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Mary Barton
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Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell - Group Read (hosted by Claudia) 1st thread
The beginning of chapter 11 stunned me as John Barton considers Esther to be “an individual of so little value or note to any.” That’s harsh. Do we know what’s causing Margaret’s and Alice’s blindness? Alice’s might be cataracts.
I thought Mary’s change of heart over Tom was a sudden piece of maturity; she’s acknowledging her immature dreams involving Harry. I’m impressed that she follows through on her decision to part from Harry. It’s another sign of possible maturity. And, of course, we’re pleased that she follows Margaret’s excellent suggestion that she visit Mrs Wilson. I might eventually like this Mary!
Thank you, Claudia, the information on Unitarians on Mr Gaskell.
This was one of the more positive chapters yet. Jem is benefitting from his invention and moving up in the world and his family are comfortable & safe. Margaret is thriving, happy and doing well. She and her grandfather are truly a happy family. They enjoy being together and enjoy time apart. Now that they are well fed and kept, they are happy with the world.
Alice is such a lovely character. I'm so glad Will has returned and has a few days to spend with her.
Kathleen, good point that Mary's change of heart towards Jem shows a new maturity. I still don't really buy into the quickness of it but I hope it really does show that she's growing up.
I'm sad to see that John Barton is now heavily dependent on opium. The man didn't deserve that. I would have wished him better.
Claudia, I really enjoyed the information on the Unitarians. Reverend Gaskell sounds like an interesting man. Thanks for all this information.
Kathleen wrote: "The beginning of chapter 11 stunned me as John Barton considers Esther to be “an individual of so little value or note to any.” That’s harsh. Do we know what’s causing Margaret’s and Alice’s blin..."
Good catch, Kathleen on John Barton's dismissive point of view of Esther. Esther as a street-walker was considered "a fallen woman". Prostitutes were held in low esteem throughout society in the 19th century and well into the 20th. There were already a few organisations helping prostitutes (Dickens! Jean mentioned this in our common read of Oliver Twist), and there are relatively many of them now. Your justified indignation shows how much our point of view has changed. John's harsh comment merely reflects the opinion of society in general.
Blindness: at those times, and in those classes, becoming blind was more frequent than nowadays. People did not visit an ophtalmologist as we do, nor were glasses so (relatively) easily available as now. Some conditions avoided today through medications (glaucoma) or surgery (cataracts) were more frequent, occurring earlier, but they were not named that way nor diagnosed. Nor were patients with some conditions like diabetes regularly screened for their eyesight as they are today.
People like John Barton or Alice were eating poorly and their intake of vitamins (some of them do help for a better eyesight!) was scarce if not non-existent. Plus difficult conditions were prevailing: you find many candles in Pemberley at Mr Darcy's but just one at Mary Barton's who is still trying hard to spare them... Hence a telling French phrase: une économie de bouts de chandelles (an economy of bits and pieces, literally "candle ends"). Margaret and Mary were sewing often overnight by candle light, which damaged eyesight even more.
Petra wrote: "This was one of the more positive chapters yet. Jem is benefitting from his invention and moving up in the world and his family are comfortable & safe. Margaret is thriving, happy and doing well...."
I agree with you Petra that persons like Margaret and her grandfather, as well as Alice, are positive persons who bring more light (no pun intended) into this bleak world of theirs.
Indeed Mary has suddenly grown up a little bit as Kathleen aptly wrote. Her reaction after Jem had left in chapter 11 shows that it came as a "revelation", hence the suddenness of her maturing process.
Chapter 13A few days later, Will Wilson fetches Mary because Aunt Alice and himself are invited at Job Legh’s and Margaret’s. Mary learns that Jem has been in a state of depression since he returned from Halifax. He barely speaks and is absent-minded. To her disappointment, Jem is not at the gathering.
The evening turns out to be a merry one, because Will and Job have a lively argument about the existence of mermaids. Will says that a shipmate of his from the John Cropper once saw a mermaid. Later, when Margaret sings, Will is entranced by the beauty of her voice. The evening ends with Will telling the group that he will soon set sail for America.
Mary returns home, thinking of her depressed father, of Harry Carson, who continues to stalk her, and of Jem, whom she has not seen since his return.
Wide perspectives vs. psychological imprisonment.Margaret has added a sweet, otherworldly note to the meeting with her angelic voice, which fascinated Will. Is she not the mermaid Will has been talking about? Interestingly, Will has added an international and colourful, exciting dimension to this small world of characters who cannot afford to travel. After a few misunderstandings, there seems to be some common ground for Job and Will.
Job Legh, Margaret and Will Wilson all have an opening : Job’s scientific and bookish curiosity, Margaret’s gift for singing, or Will’s profession as a sailor with a rich geographical and human experience.
We also remember that Elizabeth Gaskell's brother John joined the merchant navy, but was reported missing during an expedition in India in 1827. There is also an interesting sailor character in Sylvia's Lovers.
By contrast, other protagonists seem to be trapped in a stagnant situation.
. Mary's house is ”dingy and dreary-looking”. There is no fire in the fireplace, and it is all too quiet, as though all life were absent. She is taking up work for the evenings to earn a little money, but it does not allow her and her father to survive decently. She is very much worried by her father’s appearance which shows that he is ill from starvation and addiction to opium. There is no communication between Mary and her father. She cannot share her private concerns with him although they have had a close relationship since Mrs Barton’s death.
Moreover she is also trapped in her house because of Harry Carson who is stalking her and lurking around on the streets, exposing her to the view of passers-by, even perhaps of neighbours or acquaintances who could then talk to her father, or even worse, to Jem Wilson, about such encounters. Therefore, Mary is never quiet and relaxed, she is harassed at Miss Simmonds’ workshop, with "Sally’s odious whispers hissing in her ear".
. Mary was very upset by Jem's absence at Job Legh's - he would not have joined them either because he is so depressed by Mary's refusal that he does not want to see her or have opportunity to talk to her. Their communication, once uneasy, now seems to have frozen into a permanent unhealthy statu quo.
. Harry Carson is trapped into his own seduction game that seems to become even more obsessive. He is increasingly thrilled by this challenge, as Mary does not accept being seduced. Sally herself is mercenary and it is in her interest that that lucrative game goes on.
. Alice is perhaps the best embodiment of imprisonment: she is now deaf and blind and gradually confined in her own thoughts. She will probably not be able to go to Burton anymore. Unlike others, who may pity her, she finds a spiritual way out, as she gladly accepts her fate as her God-given purpose in this life.
Now it's up to you!
Chapter 10 - all of the chapters leading up to this one are dense and intense. Mrs. Gaskell is certainly not afraid to tell her story through these characters. Mary is confused and now is repenting her rash decision about Jem. Now, like Eve in the garden of Eden who was tempted by the snake, she has been tempted by Harry who will now be her nemesis and a big problem. I wonder if Harry will keep his scheming secretive still? Would there be a benefit? Many men had relationships they did not mean to consummate with marriage at this time and this is what he wanted with Mary. He probably believed she would give into his charms knowing she’d dream of marrying him but only he would know otherwise. I am not at all surprised by Mary’s sudden change of heart for Jem. Since they’ve known each other their whole lives, it’s a friendship that she didn’t realize was more. It seems that she needed to reject him in order to realize her feelings.
I do hope Jem doesn’t do anything drastic now. But Mary may need to instigate rather than wait on Jem.
Will is a great character with his good nature, his love of storytelling, and his sense of adventure. He is using his eyes to take in everything he sees traveling around the world as a sailor. I was feeling like he was using his words to describe what Alice and Margaret would never be able to see with their failing eyesight, and letting them see the world through his eyes. Will seems to be drawn to Margaret and her lovely voice, seeing the best in people.
Now after reading ch 12, I am so happy to see Margaret having such a positive influence on Mary and giving her good advice about how to handle Jem. I do agree now (and think instigating with Jem is not the way) that it’s wiser to be patient than to make her own way to Jem. Befriending his mom is a wonderful idea!
Thank you Connie and Lori!Yes, Elizabeth Gaskell is letting a lot of her own feelings come out. This is what make the story so poignant.
Chapter 14Esther is now released from jail after serving her one-month sentence. She is looking for someone to warn Mary of the danger she is facing. She will not try to speak to John Barton again, as he has been violent and rude to her. Nor does she want to warn Mary herself. All the honest and decent people she once knew will not accept to listen to her now that she looks so destitute.
We learn that Esther has been spying on Mary and her relatives and friends from afar and knows that she and Harry Carson are close. She is looking for Jem Wilson, who she knows was a close friend of the Bartons with his parents and wants to speak to him. Esther has had a very sad experience in life and is realistic about what might happen to Mary. She tells Jem how she ran away with a young army officer who promised to marry her. She had his child, but when his regiment was sent to Ireland, he left her alone with her baby girl. She never heard from him again. She then set up her own shop, but after a while her baby was ill and Esther had to sell everything she had to buy food and medicine for her daughter. When her baby died, she gave up her shop and her room and became a prostitute and an alcoholic. She moved back to Manchester, where she could go unnoticed by her acquaintances. On several occasions she saw Mary walking home late at night, first alone, then accompanied by a young man who was also having long conversations with a girl whom Esther did not trust. She soon discovers that the young man is the son of Mr Carson, the mill owner. She believes that Harry has no intention of treating Mary well.
Jem is grateful for this information and offers to take Esther into his home to save her from a life on the streets. Esther refuses. She thinks she is beyond saving. She is confused because she has not drunk alcohol while in jail and has had visions and nightmares. She urges Jem to save Mary from what she believes could be the same fate. They part, but Jem later wishes he had done more to help Esther get her life back on track.
When he returns home, his world has collapsed again, and he feels completely alienated from his family. His mother, aunt and cousin Will are their old selves, looking after him and trying to cheer him up. When he finally retires to his room, pushing a chest of drawers against the door to avoid any intrusion on his privacy, he reflects on what he has just learnt. Mary loves another.
Why has Harry Carson, surrounded by a host of beautiful young ladies, chosen Mary, his "own wild rose"? His exacerbated feelings drive murderous thoughts through his mind. Will he kill Mary? Or Harry ? Or himself? But his conscience - and "the still small voice" (1 Kings 19:10) - eliminates all his disastrous ideas and he decides, as he promised Esther, to be Mary's "earthly keeper" and "to her as a brother", which nicely alludes to Genesis 4:9.
Thomas Wright (1789-1875) is described as a “prison philanthropist” and inspired the prison visitor who helped Esther. Educated at a Wesleyan Sunday School he became indifferent to religion but experienced eventually a conversion of his heart. He decided to visit prisoners (Matthew 25:36-40) and was allowed to do so from 1838. A foundry overseer, he dedicated his evenings and Sundays afternoons to visits at the New Bailey, where he was called “the Good Samaritan of the prisons”, as he helped released convicts to find employment. Mrs Gaskell became acquainted with him. Through him she visited prisoners and met a young woman named Parley who became an inspiration for her novel Ruth.
EstherShe is the archetypal “Fallen Woman” par excellence.
We have met her before or will meet her again later, with some variations.
She is Fantine in Les Misérables (Hugo wrote the Fantine chapters in 1845-46 even if he stopped working at his novel because of the 1848 Revolution and his subsequent exile on Guernsey, CI, where he resumed working at it. A prostitute harshly treated by a man on a walkway in Paris inspired the character of Fantine) but she may also be in some ways Nancy in Oliver Twist or in other ways Fanny in Far From the Madding Crowd, or many other unfortunate young girls worldwide.
Esther was pretty, dreamed of a better future for her, met a handsome young man, was seduced by him, loved him, had a child, was abandoned, could not socially and financially survive as a single mother, “a fallen woman”, and the rest is history.
Beyond that, Esther is, as a street-walker, very much, too much, outside, in the night, in the rain, in cold winters. She is supposed to be missing, to be nowhere, but she is everywhere. She has been knowing every detail about the Bartons from the start, or nearly so. She has seen much, and listen attentively to the neighbours’ conversations and gossips. She knows who is where, what they do.
Who is Esther?
. a formidable plot device?
. the omniscient and omnipotent narrator?
. a good angel under the guise of a dark one?
We note that she was physically absent for many chapters, but was constantly or sporadically mentioned in John Barton's conscience. She reappeared once and was brutalised by John, who would not listen to her. But we, the readers, knew she had something to reveal, but she was silenced for another month - while more was to happen: Jem's proposal, Harry's mock proposal.
Her reappearance in this chapter may give the plot a new direction.
I will post on chapter 15 on Monday, 6 May 2024. I am looking forward to your comments!
I like how Gaskell portrays Jem's thought processes when he hears what to him is another devastating piece of news. First his thoughts turn to murder, then he calms down and starts to think things through until he comes up with a sensible plan of action. The same thing happened when Mary turned down his proposal. His first thoughts were that his life was over and he would become a drunkard or maybe a thief or murderer. But then he thinks about his mother and aunt who depend on him and decides he must do his best to provide for them. He is a passionate man but the good in him always takes over in the end. His willingness to look after Mary even after she has refused him shows how much responsibility he is willing to take for those he cares about, even when he thinks Mary will not thank him for it.
I am commenting on three chapters but will try to make it brief.First let me echo thanks to Claudia for the Unitarian and other informative posts that make the read more understandable.
Although I like Gaskell's writing, she has tended to make her leads Mary and Jem seem a bit too melodramatic for my taste. I think it is because she is trying too hard to make them sympathetic. Mary is fitting the victim stereotype almost to the point where I wish her ill. OTOH, secondary characters are drawn marvelously
Chapter thirteen has been my favorite from the book so far. The portrayal of Job (science,reason) versus Will (superstition, belief) is portrayed brilliantly. Instead of having them hold their positions, Gaskell brings the two toward common ground where they compromise rather than polarize. I loved how the author handled this.
Further discussing Gaskell's handling of social ills, I thought Gaskell was ahead of her time in portraying Esther's continued prostitution as a choice influenced by here dependence on alcohol, which is necessitated as a coping mechanism for her continued prostitution. This type of circular cause and effect is far from the judgmental blame that would have been the norm for the time and is quite modern in view.
I would like to join this reading, and I regret not having participated from the very beginning. Claudia’s lead and the few commentaries I have seen by all the participants are intriguing, so here I am. Apologies for my late start! 🐢I will be using the Oxford version on Kindle.
Sam wrote: "I am commenting on three chapters but will try to make it brief.First let me echo thanks to Claudia for the Unitarian and other informative posts that make the read more understandable.
Although..."
I agree with you, Sam. Indeed the lead characters Mary and Jem may appear a bit melodramatic, althought as Katy said Jem's thought process from passion to a sense of responsibility is brilliantly described. Perhaps Mrs Gaskell aimed to stress their unfortunate situation to make readers of her time sympathetic with the plight of the working classes. She perhaps felt that a touch of melodrama might have been a good device to do so.
I definitely like many secondary characters in this novel! They are very well portrayed and realistic!
Your analysis of the dynamics of chapter 13 is really interesting, as is your mentioning circularity in Esther's situation. A noticeable difference between Esther and Fantine is that Esther's situation is described by Esther herself in the story she tells Jem. Her way of telling her story reveals a certain lucidity.
Lee wrote: "I would like to join this reading, and I regret not having participated from the very beginning. Claudia’s lead and the few commentaries I have seen by all the participants are intriguing, so here ..."It is never too late, Lee! How nice to see you again!
Esther is brave for seeking someone to tell her story to in hopes of saving Mary from a life like hers. I’m glad it was Jem as I beleive he will do what is right although I get a bit weary wondering if Gaskell is setting us up for a tragedy as a result of this encounter. Jem wants to have a talk with Harry now and I hope it goes cordially but there is potential for bad things to happen and emotions to go awry. I am quite concerned for Jem. I want him to go straight to Mary and ask her about her feelings for Harry. Now he believes that Mary loves Harry but we know she loves Jem. Gaskell has given readers all of the information and the characters are in the dark. It is a wonderful plot tactic to keep us guessing as to what will happen. We can come up with a lot of different scenarios.
I think the melodrama that Sam has mentioned in Jem and Mary and the way in which readers had to wait for Esther to get out of prison before we learned of her news is very Dickenslike. This is the first feel for the way Dickens would treat a story so far that I have gotten. Gaskell’s writing is not similar to Dickens at all as it’s more straight forward and not as colorful.
Indeed Lori, I agree that it is a brilliant plot tactic. Readers know absolutely everything but Esther also knows *almost* everything. However while she was in prison she may have missed Jem's proposal which occurred behind closed doors. Still she may catch up quickly as she is skilled in listening to various gossips and following Mary and others. This makes her a multidimensional protagonist.
Chapter 15John Barton is hungry, hopeless, and desperate. “And so day by day, nearer and nearer, came the diseased thoughts of John Barton. They excluded the light of heaven, the cheering sounds of earth. They were preparing his death.»
His hatred of the upper class continues to grow. He has a strong feeling of injustice. "John Barton's overpowering thought, which was to work out his fate on earth, was rich and poor; why are they so separate, so distinct, when God has made them all? It is not His will, that their interests are so far apart. Whose doing is it? bitterness starts to bring out the monster within."
Soon, a foreign market places a large order that gives work to all the Manchester mills. However the manufacturers had good reasons to think that the same customers put in a duplicate order in a continental manufacturing town where the mills charge much less as the local taxes and costs are lower.
Therefore, the mill owners in Manchester are forced pay their workers extremely low wages to remain competitive, but they find they have no obligation to explain these measures to the workers.
The underpaid, disgruntled workers organize a strike. As a result, the mill owners are forced to hire poor power-loom weavers from the surrounding countryside “for starvations prices” who are then terrorized by the striking Manchester men. Great brutality is inflicted by the strikers on this cheap labour force.
Harry Carson joins actively the group of mill owners who oppose concessions to the strikers, while John Barton joins a deputation of trade-unionists who will negotiate with manufacturers for higher wages.
Meanwhile, Harry is insisting to Mary that he will have her and even threatening her. Mary is desperate as Jem has not visited at her home, nor has she visited him for propriety reasons. Therefore she had no opportunity to apologise for her words and accept his proposal.
Mary notices that Will Wilson is in love with Margaret. Although she is blind, she feels his gaze upon her and blushes. Will prepares to act on his love by looking for gifts for Job Legh.
One day, Jem approaches Harry and asks him about his intentions towards Mary. Harry finds out that Mary rejected Jem and taunts him with this information. Harry says it his intentions for Mary are no business of Jem’s and calls Mary “an arrant flirt”. Jem refuses to leave until Harry reveals his intentions so Harry strikes him with his cane. Jem throws Harry to the ground, and a policeman arrives, breaking up the fight and asking Harry if he should arrest Jem. Harry admits he has hit Jem first, so he asks the policemen to let Jem walk away. Jem is still threatening Harry if something should happen to Mary. The policeman has Jem move on. As we have seen repeatedly earlier in the novel, the last lines of the chapter sound somehow foreboding.
Class struggles and private conflictsWe are in the thick of a class conflict paralleled with a private conflict and a “love triangle”.
Elizabeth Gaskell provides us with many technical details that clearly explain why one should consider all the aspects of the social issue.
Yet, it is once again all about a failed communication:
. John Barton is locked into his own problem. He is feeling physically and psychologically worse and worse but spends what is left of his energy in the present social conflict. He is taking upon himself all the misery of the workers. He has been absent from home, therefore he has no possibility to distance himself from all the surrounding issues, be it for a short while. He has lost his friend George Wilson who may have been able to influence him positively.
As I mentioned earlier, Manchester has become a laboratory for revolutions. Delegates from other big industrial cities are coming to Manchester. John has become a local political leader, entirely dedicated to the cause of the working classes and relied upon by them. ”And what perhaps more than all made him relied upon and valued, was the consciousness which every one who came in contact with him felt, that he was actuated by no selfish motives; that his class, his order, was what he stood by, not the rights of his own paltry self.”
. Still, trade-unionists, workers and mill-owners, the latter now organised in factions, don’t communicate together. Why should the masters explain to the workers their reasons for keeping prices low and wages low? The manufacturers and mill owners conclude that the workers are low class, uneducated and rough people who are incapable of understanding their point of view. Workers and trade unionists who terrorise poor, starving, cheap labour are rough and set a bad example, closing the doors to any conversation. Mr Carson Sr, who has climbed the social and corporate ladder, makes a point of not communicating with those he once belonged to.
. Mary has no way of talking with Jem. She cannot go to him because her initiative would not be appropriate for a young girl. There are no opportunities for her to meet Jem: Jem has not turned up at Barton's because he now knows that she is (supposedly) in love with Harry Carson, who himself regards Mary as his toy, while he mocks Jem when the latter tries to get more precise information about his plans for her.
. There is no communication either between Jem and Harry Carson, although Jem is trying to speak with the mill-owner’s son. Harry, a spoiled child, who is rich and educated and handsome and knows it, would not lower himself to say more to “a smith”. Jem is outraged by the way Harry is speaking of Mary, but he is not the first who begins a physical fight.
The wonderful poem by William Gaskell as an epigraph says this all:
"Where is the wisdom that shall bridge this gulf
And bind them once again in trust and love?
This was another rich chapter! I am looking forward to your comments!
Sam wrote: "Chapter thirteen has been my favorite from the book so far. The portrayal of Job (science,reason) versus Will (superstition, belief) is portrayed brilliantly. Instead of having them hold their positions, Gaskell brings the two toward common ground where they compromise rather than polarize. I loved how the author handled this...."I, too, thought that Gaskell's thoughts on this spiral beyond her time. She captured the torment of the addictions that people can find themselves leaning on to cope with a bad situation that they find themselves in. It's a downward spiral that we still see today. Gaskell saw this so well and with tenderness & caring for these poor people who struggle with troubles & addictions.
Lee wrote: "I would like to join this reading, and I regret not having participated from the very beginning. Claudia’s lead and the few commentaries I have seen by all the participants are intriguing, so here ..."Welcome, Lee. I look forward to your comments.
Claudia wrote: "Class struggles and private conflictsWe are in the thick of a class conflict paralleled with a private conflict and a “love triangle”.
Elizabeth Gaskell provides us with many technical details ..."
Things seem to be coming to a head on all fronts in this story now.
The workers and owners are on opposite sides and tempers are flaring.
The workers have been backed into a corner. They either starve with no work or starve with work. Either way, their lot is to starve. They are desperate.
The owners are desperate, too, in their own way. There are many mills willing to do the orders. The owners must cut corners but they don't look into their own corners; just the corners of their workers. Also....as Claudia says, there's a horrid lack of communication. If the owners would tell the workers of the competition for orders, perhaps the two sides could work together to get the work done in a manner that is acceptable to both sides.
Jem and Mary are starting to frustrate me a bit and yet the situation for Mary is becoming quite dangerous for her. I hope they come together soon and talk about things.
Poor John! His desire to help his fellow workers is causing his personal life to decline and suffer.
The story is becoming tense.
Petra wrote: "Claudia wrote: "Class struggles and private conflictsWe are in the thick of a class conflict paralleled with a private conflict and a “love triangle”.
Elizabeth Gaskell provides us with many te..."
Wonderful comments, Petra!
Yes, it is becoming very tense.
What a contrast between Jem and Harry Carson! Harry has the fine clothes while Jem has the fine character. Jem is trying to protect Mary, even though it could be physically dangerous for him. Although the policeman saw the altercation between the two men, he sided with the upper class man.During the first few chapters of the book it seemed like it was just a flirtation between Mary and Harry. But Harry is turning into a dangerous stalker, and will not accept being rejected. He comes from a privileged class, so he feels entitled to take what he wants and doesn't care if someone gets hurt.
Thank you for another great summary, Claudia!
Connie wrote: "What a contrast between Jem and Harry Carson! Harry has the fine clothes while Jem has the fine character. Jem is trying to protect Mary, even though it could be physically dangerous for him. Altho..."Hello Connie! Wasn't the confrontation between Jeb and Harry well done? Another winning chapter from our author...
A great scene indeed!A great phrase, Connie, Harry has the fine clothes while Jem has the fine character!
Very impressive writing in that scene, Sam and Claudia!
Chapter 16A deputation of workers (John Barton is absent) are meeting the mill owners in a hotel meeting room at 11am and a delegate presents them with the striking workers' demands. The owners are divided, with some arguing for concessions and others categorically rejecting the workers' demands. As the owners discuss their plan of action, Harry Carson jumps up and told them not to give in. They call the deputation back into the room.
Harry Carson, unnoticed, draws a cruel caricature of the ragged men before him, with a caption from a scene of King Henry IV, Part 1 by Shakespeare (note in my last post below): "No eye hath seen such scarecrows".
The caricature is passed around, the mill owners smile at it, then it is thrown into the fireplace but does not fall into the fire. At the same time, the mill owners informed the delegation that they had voted against the concessions and demand that their workers be unaffiliated with trade-unions. One of the delegates saw the drawing being crumpled up and thrown into the fireplace. He returned after everyone had left and, on a false pretext, asked a waiter to fetch the ball of paper.
Later that evening, at 7pm the workers held a meeting in a pub room ordinarily reserved for festivities. An unnamed delegate from London gives a rousing speech and insists on the power of Manchester unions uniting with other cities. Some delegates are appointed to go to Glasgow, Newcastle, Nottingham, etc. The "gentleman from London" leaves, leaving the Manchester trade unionists alone.
The remaining delegates discusses the morning meeting with the masters. The worker who had found the cartoon shows it to his comrades, who admitted that it was a realistic but very offensive drawing in their context of "want and need", even more offensive for their starving wives and children. John Barton makes an eloquent speech about all this.
He also explains why he was absent that morning. He had gone to visit Jonas Higginbotham in New Bailey prison, a labourer imprisoned for throwing vitriolic acid on one of those cheap labouring rural weavers nicknamed 'knob-sticks'. Jonas asked Barton to go to his house, fetch his silver watch and sell it, visit his victim in hospital and beg forgiveness on his behalf, and give the money to his family back home, so Barton went. Sadly, the country weaver is in a very poor condition and weeps for his wife and child. John Barton is devastated and declares that there must be no more violence against those workers.
He encourages his colleagues to blame the mill owners for all the suffering and not to take out their grievances on men of their own class, especially those who are worse off than they are.
All the workers swear an oath and anonymously and secretly draw lots to see who will make the mill owners pay - by murdering one of them.
A pivotal chapterThe class struggle is at its height. The mill owners met with the workers, but they did not agree. Some mill owners would be able to make some concessions, explain their position on the need to be competitive and still maintain decent wages for the workers. But some other mill owners, including Harry Carson, are vehemently refusing any constructive communication with the delegates. This infamous caricature shows how the masters view their workers.
On the other hand, the trade unionists we see here are, understandably, not in a position to look at things from a healthy perspective. They are hungry and desperate to see their children crying for food. Their clothes are tattered because none of them can afford to buy new ones. Without enough to eat, they lack vitamins and all the other nutrients that keep their bodies strong and their minds healthy. Mill owners like Harry Carson cannot, or will not, understand this.
The caricature, in a context of an impossible communication, is the last straw that ignites the wrath of the workers who are now conspiring to commit a crime.
The last sentence has a dramatic, biblical resonance: "He who had drawn the marked paper had drawn the lot of the assassin! and he had sworn to act according to his drawing! But no one save God and his own conscience knew who was the appointed murderer!"
I was reminded of Matthew 27:35 "And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots."
A mysteryThe novel, which is set in the context of two or three families, had already increasingly taken on a social dimension.
But the dramatic tension of this chapter is heightened by a mysterious conspiracy. The more we are reading, the less we dare to breathe.
. an ominous epigraph by William Gaskell prepares the reader for what is to come. These verses find an explanation as the chapter unfolds.
. the course of the meeting is described in detail. Times and places are specifically mentioned.
. the Shakespearean allusion and quotation emphasises the gulf between the masters and the workers.
. the unnamed "gentleman from London" and the unnamed delegate who collected the discarded drawing add to the mystery, even if this is perhaps not particularly mysterious.
. it is also mentioned that the meeting room in the pub is usually reserved for festive occasions, adding to the drama of the union meeting which is quite the opposite.
. the story within the story of Jonas Higginbotham's victim is extremely sad and dramatic, even graphic.
. the closing lines are dramatic with a nearly biblical accent. Only God and the conscience of the man who drew the assassin's lot know, but we do not.
There we see that the narrative has changed its tone.
And a little more®Mrs Gaskell, without the slightest intention of scorning them, mentions "the ragged detachment" (a reference to Falstaff's description in Shakespeare's King Henry IV, Part 1 Act 4, Scene 2, and Lord Westmorland's remark, "Ay, but, Sir John, methinks they are exceeding poor and bare, too beggarly"). The word “ragged” occurs twice in Falstaff’s tirade: “slaves as ragged as Lazarus in the painted cloth, where the glutton's dogs licked his sores” and “ten times more dishonourable ragged than an old faced ancient”
The unnamed delegate from London is introduced as a bit-part character. "He might have been a disgraced medical student of the Bob Sawyer class."
The note in the Norton Critical Edition says that Bob Sawyer is a medical student in Dickens’ The Pickwick Papers.
No one in this chapter can (or will) honestly communicate with others. John only knows his trade Union mantra and everything is colored by the influence of the opium and his anger. Jem doesn’t know the truth of Mary’s feelings so confronts Harry from a very weakened position while revealing his own. Harry implies more control than he has (as he always does) but also demonstrates physical weakness at the hands of Jem. And of course the owners and strikers don’t talk at all, though the first error here is on the owners. I guess the question is where will this lead? Who and what can be saved, if anyone or anything?
"When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions" said Claudius in Hamlet, Act IV, Scene V.This is the only quote I know from Shakespeare, and it does apply to many situations. I had to dig deeper - yet not so deep - to identify the "ragged detachment". There was also a similar phrase in Gissing's The Odd Women.
Specialists of William Shakespeare, do not hesitate to correct or add to this!
Up to you, till we meet again for chapter 17 on Thursday, 9 May!
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I love it when authors do this! Apart from those in William Shakespeare the references to characters can often pass us by, but it's such a thrill when we spot one. 😊
Good to se you here Lee! I'm amazed when folk can handle two chapter-a-day reads at once, like you and Connie!
We’ve had loads of company, with minimal reading time, so I’ve had some catching up to do today. Thus I’m just making some scattered comments.In chapter 14, I was somewhat moved by Esther’s comment that “Such as live like me could not bear life if they did not drink. It’s the only thing to keep us from suicide.” John Barton had earlier referred to her as “an individual of so little value.”
And then just a few pages later Gaskell explains that Barton relies on opium “due to his hopeless life, with daily cravings of the body for food” and “opium gives forgetfulness for a time.” He is no different than Esther.
In chapter 16 we move away from personal problems to the crux of the situation. It’s almost like a break. Just pages before we were mired in the almost sickening melodrama of romance and now there is a much needed change of scene, although one thar is also very tense.
Thanks for all the posts and interesting commentary. I'm trying to catch up with the group but up to chapter 10 right now, but I've been following along with the chapters. I really see a lot of tie ins with and parallels Dickens and Gaskell in the form of social commentary about working conditions and the pathos of family, tragedy. Anyhow, I will try to catch up in the next week or so.
I was touched by John's telling of his visit to the knob-stick in the hospital and his resolution that the workers cause no more harm to those as poorly off as they themselves are. It showed that the workers remain empathetic and caring, something that the mill owners are not. As Claudia listed above, there are some mysteries happening here, with unnamed characters and the focus on dates & times. It's setting us up for a surprising revelation in the coming pages. I'm looking forward to finding out what is not currently being said.
Murder! Wow...that's a drastic move to make. I wonder if whoever pulled the unlucky chit will be able to go through with it.
I hope the Union changes it's mind on this murder. These workers suffer already; they don't need the guilt added to their woes.
Kathleen: interesting parallel on Esther's alcoholism and John's opium addiction as a support in their respective difficulties.Franky: welcome! Do not hesitate to mention relevant ties in or parallels you spotted between Dickens novels and Mrs Gaskell's Mary Barton!
Petra: that passage was terrible. I felt it more acutely on my second reading .
Mrs Gaskell shows in a nuanced way, never black or white, how trade-unionists are pushed to extremities. That caricature and mocking is but the last straw, the little something which might have been otherwise unnoticed, the pinch of salt into raw wounds. Several coincidences were concurring to that fateful drawing of lots. Including the story of that poor low wage worker, which added tragedy to tragedy.
The discarded ball of paper fell aside from embers and did not burn, was noticed by one of the delegates, who managed to get hold of it...and showed it to his comrades.
Und da war der Teufel los!
(more telling in German than in any other language)
Claudia wrote: "Und da war der Teufel los!..."
This exactly.
It's interesting how Gaskell makes us feel for these characters and realize the depths of their despair. We live this situation through them and are a part of it.
That insight into John’s ability to change was so nice to see after his seemingly steady downward trajectory. I hope he isn’t the chosen one, but even if he isn’t, he has voted for this move.
Thank you all! Let's move on!
Dickensians!
Books mentioned in this topic
The Grapes of Wrath (other topics)Mary Barton (other topics)
Bleak House (other topics)
Oliver Twist (other topics)
Dombey and Son (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
William Shakespeare (other topics)Charles M. Relyea (other topics)
Charles Dickens (other topics)
Elizabeth Gaskell (other topics)
George Eliot (other topics)
More...
I will post on chapter 13 on Friday, 3 May.