how I longed to walk" p20 shows Margaret's difference

* Helstone= greater social freedom (introduce different settings=different values)

* Margaret "she was so happy out of doors" p20

* At Milton Northern Margaret can walk unaccompanied and do other things previously unavailable to her demonstrating that Freedom varies with social class (social class impinges on the extent of freedom received by women: Wollstonecraft advocates women becoming more publicly active in middle class meritocracy)

* Fanny as a member of the rising middle class is imbibed with conservative upper class values and reflects these when commenting "She's not accomplished, mama. She can't play." In contrast, Margaret's complacency in knowing "enough of music to turn over the leaves" is a marker of her unconservative beliefs and subversion of stereotypes. (Mrs Thornton's characterisation vs Fanny)

* Hence Margaret is socially independent

Psychological

In contrast Margaret is not psychologically autonomous. Victorian values promoted psychological abstemiousness in women. Women's bodies and minds were expected to be chaste and devoid of libidinal instincts. Thinkers like Hannah More advocated that women were only capable of irrationality. Their submissiveness in the social stratification was expected to be embedded in their thoughts, making them needy and helpless. Social constraints also pervade Margaret's psychology.

Women were expected to be pure/pristine/submissive. Social constraints pervaded thoughts... Though outwardly she retaliates her mentality is rigid " They could not understand how her heart was aching all the time. With a heavy pressure that no sighs could lift off or relieve and how constant exertion ofor her perceptive faculties was the only way to keep herself from crying out with pain. Moreover if she gave way who would act?"- she is also a weak, passionate woman

- The thinkers Hannah More and Edmund