Mary Barton in Catching up on Classics (and lots more!)

Feb 19, 2020 Candi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: book-i-own, classics-shelf

"She knew she was very pretty; the factory people as they poured from the mills, and in their freedom told the truth (whatever it might be) to every passer-by, had early let Mary into the secret of her beauty."

Sharing the above quote may lead one to believe that this book is about a vain, and perhaps silly, young woman. And that would be partly true. However, this fairly dense Victorian-era novel is much more than that. This is my third piece by Elizabeth Gaskell, and apparently I am reading the "She knew she was very pretty; the factory people as they poured from the mills, and in their freedom told the truth (whatever it might be) to every passer-by, had early let Mary into the secret of her beauty."

Sharing the above quote may lead one to believe that this book is about a vain, and perhaps silly, young woman. And that would be partly true. However, this fairly dense Victorian-era novel is much more than that. This is my third piece by Elizabeth Gaskell, and apparently I am reading them in a backwards sort of fashion, having started with her last (Wives and Daughters - an absolute favorite!) and now reading her first. Sandwiched between the two is North and South, which I felt to be a bit more sophisticated than Mary Barton. Both deal with similar issues – that of the clash between the working classes and the mill-owners, or ‘masters’, of nineteenth century England.

Mary Barton comes from a poor, working class family. Her father, John Barton, is a staunch supporter of worker’s rights. Mary’s beauty catches the eyes of many, including a fellow childhood friend of intelligent mind but lesser means, and the powerful, wealthy son of a factory owner. Mary comes across as kind-hearted and a delight to those who love her, but she is childish and ambitious. Truly loving her father, she believes she can improve his lot by pursuing one above her station, Mr. Harry Carson, while rejecting the advances of the ever-loyal Jem Wilson. The reader feels less than sympathetic towards her initially as a result, but then again one must recall that she is but a teenager when the story begins. What teen is not guilty of a bit of ambition?

"Yes! Mary was ambitious, and did not favour Mr. Carson the less because he was rich and a gentleman. The old leaven, infused years ago by her aunt Esther, fermented in her little bosom, and perhaps all the more, for her father’s aversion to the rich and the gentle. Such is the contrariness of the human heart, from Eve downwards, that we all, in our old-Adam state, fancy things forbidden sweetest."

While Mary conducts her secret meetings with her gentlemanly lover, her father becomes increasingly involved in the trade unions. He is sent as a delegate to Parliament and his voice falls on indifferent ears. John Barton has further become beaten down time and time again, having lost loved ones to death and blaming all on the ‘masters’. His is a dark descent into despair and anger.

"The mind became soured and morose, and lost much of its equipose. It was no longer elastic, as in the days of youth, or in times of comparative happiness; it ceased to hope. And it is hard to live on when one can no longer hope… And so day by day, nearer and nearer, came the diseased thoughts of John Barton."

Mary Barton, the novel not the girl, also has a further element of crime and mystery at its core. This device helps to move what tends to be a heavy plot at a quicker pace and to allow certain characters, Mary in particular, to exhibit some growth. I found this aspect very appealing as the writing had a tendency to be a bit plodding (and preachy) at times, particularly towards the end. If you had to choose between this and North and South, I would say pick up the latter. Gaskell has fine-tuned her style by that time, and you will learn just as much about the social importance of the class distinctions, the plight of the poor, and the understanding that all need to work together in order to achieve improved working and living conditions, as is the right of every human being. (Plus, if you pick up North and South, you can then treat yourself to the BBC production starring Richard Armitage, which I have gushed about in my review of that book!) If you, like me, are a devoted fan of Gaskell, then both deserve a reading.

"Unaccustomed wonder filled his mind at the reflection of the different lots of the brethren of mankind." ...more

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Feb 10, 2020 Katy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Working class poverty in late 19th Century England.

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Feb 17, 2023 Lynn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A 19th-century "social novel" that takes place in the city of Manchester, England, at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, Mary Barton follows the lives of young and beautiful but desperately poor Mary Barton, her father John Barton, and their friends and neighbors in their working-class neighborhood. As their fortunes rise and fall with the fortunes of the factories where they work, Gaskell contrasts their precarious existence with the privileged lives of the factory owners.

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