Of Masters and Men in Gaskell's North and South

There are a couple of interesting, and enlightening, conversations taking place in this chapter. The first is between Mrs. Thornton and the Hales in the Thornton house. The second is between Mr. Thornton and the Hales in the Hale home. I choose to focus on the first part of the chapter because I think a great deal can be discerned about the two cultures/classes in that first section. Though this conversation has only a little to do with the politics and economics of strikes, it is a quite revealing interaction. The interaction begins with Margaret’s classism before even finding the Thornton residence. She had expected a larger home, like her own, and was surprised by the smallness of the house and its proximity to the mill. This tells us too a little something about the type of home she lives in. While it may not be preferred to her old home in Helstone, her house in Milton is apparently larger than the Thornton home, though her family income seems to be less or maybe somewhat equal to that of the Thorntons. Further, based on her judgments of the Thornton home, her house must be more comfortably furnished. She is taken aback by the sterility of the Thornton home. It seems, to her at least, to lack a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere where “everything reflected light, nothing absorbed it” (112) and where everything was bagged up and covered to protect the items and materials. What Margaret does not see, but what Mrs. Thornton would have no doubt taken much pride in is the “peculiar cleanliness required to keep everything so white and pure….or of the trouble that must be willingly expended to secure that effect” (112).

Once Mrs. Thornton enters, we see the difference in how each perceives politeness, refinement, and good manners. Mrs. Thornton is offended by Mrs. Hale’s absence and assumes it is because of some “fine lady” behavior rather than a real illness. She also is not especially polite in her language and bearing—not in the same way that Margaret and Mr. Hale are. For instance, when an uncomfortable conversation comes up, Mr. Hale tries to switch the subject or tries to sweeten his words where Mrs. Thornton directly confronts with aggressive questioning. When Mr. Hale asks if Mr. Thornton plans on keeping his Thursday appointment, Mrs. Thornton says, in essence that he might, but that his business may keep him from it. In a brief, rude statement, she makes it clear that her son is “rarely ill” and does not speak of it if he is ill and even then doesn’t make it “an excuse for not doing anything,” insinuating the difference in their cultures. In Mrs. Thornton’s mind, the Hale’s world of polite and genteel people make excuses to get out of doing things they’d rather not do, talk too much about their ill health, and are too often ill. The implication is that they are weak and made weak by their lazy, indolent lives frittered away in books and colleges. As such, she believes that her son is wasting his time in learning the classics since he needs all his time and energy for running a great business and becoming a leader in the business world. She makes it very clear their worlds and where they place value are very different. Her world values money, self-sufficiency, and climbing to the top through ambition and hard work; whereas the Hales value less tangible assets of education, principle, easy life, nature, books, and other refinements of London and the countryside.

Image of cotton mill taken from the movie adaptation of North and South.

Eventually, the conversation turns to the strike and we see that Mrs. Thornton is suspicious of the motives of the strikers. Mr. Hale asks if the people are striking simply because they want more money. But Mrs. Thornton says “that is the face of the thing” (116), meaning that she believes that the people are lying. They say they want more money, but the reality is that they want to completely overthrow the business owners and take over the businesses for themselves. But then she hints at what the Northern Star article talks about. She says, “If they turn out, they mayn’t find it so easy to go in again. I believe the masters have a thing or tow in their heads which will teach the men not to strike again in a hurry…” (116). The Northern Star talks about how the masters are just as guilty of breaking the law about “combining” as the workers are. I think the Northern Star article might help Mrs. Thornton understand the interconnectedness of the master and workers; it might also help her understand how similarly the workers and masters are behaving. Both groups are forming alliances to fortify their positions. I think it might also help her to understand that the workers aren’t looking to completely take over the businesses but instead to receive fair wages for their work. They still want a job to go to, they still want to make money, but they want fair wages to feed their families. They also want fair business practices. For instance, they seem to understand that the market determines the work and are wiling to accept lower wages whenever necessary. However, but then when the market improves, they expect their wages to also improve. Instead, the bosses keep the wages low while they increase their own wealth. And regardless of how low the wages go, the bosses are only interested in seeing how they can get the wages lower. While Mr. Thornton seems to operate with honesty and fairness, it’s important for Mrs. Thornton to see that a great many businessmen are not honest and fair; they are too greedy and care little how much abuse and suffering they heap on their workers.