الشمال و الجنوب
 Title page of the first edition, 1854–1855 | |
| المؤلف | Elizabeth Gaskell |
|---|---|
| العنوان المبدئي | Margaret Hale |
| البلد | United Kingdom |
| اللغة | English |
| الصنف | Social novel |
| نـُشـِر | 1854–1855 |
| الناشر | Chapman & Hall |
| نوع الوسائط | |
| سبقه | كرانفورد |
| تلاه | Wives and Daughters |
الشمال والجنوب North and South هي رواية من تأليف Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in book form in 1855 originally appeared as a twenty-two-part weekly serial from September 1854 through January 1855 in the magazine Household Words, edited by Charles Dickens. The title indicates a major theme of the book: the contrast between the way of life in the industrial north of إنگلترة and the wealthier south, although it was only under pressure from her publishers that Gaskell changed the title from its original, Margaret Hale.
The book is a social novel that tries to show the industrial North and its conflicts in the mid-19th century as seen by an outsider, a socially sensitive lady from the South. The heroine of the story, Margaret Hale, is the daughter of a Nonconformist minister who moves to the fictional industrial town of Milton after leaving the Church of England. The town is modelled after Manchester where Gaskell lived as the wife of a Unitarian minister. Gaskell herself worked among the poor and knew at first hand the misery of the industrial areas.
The change of lifestyle shocks Margaret, who sympathizes deeply with the poverty of the workers and comes into conflict with John Thornton, the owner of a local cotton mill, also a friend of her father. After an encounter with a group of strikers, in which Margaret attempts to protect Thornton from the violence, he proposes to her, telling her that he is in love with her; she rejects his proposal of marriage, mainly because she sees it as if it were out of obligation for what she had done. Later, he sees her with her fugitive brother, whom he mistakes for another suitor, and this creates further unresolved conflict. Margaret, once she believes she has lost his affection, begins to see him in another light, and eventually they are reunited.
The novel has frequently been compared to Shirley by the better-known novelist and friend of Gaskell, Charlotte Brontë. However, North and South is often attributed higher critical standing in working with the same themes.
When the story was published as a book, it included a preface stating that because of restrictions of the magazine format, the author was unable to develop the story as she wished and as such "various short passages have been inserted, and several new chapters added."
Characters
- Miss Margaret Hale — The protagonist
- Mr. John Thornton — The owner of a local mill, a friend and student of Margaret's father, and Margaret's love interest.
- Nicholas Higgins — An industrial worker whom Margaret befriends. He has two daughters, Bessy and Mary.
- Mrs. Thornton — Mr. Thornton's mother, who dislikes Margaret
- Bessy — Nicholas Higgins's daughter, who suffers from a fatal illness from working the mills
- Mr. Richard Hale — Margaret's father, a dissenter who leaves his vicarage in Helstone to work as a private tutor in Milton
- Mrs. Maria Hale — Margaret's mother, a woman from a respectable London family.
- Dixon — A servant of the Hales, very loyal and devoted to Mrs. Hale
- Mr. Bell — An old friend of Mr. Hale, god-father to Margaret and her brother
- Mrs. Shaw — Margaret's aunt, Edith's mother, and Mrs. Hale's sister
- Edith — Margaret's cousin, married to Captain Lennox
- Mr. Henry Lennox — A young lawyer, brother of Captain Lennox. Margaret refuses his suits early in the story
- Frederick Hale — Margaret's older brother, a fugitive living in Spain since his involvement in a mutiny while serving in the British Navy
- Leonards - Frederick's fellow sailor who didn't mutiny and wants to hand Frederick in to get a reward
Summary
Margaret Hale, and her father and mother, forcibly move to Milton-Northern (Manchester in reality) when her father, a priest in the Church of England, decides he must leave the church due to doubts of faith. Until that time, he and Mrs. Hale had been living in the rural Hampshire village of Helstone. Margaret had only been there a short while, since she had been brought up at her wealthy Aunt Shaw, where she had her vivacious cousin Edith to keep her company until Edith married Captain Lennox. The same day that Margaret learns she and her family are to move north, Mr. Henry Lennox comes to visit and proposes marriage to Margaret, who rejects him due to lack of feeling between them, though they had always been friends.
Margaret and her family get settled in Milton, though they find it smoky and unpleasant, especially to Margaret and her mother, who has health issues, though it is not certain they are connected to the bad air of the city. Mr. Hale works as a tutor and one of his favourite pupils is the important manufacturer, Mr. Thornton. Whenever Mr. Thornton stays to tea, he and Margaret inevitably argue over various issues relating to the treatment of workers in the factories, the right to strike, and Milton versus Helstone. Margaret sees Mr. Thornton as coarse and unfeeling while he sees Margaret as haughty and full of pride, even though in terms of Milton people, there is no reason she should be so as she is quite poor. To Margaret, this is silly, for she is a lady. However, Margaret does feel sorry for Mr Thornton when she learns that his father had made unwise investments and killed himself leaving many debtors whom his son eventually repaid.
Margaret begins to take a better liking to life in Milton when she befriends Mr. Nicolas Higgins, a factory worker, and his sick daughter Bessy, who is about Margaret’s age, 18 or 19, though she is very ill and dying from having worked in the carding room at a young age in the factories. She visits the family as often as she can, which is not very often because her mother is becoming more and more ill. Finally a doctor is called in and he gives the diagnosis that Mrs. Hale will not live long. He suggests getting a water-mattress for her since she is an invalid.
Although Mr. Thornton has tried to get his mother, Mrs. Thornton, to like and visit the Hales, there is no love lost between them. Mrs. Thornton sees Margaret as even haughtier than her son, who has a lot of respect for Margaret. When the water-mattress is needed, however, Margaret goes to the Thorntons' house, which is next to the factory, to ask for theirs. She does not realise, though, that a strike has been going on, and Mr. Thornton had brought in cheap Irish workers to break the strike, and the city is in riot. It is very dangerous to be at the Thorntons’ at that moment. When Margaret realizes how close the people are to tearing down the doors and the police and army are nowhere to be seen, she encourages Mr. Thornton to go down and appease the people. He does so and she sees that he is in danger. She comes out herself to the people and throws herself on Mr. Thornton to protect him and is hurt by a flying stone. Finally the army arrives and the crowd disperses.
Mr. Thornton realizes how much he feels for Margaret when he thinks she has been seriously hurt. She is actually only mildly injured and returns home. Mr Thornton believes that Margaret does not love him but is impelled to proposes marriage to Margaret the next morning, knowing that she is likely to reject him, which she does. Mrs. Thornton hates her all the more for it, so when Mrs. Hale is dying and asks Mrs. Thornton to look after Margaret, Mrs. Thornton only promises to chastise Margaret if she is about to make a mistake. Frederick, Margaret’s brother who is wanted for mutiny, visits in secret their dying mother. When Margaret takes him to the train station on his way to London, Mr. Thornton sees them and thinks Frederick is Margaret’s real lover. On top of this, on the train platform Leonards, who served with Frederick but did not mutiny and wants to hand him in to get a reward, sees Frederick and makes to hand him in, Frederick pushes him over the platform few feet onto the tracks, then jumps into the train. When Margaret is questioned by the police about it, she lies and says she wasn’t there. Leonards dies a few days later and Mr. Thornton is the magistrate who oversees the investigation into his death. He knows of Margaret’s lie and covers up for her, though of course he doesn’t understand it and she feels slighted in his respect because she cannot explain her actions. Amidst all this Margaret gradually comes to realize that she loves him.
Bessy dies eventually too and Nicholas gets a job with Mr. Thornton. The latter has stopped, however, going to his lessons with Mr. Hale, pleading that he is busy with the factory. In the mean time, Mr. Bell, Mr. Thornton’s landlord, comes to visit the Hales, for he is long-time friends with Mr. Hale. Mr. Hale goes down to visit Bell in Oxford and suddenly dies there, leaving Margaret in shock. Aunt Shaw and Captain Lennox are summoned to take her back to London, where she will lead an easy life with her pampered cousin. Mr. Bell, who has promised to take care of Margaret like a father, suggests going to Helstone, which they do. Margaret realizes it is not and never will be the same place she used to live in. Mr. Bell dies soon after, leaving everything to Margaret, including all the property he owns in Milton. Meanwhile, business has not been going well for Mr Thornton but he refuses to participate in a risky investment with his brother-in-law. Eventually, the mill has to close and Mr. Thornton comes down to discuss business with his lawyer, Mr. Lennox. In the meantime, Mr. Thornton had found out from Nicholas Higgins that Margaret had been protecting her brother, who is now safe back in Spain with his Spanish wife. Finally they are left alone together and admit their feelings to each other, enjoying a time of "delicious silence", and the mill can be restarted again with Margaret’s inheritance.
Television adaptations
Two television serials based on Gaskell's novel were produced by the BBC. 1975's North and South featured Rosalind Shanks as Margaret Hale and Patrick Stewart as John Thornton. 2004's North & South featured Daniela Denby-Ashe and Richard Armitage respectively in these roles.
وصلات خارجية
- North and South, available at Project Gutenberg.
- North and South - complete book in HTML one page for each chapter.
- North and South free ebook in PDF, PDB and LIT formats
- in Mobipocket format
- Read aloud by volunteers in MP3 format (free, public domain)
- North and South, the Musical - a new musical based on E. Gaskell's novel