Status Updates From Północ i Południe

This has been tough but I'm gaining momentum... The Hale family is intriguing, Margaret is interesting, the Thorntons are making money, the Higginses are languishing, but I'm hoping there's a bit more description of Milton-Manchester

I don't know if it's true but some sources say the reason the ending is so abrupt is because Gaskell had a row with Dickens (the novel was serialized in his magazine) and he forced her to make cuts and wrap up to fit his tight schedule.

Another reason not to give a flying fuck about Charles Dickens - shit project manager.

“Strong man as he was, he trembled at the anticipation of what he had to say, and how it might be received.”

For all his strength, he is helpless before her 🫠❤️‍🔥.

As I finish my re-read, my one qualm with it remains: The ending is just 'okay'. It's brief and proper, and I'm never satisfied. I wish it had been just a tiny bit more scandalous (thank god for Sandy Welch).

(Jane Eyre was published 8 years earlier, if Jane can sit on Mr. Rochester's lap, so can Margaret)

(Bronte and Gaskell were pals, sis could have told Elizabeth they could do more than delicious silence)