North_and_South

North and South 19th Century England was the home of many social and psychological changes. The beginning of the Industrial Revolution saw the division of England into two areas, the north and south. The rural, agrarian society in the south was seen as old and behind the times. The urban, industrial society in the north was seen as the beginning of a new industrialised future. Changes in society during this period of time can be observed in the prescribed visual text, the TV mini-series North and South, and the novel on which it was based by Elizabeth Gaskell. In the visual text, the tree is hanging over the fence, reaching and spreading its branches from its place of confinement. This is a metaphor for women of the time, who were considered to be inferior to men. Women were believed to be obedient and weak, and in need of the possession of a male. The tree branching out represents women gaining freedom and independence, leaving behind preconceived attitudes. An example of this movement is seen in North and South when Margaret travels the streets of Milton, exploring and understanding her new home. During these travels, Margaret gains an understanding and competence that contradicts the stereotype of the sheltered Victorian female (1). When Boucher commits suicide, the workingmen and even Margaret’s father cannot bring themselves to break the news to his wife. Instead, it is Margaret who goes to the man’s home and confronts his widow. It is by this act that we see how Margaret is establishing herself as a woman outside the determined ideas of her time, by showing her character to be independent and strong, instead of dependent and weak. Women in the 19th Century were only allowed a limited practical and artistic education, yet in North and South Margaret Hale contradicts these expectations. Margaret is educated in many disciplines, including literature, music, botany and geography. By partaking in these activities, she defies the social expectations of women, thus rendering a social change. She also becomes learned regarding industrial relations and political economy, by listening to and participating in dialogues held by John Thornton and his colleagues. Through Margaret’s education by these means, she changes the ways of thinking regarding women, leading a new age where women’s freedom and education begins. The empty courtyard in the bottom of the picture symbolises the empty south. All of the activity in the picture is happening to the north, which supports the idea that the South is being left behind as the Industrial Revolution is taking place in the North. The people in this picture are all walking into the city in a straight line. This can be viewed as the people walking away from the South and into the North, and into the Industrial Revolution. An example of this in North and South is when Mr Hale uproots his family from Helstone and moves them to Milton. Before moving to Milton, Margaret saw Helstone as the ideal place to live. Film techniques used in the TV series mirrors Margaret’s views of the town, and the mise en scene reveals this. The town is always brightly lit with warm colours, and the shot is somewhat hazy, creating a heavenly atmosphere that reflects Margaret’s intense devotion towards the South. These scenes are in direct contrast to those filmed in Milton in the North, where the colours used are darkly monotone and the shots are always dimly lit. Margaret soon begins to love her new home in Milton, and when Nicholas Higgins informs Margaret of his intention to travel south for work, she strongly advises him against it. I owe it to you—since it’s my way of talking that has set you off on this idea—to put it all clear before you. You would not bear the dullness of the life; you don’t know what it is; it would eat you away like rust. Those that have lived there all their lives, are used to soaking in the stagnant waters. They labour on from day to day, in the great solitude of steaming fields—never lifting up their poor, bent, downcast heads. The hard spadework robs their brain of life; the sameness of their toil deadens their imagination. . . .they go home brutishly tired, poor creatures! caring for nothing but food and rest. (Chapter 37) Through spending time in Milton, Margaret grew to love her new home. When we first arrived in Milton, I was guilty of romanticising the south. I’ve got to work hard now at not doing the opposite. (Episode 4) Margaret’s conversion from Helstone to Milton demonstrates how people in the 19th century left the south behind to face their futures in the north. The Industrial Revolution brought with it new technologies, one of these in North and South being the steam train. The steam train is a recurring motif in North and South, appearing at the beginning, end and throughout the series. The recurring image of the train signifies the impact of the Industrial Revolution on the individual, which was an increased sense of mobility. The steam train can be viewed symbolically as transporting the individual from the antiquated south to the industrialised future in the north. In North and South, Margaret travels by train from her old home in Helstone to her new one in Milton. This scene is an illustration of how the steam train symbolises movement into the future. The final scene where Margaret and Thornton are travelling home to Milton on the train displays how the steam train carries the two into a new, united future. During the 19th Century, England saw many changes regarding the class structures of society. In North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell demonstrates how social barriers between the classes are challenged and then slowly broken down. In order to display how this comes about, Gaskell draws attention to the relationship between the working class and middle class, and in particular the names and labels that are associated with their occupants. One of the instances where this occurs involves Mr Hale, who presents a positive example of class relations in his treatment of Margaret’s working class friend, Nicholas Higgins (2). Mr Hale treated all his fellow-creatures alike; it never entered into his head to make any difference because of their rank. He placed a chair for Nicholas: stood up till he, at Mr Hale’s request, took a seat; and called him, invariably, ‘Mr Higgins,’ instead of the curt ‘Nicholas’ or ‘Higgins’, to which the ‘drunken infidel weaver’ had been accustomed. (p.208) Gaskell presents Mr Hale as a man unaffected by the lines drawn between classes, and as someone who sees everyone as equals. By drawing attention to the form in which Mr Hale addresses Mr Higgins, the audience sees how the changes in names and labels break down the barriers between classes. In the same way, Mr Thornton is involved in introducing a new way of thinking, leaving the old ways behind. It begins when Mr Thornton and Nicholas become friends, and they create a dining hall for the workers at the mill. This collaboration brings Mr Thornton into closer contact with his workers, and he begins to acknowledge them as equals. He soon begins to identify them not as ‘hands’, but ‘men.’ The ways in which both Mr Hale and Mr Thornton differentiate between worker and equal demonstrates how the old structures of society are abandoned for new ways of thinking. During the time of the Industrial Revolution, people’s views on science and religion underwent dramatic changes. The 1800’s brought with it new scientific discoveries, including Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species in 1859. Origin of Species directly contradicted Genesis, stating that all life on Earth evolved by a process called natural selection. These new scientific opinions on the origin of mankind caused many to question their faith, and religious doubt soon took hold of the minds of some members of the public. These reasons were not the cause of all religious doubt however, as the cause of Mr Hale’s dissention from the Church of England were not as a result of scientific theories. "I must no longer be a minister in the Church of England. . . I can meet the consequences of my painful, miserable doubts; but it is an effort beyond me to speak of what has caused me so much suffering." "Doubts, papa! Doubts as to religion'" asked Margaret, more shocked than ever. "No! not doubts as to religion; not the slightest injury to that. . . . You could not understand it all, if I told you — my anxiety, for years past, to know whether I had any right to hold my living — my efforts to quench my smouldering doubts by the authority of the Church. Oh! Margaret, how I love the holy Church from which I am to be shut out!" (p.31) Mr Hale had so admitted tempting doubts into his mind as to become a schismatic — an outcast. (Chapter 5), and had become a dissenter. A dissenter is someone who disagrees with conventional belief and opinion, usually with the Established Church in England. In North and South, Mr Hale is the vessel in which religious doubt sails, and it is through him that we see how psychological changes are present in this 19th century setting. North and South is a novel filled with contrasts, and it is through these contrasts that we see how changes come about. The title suggests the main contrast in the novel, which is of course between the north and south. The key changes in the novel revolve around this distinction between the industrial north and rural south, as do the metaphors that reside within the two regions. Other contrasting areas of the novel that aid in the reveal of changes include that between master and worker. As the relationship between Mr Thornton and Mr Higgins changes from that of master and worker to friends, social barriers are broken down, and social changes are made. The contrasts within North and South provide an insight to the audience of what 19th century life was like. Elizabeth Gaskell explores and analyses these contrasts, and in doing so the audience sees how the 19th century locates us in places of social and psychological change. The Industrial Revolution changed the condition of England in the 19th century dramatically, plunging it into an industrialised future occupied with a myriad of changes. These changes are seen throughout North and South, and one cannot dispute that Elizabeth Gaskell, through North and South has made a significant contribution towards understanding the ramifications of the Industrial Revolution in nineteenth century England (5). The prescribed visual text, the TV mini-series North and South and the novel on which it was based all provide insights into the life of the individual in the 19th century. Through these text types we see the effect of social and psychological change on the individual and society, and the process by which this occurs. References (1) Class handout- Education Through Experience in North and South, Mary H Kuhlman (2) Class handout- The Victorian Web, The Governess and Class Prejudice, Erin Wells (3) http://www.victorianweb.org/science/science&religion.html (4) http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/gaskell/n_s3.html (5) Class handout- North and South