Dickensians! discussion
Dickens' Favourite 19th C Novels
>
Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell - Group Read (hosted by Claudia) 2nd thread
I found it to be a nervous breakdown due to all of the anxiety she has experienced with trying to save Jem and not incriminate her father. Her body is also affected so much so that Jem fears she may die. She’s in a bad state. I’d not even considered this to be due to the fragility of women in this era. I think this is real physical and mental exhaustion.
Lee wrote: "Is Mary’s a mental or a physical collapse, or both? As I was reading I was finding it objectionable that the author just made the heroine collapse, which reflects the early Victorian view of the fr..."Now that you mention it, Lee, is does remind me of a little bit of The Woman in White. I think also like Lori mentions that it was a nervous breakdown and utter exhaustion of everything catching up to her. It's odd (funny) that these things always happen in Victorian novels at the most inappropriate times for the characters. Adding more tension and drama.
I thought of it as a combined physical and emotional exhaustion which, in those times, was considered a malady suffered more by women. Men weren’t supposed to have (or at least display) the visible effects of emotional exhaustion. Women could be committed for it. Thankfully, Mary was among friends who knew (some of) the reasons for her situation and supported her. And even got her medical care. Apparently the doctor didn’t dismiss her out of hand as needing care.
Thank you very much for your comments!As far as Mary is concerned I didn't find her collapse unrealistic. As Lori mentioned and as I replied to a comment on a preceding chapter, she has been anxious about two essential things: getting hold of Will and saving Jem, without involving her father.
Don't we forget either that Mary has not been eating properly (as we understand nowadays) for months, even perhaps for years (it is a case of malnutrition as described by Friedrich Engels in his book) and especially in the last few days, nor has she been able to sleep well, or at all, for many days most recently.
However we see some instances of female protagonists affected by illnesses at a crucial time of a plot in Regency or Victorian novels, not necessarily due to the fragility of women, but more because illnesses nowadays easily curable could be mortal or at least invalidating for a while in the 19th century.
We also experience illness in novels of that time as a stage in the life of protagonists, a time for reflection, conscious or subconscious, before a redemption, or at least a change of course for the better, could occur.
There are interesting instances of this in, for example, Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell, and it is not affecting women only.
Chapter 34When Jem gets to Liverpool, Mary is still oscillating between life and death. She is soon out of danger and sleeps without raving. She eventually awakens to see Jem’s loving face, her memories come flooding back to her.
Mary is now strong enough to walk. She tells Jem that she must go to see her father alone. He reluctantly agrees and they say a tearful goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Sturgis, who have been very kind.
Back in Manchester, Mary goes home and sees her father, who is but the shadow of his former self.
In her heart, Mary forgives her father for his crime, separating the sin from the sinner. Jem asks Mary to come see his mother, but she cannot go until her father is better. Jem is also preoccupied with his future in the foundry as he knows that his master will not keep him in his employ after his arrest and imprisonment and the trial in the Carson case.
The next day, Sally Leadbitter visits and candidly asks Mary about the trial and Jem’s acquittal. She has read several accounts in the press but she hopes to glean some gossips first hand. Mary tells Sally that she will not be working at Miss Simmonds' anymore and Sally calls her foolish for throwing away the only income she and Jem may ever earn - revealing that Jem has also lost his job at the foundry because of his involvement in the Carson murder. Sally says her that Mr Carson is furious at the judge and lawyers about the outcome of the trial. Still, Sally says that she will be withholding Mary’s decision about her work at Miss Simmond’s, giving her time to think about it.
After Sally leaves, it seems that Mr Barton overheared the whispered conversation. He tells Mary, who is now going to Ancoats, to ask Jem to come to their home at eight o’clock that evening.
Ebenezer ElliottDixwell. Forgiveness! Oh, forgiveness, and a grave!
Mary. God knows thy heart, my father! and I shudder
To think what thou perchance hast acted.
Dixwell. Oh!
Mary. No common load of woe is thine, my father."
Elliott's "Kerhonah."
Mrs Gaskell uses this poignantly apt epigraph to tell us straightforwardly that there is a moral issue still unsolved for Mary and her father. Its very words also take this to a higher level than a mere criminal and moral issue.
It is the beginning of Act I of Kerhonah by Ebenezer Elliott (1781-1849) an English poet, known as the Corn Law rhymer for his leading the fight to repeal the Corn Laws, which were causing hardship and starvation among the poor.
These laws placed tariffs on cereal grain imported from other countries such as wheat and maize to favour domestic agriculture. The price of grain had to reach 80 shillings a quarter, or near famine inducing levels, before foreign imports would be allowed.
A group of northern manufacturers and businessmen formed a lobby group, the Anti-Corn Law League, in 1838 to agitate for the repeal of the Corn Laws, which they succeeded in doing in June 26, 1846.
Though a factory owner himself, Elliott's single-minded devotion to the welfare of the labouring classes won him a sympathetic reputation long after his poetry ceased to be read.
Kerhonah is a drama published with The Vernal Walk and Winhill in London in 1835 and is considered an almost forgotten work.
We have already seen epigraphs from Ebenezer Elliott's writings at the beginning of chapters 4 and 5. The choice of Ebenezer Elliott for this epigraph at this stage of the novel reminds us also, in a wider perspective, that the social issues are far from being solved and that, through these lines, much has still to be explained.
Sally againAlways unexpected and uninvited, Sally has a thirst for gossip and press reports. Today she would be an avid tabloid reader, or scrolling up and down social networks in search of something sensational. She pays attention to little details about who was there, how they looked like, were there handsome men, etc., in stark contrast to the dramatic and traumatic reality. But the dramatic and traumatic reality makes everything all the more interesting for her. Were she born earlier and in Paris before the 1789 Revolution, she would have been knitting at the front row with those women (like Mme Defarge in A Tale of Two Cities) who attended capital executions.
Yet she is afraid of John Barton, who she finds too intense, almost frightening. (And yet she does not know what we know).
Surprisingly, she is a valuable source of information as she seems to have eyes and ears everywhere. She reveals to Mary that Jem has been dismissed and that Mr Carson is extremely depressed about the outcome of the trial. Although Sally has no full idea of the background and consequences, she helps Mary take a step forward.
All this shows us too how empty Sally's life is. She looks after her mother, which is certainly difficult and perhaps frustrating at times. Sally does not seem to have a life of her own, so she projects herself into the lives of others.
Over to you!We will read chapter 35 on Wednesday 5 June.
It seems as though Sally’s appearance was a way to move the plot forward since John has overheard the conversation with Mary. I’m hoping we learn more about what happened when Jen comes to see John. I’m so glad that Mary pulled through and regained her strength. I can’t figure out why she doesn’t want anyone especially Jen to help her with her father. Unless it’s still her fear of what she believes the truth is about him murdering Harry. She’s trying to protect him and keep the secret despite her forgiveness.
Looking forward to finding out how Mrs. Gaskell is going to finish this.
I was surprised to see Sally appear but I really shouldn’t have been. She does serve a good purpose doesn’t she. I am looking forward to the meeting with Jem, Mary and John, though “looking forward” probably isn’t the best way to say what I mean. It does appear that John is slowly wasting away even more quickly now so I wonder how much longer he has to live.
There are some great thoughts coming from our discussions. I wanted to follow up on how we are to read Mary Barton's characterization in the novel. I see good arguments for Mary as victim, heroine, and damsel in distress. Some of the conventions used in literature and drama to portray those states became cliched and overdone, so they are unacceptable now, but I am curious how they were seen at the time. Two extremes were the fainting/hysteria used to show the woman's reaction to extremes of stress. I think they were more acceptable at the time this was written and we have to allow that without placing negative judgement on Gaskell for using these conventions.
Good comment, Sam. We are reading Mary Barton with our eyes on modern fiction. Instead, we need to think of this book as typifying books when it was written. Think how stunned Elizabeth Gaskell’s readers would be with Demon Copperhead!
I think that the return of Sally adds some lightness that we really need at this point. Yes, she brings bad news, but she made me smile.
Chapter 35Mary goes to Ancoats and meets Jem on the way to Jane Wilson. They talk about his dismissal from the foundry. The Carson murder has ruined his reputation even if he was acquitted. Some workers do not want to have him there and it could damage the factory’s reputation. He considers emigrating to Canada. Mary is ready to go with him wherever he goes but she suddenly remembers her father at home and their appointment with him.
Mary visits Mrs Wilson who has been ”in a state of fretfulness but calms gradually down and blesses Mary as Jem’s future wife.
The young fiancés arrive to the Barton house at 8 pm. They notice at once that something is unusual in the twilight. A fire is burning in the fireplace.
John Barton is standing, leaning on his usual chair, Mr Carson is there, also standing. Job Legh is there too, listening, ”deeply affected by what he heard".
John Barton has revealed to Mr Carson that he has killed Harry. He is appealing for pity and mercy. Mr Carson is vehement and fierce and hopes that John will be soon hanged.
John finds it terrible that he has inspired such hatred, but he has been tormented by his conscience for a fortnight, after the deed he has committed. ”I would go through hell-fire if I could but get free from sin at last.”
Mr Carson is about to go to the police station ”to send men to take care of you wretched man and your accomplice.”
Mr Carson gives way to his sorrow, how he loved his son ”he was [his] sunshine, and now he is gone.”. He cries out to God for comfort.
John Barton understands that ”Rich and poor, masters and men, were then brothers in the deep suffering of the heart.”. He asks Mr Carson and God for forgiveness: ”Forgive us our trespasses” (from the Lord’s Prayer), but Mr Carson “rewrites” this verse and asks God for vengeance.
Mr Carson leaves in an agitated state. When outside, he looks up at ”the deep blue of the night-heavens” and “the calm majestic depths with all their thousand stars.”. This instills in him a deep ”spiritual impression” and he goes homewards, not to the police.
It is a ”warm, soft evening in spring” and the streets are busy. Mr Carson sees a little girl – obviously from an affluent family – with her nurse. A ”rough, rude errand-boy” involuntarily knocks her to the ground but is caught by the (athletic) nurse who threatens to call a policeman. The boy, barely older than the little girl, is scared. The little girl asks her nurse not to call the police, explaining her ”He did not know what he was doing”. She is not injured, and she allows the urchin kiss her and “make peace”.
Mr Carson is struck by the power of forgiveness in this little girl, but also by her powerful phrase, which reminds him of something he has read in the Bible. When he goes home, he looks at his beautiful, apparently unused Bible, with Harry's name and date of birth on the first page. Deeply moved by the memory of the then one-day-old baby, he searches for the passage in the Gospel where Jesus on the Cross asks God's forgiveness for his murderers, for they did not know what they were doing, but also forgiveness for all sinners, including the murderer of his son. Mr Carson now reads the Gospel eagerly, and feels as if it had been written for him.
At the same time, John lies dying on his bed and tells Mary and Jem in his own words, in his own Lancashire dialect, of his own experience of reading the Bible and not always understanding everything. He tells how he did not realise that Mr Carson was an old man and loved his son as much as he loved little Tom. John fervently wishes that Mr Carson would forgive him.
Jem goes out early in the morning to buy a medicine for John. While he is out, Mr Carson arrives just in time to hold John Barton in his arms and express his forgiveness through two verses from the Gospel (from Luke 18:13 "God be merciful to me a sinner.") and the Lord's Prayer. So ends ”the tragedy of a poor man’s life."
ChildrenThroughout the novel, we met three unknown children who impressed the characters – and ourselves. Are they not, when they came up, a mise en abyme of the story or of parts of it ? Were they not bringing about a crucial change in the hearts of some protagonists? Were they not, through their example, the situation they were in, directly or indirectly, conveying a spiritual message?
John Barton met a lost Irish child and brought him kindly home. His mother said an Irish blessing to John. Bringing a little Irish boy who was lost back to his mother when he was about to commit murder or had already done it and being blessed this beautiful Irish blessing added perhaps the last straw to John’s conscience which tortured him all the time and ate out his strengths.
Mary met an Italian boy who showed white mice in the street. He was hungry, and Mary, who had not much to give, fed him. The Italian boy too did not eat all the food Mary gave him, but fed his mouse as well. His outspoken thankfulness was certainly instrumental in Mary's moral and spiritual growth.
Mr Carson, saw this little girl wearing a probably expensive muslin gown. She did not want the involuntarily brutal boy to be reported to a policeman and “made peace” with him and said words which sounded like a Gospel truth. Mr Carson was, dimly but powerfully reminded of:
Luke 23:34: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots."
The little girl unknowingly was instrumental in changing Mr Carson's course.
A messageIt was not religion as a set of dogmas that brought Mr Carson and John Barton together, but the message of the Gospel which led them to a conversion of the heart and a better understanding of each other beyond their social differences.
Both realised that they were fathers who had lost a beloved son, their only son.
John had suffered in his conscience for what he had done and at last experienced a conversion towards redemption but needed God’s and Mr Carson's forgiveness.
Being reminded of the Gospel message by an innocent little girl – a little angel in a muslin gown who forgave a rough rude errand-boy for having pushed her, unknowingly enabled Mr Carson to go and forgive the murderer of his son, who could then die in peace. Mr Carson was still bereaved by the loss of his son, but could go more in peace.
Thanks for your comments on chapter 34!Chapter 35 is a tough and emotional chapter.
We will read and comment chapter 36 on 6 June!
So agree Claudia, Chapter 35 was a tough, emotional chapter. I thought there was a lot of symbolism/allegorical power in this one with Carson having an epiphany and change of heart. This seems to bring some resolve to a very bitter conflict, and the reader can just take a breathe after this. And, on a side note, Jem being ostracized from the community reminded me of two other noteworthy classics: Tertius Lydgate being treated as an outside in Middlemarch, and Hester Prynne being shunned in the Puritan community in The Scarlet Letter.
Franky wrote: "So agree Claudia, Chapter 35 was a tough, emotional chapter. I thought there was a lot of symbolism/allegorical power in this one with Carson having an epiphany and change of heart. This seems to b..."Yes Franky, Lydgate was considered an outsider in the small town even after his marriage, while The Scarlet Letter published in 1850, is picturing another kind of ostracism. (The letter killeth, pardon the pun!).
Don't hesitate to read Ruth too, by Elizabeth Gaskell, published in 1853.
Mrs. Gaskell must have known this was the chapter her story would surround and lead up to. It is so well written and fills the reader with emotions. She perfectly wrote Carson’s change of heart and allowed us to go through the emotional turmoil as he rejected John’s pleas to forgive him until the encounter with the little girl which lead to the remembrance of the Gospel and then the final death bed forgiveness scene. I won’t forget this chapter. And as Franky says, we can now breathe!
This was a beautifully written chapter about the power of forgiveness. Thank you for your excellent commentary, Claudia.
This was a wonderful and horrible chapter. The pain these two men went through to get to the peace they needed and, thankfully, found was so well written. As a reader, I felt the turmoil and pain they felt. Mrs. Gaskell put her heart & soul into this emotional pain. I am sad to read of John's admittance to the killing. I had hopes that he would somehow be innocent, but see now that his guilt was necessary for this story to be told.
Gaskell accomplished so much in this chapter. I was struck by how both John and Carson were able to see through the other’s eyes in the end. Mr Carson was even able to distinguish between the want and rough living he might have experienced in his youth and the abject poverty and obviously hungry and downtrodden people he saw in the Barton’s neighborhood. John Barton obviously saw that rich people could love their children just as he did. And she managed to do this through the story.
Of course we also have the now sworn love between Mary and Jem too. Let’s see where future chapters take them.
Sue, I agree. It was wonderful seeing the two of them begin to actually see each other as people with cares, woes and loves. There's more in common with humanity than not, if we take the time to look and understand. Mrs. Gaskell must have been a very wise and caring person. It seems that this story is about forgiveness, walking a mile in the other's shoes, understanding, love ....and much more. She's showing how compassion and caring for each other makes this world a warmer place for everyone.
I agree as well. It seems like this chapter just had a good deal of pathos and emotion, and there is a prevalent theme of forgiveness throughout the novel. Very powerful chapter.
Thank you all for your wonderful comments!Indeed, this pivotal chapter is about the miracle of forgiveness and of a changed heart, and very much in the novel seemed to be converging to this, as Lori said.
Mrs Gaskell has been "showing how compassion and caring for each other makes this world a warmer place for everyone." wrote Petra.
Reflecting on " the tragedy of a poor man's life, it also shows through John Barton how much he was capable of the best and the worst. Now the words of the first chapter make fully sense. We really saw these two sides of him.
It was an emotional chapter even on my second reading!
Chapter 36 Mary's family and friends make funeral arrangements. Mary is comforted by Margaret, Job, Mrs. Wilson and Jem. Jem tells his mother that John Barton is dead, but does not reveal the older man's confession.
Jem goes to the foundry, where only very few of his colleagues greet him. He has a talk with his former master Mr Duncombe, who has always been believing in Jem’s innocence and now is recommending him for a position in Toronto, Canada, as an instrument maker at an agricultural college.
Jane Wilson visits Mary and consoles the poor girl, just as Mary had done for Jane. “Thou shalt be a daughter hence forward (…) and thou wilt bear with my turns.” Says Jane, whose “heart piety” has “no garnish of texts”. Mary confesses her father’s guilt, although Jane does not let Jem know this until several years later. We are told that Jane never spoke of this again, nor mentioned it in case of a dispute between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and always spoke of John Barton with respect. Neither did she ever mentioned Mary’s former flirtation with Harry Carson.
Both women are living in a "clear and pure relationship".
Meanwhile, Job Legh has received a note from Mr. Carson asking Job and Jem to come and see him. Job is afraid it might be a trap for Jem, but Jem is determined to go and address issues up front.
We are getting closer to the conclusion and there are only two chapters left. Therefore I am going to post on chapter 37 on Friday, 7 June and on chapter 38 on Saturday, 8 June. This will give us time to comment on each of those chapters and share our thoughts on the whole novel and possibly broaden our perspective on Elizabeth Gaskell's works after I have posted on the last chapter.
Everyone is welcome!
This is a peaceful chapter. Mary is surrounded by friends who love her and are standing by her. It's wondeful that Jane is such a supportive mother-in-law, too. We're given that glimpse into the future and it's a peaceful, happy one for the family.
Waiting to hear how the visit with Mr. Carson goes.
I've been very impressed with how helpful Job Legh is to the Bartons, the Wilsons, and, of course, Margaret. He's an old man, but he's always willing to listen or lend a helpful hand. I'm glad he'll be accompanying Jem to see Mr Carson.
I am sad that this great group of friends will be split up when the Wilsons move to Canada. It's going to be a difficult time for them all. They've been through a lot together.
I’m waiting for some settling between the striking workers and the mill owners. It was an important issue many chapters ago. I think we last heard from the mill owners in chapter 16.
That’s true Kathleen. I wonder if it will be brought back up. And the other question is what about Esther?
In message 141 I called Mary a “silly and weak woman who is unable to pull herself together.” Today I was more than a bit surprised when a strong woman in another book, one longlisted for the 2024 Women's Prize for Fiction, collapses for weeks after choosing to leave a close relationship. She is in too much pain to pull herself together for several weeks. That book is In Defence of the Act by Effie Black.
Lori, I’d forgotten about Esther. And I wonder why Margaret hasn’t been working much lately.
Thank you all for your comments! Indeed Margaret's work is not mentioned, Kathleen. She has been out and about helping the Wilsons, but nothing has been said about her work.
Chapter 37Mr. Carson forgets his vengeful plans. “He had witnessed the death of his son’s murderer.”. He is in deep sorrow after the death of Harry. His motivation and plans for the future had “one by one disappeared into the grave of his son”, “the foundations of his past life were razed to the ground”.
Still, he wants to elucidate the circumstances and feelings which had prompted John Barton’s crime. He has called on Mr Bridgenorth, Jem’s attorney, to check on the suspicion that “Jem might have some share in his son’s death”.
During the interview with Job Legh and Jem Wilson, Mr Carson tries to remain haughty and aloof, but his emotions do come through at times. He seems more aged than before. The two men cannot help but feel for him.
Mr Carson wants to know how Mr Barton was in possession of Jem’s gun.
Jem confirms that the gun did belong to him, but that Barton borrowed it the day before the crime, on St Patrick Day, 17 March and was intended to practice shooting as he used to do with his friend George, Jem’s father, at the shooting gallery. He also explains that he did not want to tell this to Mr Bridgenorth as it would implicate John Barton, his late father’s friend, his fiancée’s father. At the time Mr Barton borrowed his gun, Jem did not know about his motives behind, nor does he know anything now. Jem’s explanations, the details mentioned, and his sincerity convinced Mr Carson that Jem is wholly innocent.
Carson wants to know what prompted Barton’s crime. He asks Job and Jem, who reply that Barton was utterly indignant by the pain of the poor. Jem also mentions that Mr Barton was not aware of Mary’s flirtation with Harry because the person who revealed this to Jem had not disclosed it to John Barton, nor was intended to do so.
Job has a talk on the condition of workers and the gap between them and the masters. He offers the advice that man should care for his fellow man, but Mr Carson responds that he feels it is better for men to be self-reliant. He also shortly explains some issues manufacturers are confronted with. They cannot come to an agreement about this all and part ways, bowing first and shaking hands.
However, this conversation eventually influences Mr Carson, who eventually decides to devote his energy to solving the social unrest that led to his son’s death. His suggestions lead to the implementation of several improvements in Manchester's employment system.
A few thoughtsThis conversation between Mr Carson and Jem and Job Legh provides an opportunity to understand some elements left unclear up to now.
As a mourning father deeply affected by the violent death of his son, Mr Carson needs to know exactly what happened, how and why it happened. The rushed investigation and the abrupt acquittal may have been frustrating for him and his family.
Now he has heard John's confession and gone a huge step forward when he forgave him. Mr Carson - and the readers - now understands how John Barton came into possession of Jem's gun. Jem (a bit too easily?) bought John's (somehow unconvincing) purpose. Still the real motive of Harry's murder is left unclear, perhaps forever. In that fateful conspiracy, noone among the Unionists knew who had drawn the lot of the assassin. Nor did the really rushed police investigation allow to reveal anything about the background of Harry's death.
But the conversation also allows, in spite of all, a beginning of communication between two employees and a manufacturer leading to eventual changes in the condition of workers. Unlike Mr Duncombe, Jem's master, who is openly talking with Jem as if both were on the same level, Mr Carson has been haughty and unwilling to listen to his employees nor to explain them anything about his own difficulties. We remember his and Harry's attitude during the meeting with trade unionists.
While talking with Job and Jem, Mr Carson discovers that he has been wrong. He understands now that employers have a responsibility to look after their employees, to see them as fellow men and not just as an adjustment setting. His eventual transformation testifies to Mrs Gaskell’s belief in the power of forgiveness. Through Mr Carson's appointed encounter with Job and Legh, our author conveys her firm belief that understanding and communication can build bridges across class divides.
Thomas AshtonMrs Gaskell may have been partly inspired by a true story from a few years back, the assassination of Thomas Ashton a Manchester industrialist and mill-owner, around 7:00 pm on 3 January 1831.
Thomas Ashton, who was said to be esteemed by his employees, was shot dead by striking workers in Manchester as a warning to their employers. The attack occurred in the midst of the rising tensions due to the Industrial Revolution and the subsequent emergence of the Chartist and trade-union movements in a context of extreme poverty of major industrial cities such as Manchester at the time.
Many similarities with Thomas Ashton's assassination have been noticed. However he belonged to "the best known "enlightened" Unitarian factory-owners in Manchester and was esteemed by his employees.", stressed Jenny Uglow.
Upon reading the chapter of Harry's murder in Mary Barton, Thomas' sister "realised that it was a description of her own brother's assassination and she fainted."
Mrs Gaskell subsequently wrote to the family and apologised for the distress caused to Thomas' sister and claimed not to have based the plot on his assassination.
(Source: Elizabeth Gaskell: A Habit of Stories, Biography of Elizabeth Gaskell by Jenny Uglow)
Elizabeth Gaskell has also always firmly rejected any suggestion that political assassination is the norm among English trade unionists. It was, she insisted, the act of a revolted man and his comrades.
Now it is up to you, until we conclude the story on Saturday 8 June with chapter 38!
I was so pleased that Mr. Carson's outlook was changed with listening. He heard what was said and the knowledge & understanding changed him. His outlook became one of compromise, aid and fairness. This softening was my favorite part in this chapter. The workers may still have it hard, but they have it less hard because Mr. Carson is using his influence with the wealthy to make changes that are a benefit to the poor.
Petra wrote: "I was so pleased that Mr. Carson's outlook was changed with listening. He heard what was said and the knowledge & understanding changed him. His outlook became one of compromise, aid and fairness. ..."So true, Petra! Even if this conversation did not bring a revolutionary change overnight, it nevertheless built a basis for a better understanding and a better future.
Such successful communication between very different people definitely brings a glimpse of hope.
I like that this change is shown as happening slowly, organically, from within, not imposed on him by an all knowing author. Carson wants more information, fights within himself against some of the implications of John Barton’s apparent motive but continues to consider all he has learned before devising a future course that he will quietly pursue.Gaskell ties it in with biblical references pulling everything full circle, well almost, until the final chapter tomorrow.
Chapter 38 After John’s funeral, Jem and Mary tell Jane Wilson about Jem’s appointment in Toronto. She heartily agrees to go with them to Canada. They take all necessary arrangements and prepare to emigrate.
A few days before they leave, Mary asks Jem how he knew of Harry’s attentions to her. Jem says that her Aunt Esther met him once as he was coming out of the foundry. He reveals how Esther told him her whole story. He also reveals the truth that Esther is a prostitute.
They resolve to find her, looking all over Manchester. Jem goes to the police and learns that Esther is known as 'the Butterfly'. He leaves several messages for Esther in disreputable parts of the town and returns home.
A few hours later, Esther, visibly ill, comes stumbling to Mary’s. Jem and Mary lay her in a bed, and a few hours later, she dies. They bury her in the same unmarked grave as John Barton.
“And there they lie without name, or initial, or date. Only this verse is inscribed upon the stone which covers the remains of these two wanderers. Psalm CIII. v. 9.—"For He will not always chide, neither will He keep His anger for ever."
A few years later, Jane Wilson, Jem, Mary and their son Johnnie are living happily in a beautiful wooden house with an orchard and a garden in Canada.
Jem returns home from work with letters from England. Job writes that Margaret has undergone eye surgery and can see again. She and Will are to be married and the three of them will visit Canada someday soon. Job jokes that his main purpose in life is to collect insects.
Poor Esther was found but she came back to her home and soon died among her next of kin. She was buried in the same unmarked grave as John, no name, no dates, no initial. Both were not with Mrs Mary Barton and little Tom, nor is poor Esther's daughter resting with them. This sounded (to me) as if Esther and John were being "thrown into the outer darkness" of a cold loneliness and anonymity.The novel began in a natural, vegetal surrounding on a May holiday evening and ends in a garden in the glory of the Indian summer. The characters who survive in the novel all continue on a path of redemption and, after all these bitter trials, are allowed to start a new life in more beautiful and less crowded surroundings. Jem is able to escape from his recent past and the murder trial, finding happiness with Mary in Canada.
The mention of a garden and an orchard is an interesting parallel to the first chapter of the novel, when the Bartons and the Wilsons were taking a few hours rest in the Green Hey Fields, in a walking distance from crowded urban areas, and almost as crowded as the courts and streets of that Manchester slum areas. There grew a flurry of wild plants and flowers, including nettles, sometimes the only food some of those impoverished workers may find. Here in Canada this new generation of Wilsons and Bartons is able to grow a garden and an orchard and harvest their own vegetables and fruits. They are not hungry any longer.
Beyond that, it may also be a symbol of a garden of Eden destroyed by a wildness of misfortunes, a paradise lost, and a new paradise found.
Jane, who has been mourning her twins, her husband and Alice, is now a happy grandmother and she seems to be getting on well with her daughter in law. A once conflictual relationship is now restored. Much has been taken from them all, but much is now being given to them.
Little Johnnie represents hope and the future. His first name also suggests that he carries the best part of John Barton, the generous side of John. John's grave does not bear his name, but the little boy does.
Even Margaret recovered her eyesight after a successful operation. She is to marry Will, who served as a purveyor of truth when truth was crucially needed. This impending marriage of his dear granddaughter with a decent and dedicated young man is a promising perspective for Job Legh.
It is more difficult to end a novel, or any text, than to begin it. I am curious to know what you all think about this final chapter of a great novel. I think that Mrs Gaskell wanted to end her story on a positive note, even if it were sounding a little unrealistic to me on my first reading. On my second reading, I was struck by the metaphor of a garden and found this conclusion quite a good parallel to the opening chapter.
Thank you for putting up with my posts in my unorthodox English! Thank you everyone for your regular contributions and fruitful comments in the long run on a great but at times harrowing story!
Claudia wrote: "John's grave does not bear his name, but the little boy does...."This struck me, too.
John (& Esther) are buried in a nameless grave, as if to be forgotten. Both ended life on the "wrong side" of the law. John as a murder; Esther as a prostitute. Therefore, their memory seems to be erased by the nameless grave, and the remaining family leaving them behind.
Yet, they name their first born after John. Meaning that his memory is kept alive for them.
Perhaps, Jem & Mary named the child John as a way of remembering the good John they knew before he became enbittered, drug dependent and wandered down the path to murder?
Baby Johnnie may like a rebirth, a second chance, for his grandfather.
I'm not sure that I'm keen on the ending. It seems a little bit too perfect. But overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this story.
Yes, the ending felt a bit tacked on and almost “merry” with the exception of Esther’s death. But we knew there would be no redemption for Esther as she had ruled it out for herself. On the other hand, all the suffering has finished, especially after Esther’s death and Carson’s epiphany, so the only matter to resolve is that of Jem and Mary. Gaskell does that well and completely by moving a few years into the future to present the new Wilson family in their happy home in Canada and a “catch-up” summary on the other remaining important characters in the story. Perhaps this could also have been labeled an afterword, as it might have been in a modern novel.
I am not sure about the nameless grave, as I do not know what burial customs were in vogue at the time for people who would be classified as "sinners". The verse inscribed on the stone seemed to indicate that God will forgive. I am glad that Jem and Mary named their son after John Barton.I also noticed the almost too perfect ending, but after everything else that happened in the book, I was glad of it.
Thank you Claudia for doing such an excellent job of leading the discussion of this book.
Dickensians!
Books mentioned in this topic
Mary Barton (other topics)North and South (other topics)
Mary Barton (other topics)
Cranford (other topics)
Hard Times (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Charles Dickens (other topics)Jenny Uglow (other topics)
Effie Black (other topics)
Ebenezer Elliott (other topics)
Dion Boucicault (other topics)
More...
But I need to go back and re-read about the onset of Mary’s disassociation from reality to make sure the author might not have actually been inserting something deliberate into the plot.
This brings up a different thread of inquiry for me as this is my first exposure to Mary Gaskell. How was genuine mental
Illness treated in Victorian times? I’m thinking of THE WOMAN IN WHITE.