Elizabeth Gaskell
NOVELS
1. Mary Barton
2. The Moorland Cottage and other stories
MARY BARTON
by Elizabeth Gaskell
First published in 1848
The following copies available from Amazon:
Paperback - 384 pages (editor MacDaly)
Published by Penguin Books 1994;
ISBN:
0140621024
Paperback - 400 pages (editor Alan Shelston)
Published by Everyman
Paperbacks 1996;
ISBN:
046087554X
Paperback - 464 pages (editor Macdonald Daly)
Published by Penguin Books
1996;
ISBN:
014043464X 
Paperback - 530 pages (editor Edgar Wright)
Published by Oxford
Paperbacks 1987;
ISBN:
0192835106
Hardcover - 432 pages - introduction by Jenny Uglow
Published by
Everyman's Library 1994;
ISBN
1857151852
The fact that there are numerous publications of this book demonstrates
the current interest in works by Elizabeth Gaskell. This isn't surprising
considering how she addresses the complexities inherent in the human situation
regardless of time and place. How can we live comfortably in a world where both
wealth and poverty exist side by side? How does an individual reconcile personal
fulfilment in a society which will not address or acknowledge the shadow side of
human existence?
Mary Barton is the product of a sensitive and perceptive woman, married to
William Gaskell the Unitarian Minister of Cross Street Chapel in Manchester
where the congregation consisted of the upwardly mobile including entrepreneurs
and mill owners, the wealth creators of industrial Manchester in the first half
of the nineteenth century. Written from the perspective of the working-classes
it is not surprising that it drew severe criticism from the middle classes to
which the author belonged.
Elizabeth Gaskell wrote from her personal experience. She understood what it
was like to grieve for the death of a young child having lost a son in infancy.
Coming into contact with the poverty of those who could not get work during the
slump of the early 1840s and meeting the fathers who had to stand by helplessly
and watch their children die for lack of food she could empathise with their
grief.
However, the book is far more complex than a straightforward attack on mill
owners who continued to enjoy a luxurious life-style while the poor starved.
Elizabeth Gaskell held many of the ideals of the religious community of that
time and so often in the book following an attack on the profligacy of the mill
owners she adds a qualifying remark which suggests that the workers should have
managed their resources better when times had been good. Laissez-faire
economics, for someone like Elizabeth Gaskell, was almost a divine law and
consequently the results caused her difficulties in squaring what she observed
with what Jesus Christ taught in the Gospels.
Although she is sometimes a little confused as to Trade Union practice and
the role of Chartism we nevertheless get a good idea of the effects of
unemployment and poverty and the lengths to which men were driven in their
attempts to secure work and a fair wage with which to feed their families. The
conditions in which the poorest were condemned to live are depicted in realistic
terms. Elizabeth Gaskell had a flair for being able to reproduce, on the written
page, smells, colours and scenes which she had actually seen. She takes us with
her into the foul smelling cellar where the Davenport family live in conditions
not fit for animals, a place where the putrid atmosphere breeds disease. The
father is happy only in death, that being his sole means of escape.
The book though is far more than a tale of strife created by the the
inequalities between bosses and workers, wealth and poverty. It is also an
analysis of human nature. Esther, the prostitute, although a fallen woman is the
one who is 'pure in heart' and the one who tries to save Mary from falling. John
Barton eventually becomes a murderer, but surely we care about him. He responds
to the needs of others. Without his final fall as he murders the young Carson,
and his following repentance, Mr Carson senior would not have been converted to
a new way of life. Yet for all the author gives us these complex characters who
strike us as being real human beings rather than stereotypically good or bad,
characters with whom we have sympathy, she still finds herself locked in the
nineteenth century middle-class idea of the ideal woman, ideal worker and ideal
boss. John Barton and Esther, his sister-in-law, have to die. Without their
death the author could not have reached a resolution.
As both Jenny Uglow in her biography, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Felicia
Bonaparte in The Gypsy-Bachelor of Manchester - The Life of Mrs. Gaskell's
Demon, demonstrate, Elizabeth Gaskell was herself a complex woman who, in
her writing, tried to reconcile middle-class values and expectations with a
shadow side which in real life could neither be acknowledged or addressed. In
spite of the different situation of women in today's world one can't read the
novels written by Elizabeth Gaskell without learning something about the nature
of what it means to be a woman.
In spite of the lack of hope and many deaths the book does achieve a sense of
learning through suffering, a sense that characters do mature and can reconcile
the pain inherent in human existence with an ability to face the the future
positively.
As a book which examines the social psychology of a dislocated newly
industrialised society in the nineteenth century and the way that individuals
work out their lives within that framework this novel is essential reading and
is highly recommended. 
THE MOORLAND COTTAGE
AND
OTHER STORIES
by Elizabeth Gaskell
Published by Oxford Paperbacks 1995
ISBN 0192823213
The following short stories are included in the above volume:
The Moorland Cottage
The Sexton's Hero
Christmas Storms and Sunshine
The Well of Pen-Morfa
The Heart of John Middleton
Morton Hall
My
French Master
The Manchester Marriage
Crowley Castle
The Moorland Cottage
The Moorland Cottage being one hundred pages in length can be
considered a short novel rather than a short story. It was written in 1850 as a
Christmas book for the publisher, Edward Chapman. Several titles were given
consideration including 'Rosemary', 'The Fagot', and 'December Days' before
The Moorland Cottage was eventually decided upon. Elizabeth Gaskell
received £50 for the manuscript as against £100 she had received for Mary
Barton.
The book can be read at several levels but primarily it is a story about the
daughter of a clergyman's widow who bestows all her love on her only son,
Edward, expecting and encouraging him to take for granted the subordinate role
which Maggie, her daughter, can expect to lead throughout her life. Living as
they do in the isolated 'Moorland Cottage' Maggie is deeply indoctrinated by the
above with the moral expectations of the time which called upon women to lead a
life of self-sacrifice in the domestic sphere whilst the male members of the
family are prepared for public life.
Although Maggie does grow to recognise the defects within the character of
her brother she continues throughout to grow in moral stature and is able to
make her own decisions which are well considered rather than taken from a purely
submissive stance. She continues to be used by her brother Edward but she makes
the decision to sacrifice her own wishes after due consideration to all the
circumstances involved. She is depicted as a young girl growing into the
maturity of a young woman of strong character and one who can be depended upon.
Another level at which the book can be read is the contrast between the
religious life and the worldly life. Throughout the contrast is made between the
morality of a religious life as depicted in the characters of Maggie, and Mrs
Buxton and the worldliness of Edward and at stages Mr Buxton. But the author
makes the contrast between brother and sister most marked juxtaposing the
religious and worldly characteristics in sentences set closely together.
This is a religious novel rather than being 'simply a little country
love-story' as claimed by the author in a letter to her friend Lady Kay
Shuttleworth. This aspect will be considered in more detail in the appropriate
ESSAY.
This book would be worth buying for this story alone so to have the following
short stories included in the one volume is a bonus.
The Sexton's Hero
This short moral tale of less than ten pages was probably written before 1845
being published in Howitts Journal of 1847. It could well be based on a local
tale which Elizabeth Gaskell had heard whilst on a family holiday in 1843 spent
at Silverdale overlooking Morecambe Bay. She takes this tale to launch a
rebuttal of heroism as shown in Thomas Carlyle's 'On Heroes, Hero Worship and
the Heroic in History'. (1841).
The Sexton recounts his experiences of 45 years earlier to demonstrate the
heroism of self-sacrifice and duty. His rival in love, Gilbert Dawson, being a
pacifist consistently refuses to fight when goaded. As a result he looses Letty,
to the Sexton as a young man and is shunned by all but the children for being
cowardly.
However, it is Gilbert Dawson who later sacrifices his own life to save that
of his earlier rival and wife Letty. On returning from a wedding party the young
couple become stranded on the treacherous sands of Morecambe Bay with the
incoming tide rapidly cutting off any chance of a safe return. Gilbert Dawson,
who has been watching out for their return, rides out on his strong bay horse
which carries the young couple to safety whilst he drowns in his attempt to save
the couple's horse and cart. This is true heroism.
(See ESSAY NO. 3 - The Heroism of Self-Sacrifice and duty in the Sexton's Hero. )
Christmas Storms and Sunshine
This short tale of ten pages was first published in the January 1st 1848
edition of Howitt's Journal . However, the central incident round which
the story revolves was based a dozen years earlier when Elizabeth Gaskell's
daughter, Marianne, suffered a serious attack of croup when only eighteen months
old.
Howitt's Journal ran only for eighteen months and 'contained every kind
of radicalism, its varied ingredients boiled down into a rather bland soup with
a dominant flavour of romantic, high minded reformism salted by Samuel Smiles's
self help', (P.171 Jenny
Uglow - Elizabeth Gaskell) .
This humorous tale of feuding neighbours was an ideal story for Howitt's
Journal. 'A comic story with a serious centre.' (P.177
Uglow) . Mr Hodgson, compositor for the Examiner which 'was spirited
and intelligent - alias new-fangled and democratic', (P.111) is husband to Mary,
who had worked in service, and father to Tom, a puny eighteen month old baby.
They are happy yet cannot afford turkey for Christmas dinner. Fortunately Mary's
mother sends a parcel of sausages which lifts her spirits, evoking happy
childhood memories for Mary. Mr Jenkins works as compositor for the rival
newspaper, the Flying Post, which 'was long-established and respectable -
alias bigoted and Tory.' (P.111). He lives with his wife and fat cat in the
rooms above Mr and Mrs Jenkins.
This cat is well and truly beaten by Mary when he steals what pork there is
on a scrag end of mutton. The soured Mrs Jenkins unleashes a string of abuse at
the treatment of her pet cat. Mary sorely repents of her actions when thoughts
of what her mother might say, flit through her mind.
Christmas Eve sees little Tom in danger of dying from an attack of croup
until Mrs Jenkins relents and tends to the baby after hearing children outside
singing carols. She remembers words 'long forgotten, on holy stories heard at
her mother's knee'. (P.117).
There is peace and reconciliation on Christmas Day. The fat cat has stolen
Mr. Jenkins' sausages which were to go with his turkey. Mary offers her mother's
gift only to be asked to join them for Christmas Lunch. We are left with a cosy
picture of the barren and soured Mrs Jenkins rocking the sleeping Tom on her
knee whilst Mary strokes the fat cat. Even the men attain a certain respect for
each other.
This lovely little story demonstrates female solidarity in adversity and the
female propensity to give more attention to the practical rather than abstract
debates. The ongoing moral and religious influence of absent mothers is brought
to bear even though they are no longer physically present.
Christmas is no time for dissension, but note that reconciliation is brought
about by the inaction of a helpless child from a poor home. Even the rich and
grand or those who aspire to be so, are drawn by the higher value of love, into
a mutuality of care and concern for the poor and vulnerable. This is a
nineteenth century contemporary moral tale with the message of Christmas at its
heart.
The Well of Pen-Morfa
This short story was delivered to Charles Dickens in November 1850 for
publication in Household Words. It was most probably written prior to
1845.
The main story is preceded by a short tale of a young woman who had returned
to her native Wales from London, where she had been in service. Arriving back
pregnant she was left with only a small amount of money from her father who had
died shortly before her return. The baby is born deformed and lives the life of
a cripple devotedly cared for by its mother. 'Her sorrow was so dignified, and
her mute endurance and her patient love won her such respect...', (P.125).
The main story too is one of patient love and endurance of a mother for her
child. Eleanor Gwynn, a widow, lives a comfortable life with her much admired
daughter Nest, who meets Edward Williams, a young farmer, when she collects the
daily water from the Well of Pen-Morfa. He proposes marriage and she accepts.
That winter Nest slips at the well, the injury sustained leaves her crippled for
life. when Edward realises that Nest will not be suitable to work alongside him
on the farm, his ardour cools. At first Eleanor tries to protect her daughter
from this rejection but after a year tells her the truth. In turn Nest rejects
all offers of love and comfort from her mother throwing herself into the
household chores.
David Hughes, an elderly Methodist itinerant preacher, happens to call just
as Eleanor is on the verge of losing faith and giving up on life. She is calmed
by his words and prayers. Her composure impresses Nest. Eleanor dies, her
'...last look was a smile, her last word a blessing'. (P.137).
Nest recognises her past pride and harshness when left in a world where there
is noone who loves her. The preacher tells her, '...if noone loves you; it is
time for you to begin to love'. (P.137). the preacher now prays with the
daughter who finds peace. Throughout David Hughes appears as a prophetic figure
bringing peace and reconciliation.
As the story comes to a close David Hughes meets Nest for the last time. She
is a changed woman having taken in the half-witted Mary Williams. Nest is the
only person able to calm Mary during her periods of insanity.
Nest is an old woman at 50 and longs to see the fatal well once more, the
scene of her youth, beauty and love. The night before the visit she dreams of
her mother in the '...bright glory of a blessed spirit.' (P.142). Nest
dies and '...finds immortality by the well-side, instead of her fragile
perishing youth.' (P.142). Mary is taken into the workhouse where she asks God
to '...let her go to Nest now.' (P.143). The name of Nest brings peace to Mary
in her paroxysm of insanity.
See ESSAY
NO.4 for an examination of the religious ideal of Christ-like sacrificial
love which gives strength to the female characters who have been abandoned
either through bereavement or by a rejection of their love. Lasting and eternal
love is shown as the ideal set against youthful love which perishes and erotic
love which leaves the first mother caring for her deformed child alone. This
love is female and powerful and sacrificial.
The Heart of John Middleton
This short story of only twenty-one pages was published by Charles Dickens in
the 1850 December issue of Household Words.
It is a sternly moral tale showing the contradictions between the more
traditionally held masculine ideals so often legitmated by Old Testament
readings and the virtues which are found in the New Testament and seen to be
ideally suited to the female character.
Of course this is a love story but it is much more than that. The author
engages with the ambiguities inherent within the Christian religion and the
contradictions which result when those contrasting ideals are taken into
society.
One feels that the author is able to do far more through her gifts of
story-telling than if she had tried to preach those ideals from the pulpit.
Elizabeth Gaskell was not an author to stand outside her work but rather she
engages with the developing story-line and also the complex issues which she was
able to address through the medium of her novels. In ESSAY NO 5 an
examination of her religious thoughts and how she expresses them in this short
story are examined in more detail in 'A Universal Message of Love over
Hate.
Morton Hall
Morton Hall is one of Gaskell's longer short stories being 36 pages and
two chapters in length. It was first published in the November 1853 edition of
Household Words.
This historical tale can be read on several levels. Firstly as a history of
the Morton family. Secondly as a history of the social changes over two
centuries. Thirdly it is women's history.
The trilogy of events are set in three separate historical periods. Firstly
the setting for all that follows is based in the period of the English Civil War
and the Restoration. The aristocratic Morton family, being supporters of the
Royalist cause, lose Morton Hall to the Puritan Carr family, supporters of the
Commonwealth and Oliver Cromwell. After the Restoration in 1660, Sir John Morton
returned to reclaim his property. He also claimed Alice Carr, the proud and
Puritanical daughter of Richard Carr, who was now in sole possession of the
Hall. Sir John married Alice Carr but spent long periods in London where he had
his mistress. Alice turned for refuge to her Puritan friends. Sir John who could
not abide her fanatical religious ways unexpectedly returned to Morton Hall,
bound and beat his wife then took her to London where she was locked up and
declared mad.
The second part of the trilogy is set in the late eighteenth century and
shows Squire Morton as being comfortably situated, living with his sick and
dying wife, younger sister and son. At his funeral he is followed by many of his
tenants. Sadly his son gambles away the family inheritance and goes on to gamble
away the fortune belonging to his young Aunt Phillis. Whilst he is away at the
gambling tables, she has to give up Morton Hall to the creditors and lives in
the little cottage on the estate. He finally returns to Morton and the two of
them have nothing to live on and she starves to death. At her death he leaves
and tries to pawn his shirt buttons in order to have one more go at the gambling
tables. However, he is so weak and collapses and dies on the Moor.
The final part of the trilogy is contemporary and shows Morton Hall being
renovated by an absent General Morton for his three sisters and niece. Each
sister takes it in turns to educate Miss Cordelia. Gaskell demonstrates the
various attitudes taken towards the education of women through contrasting
approaches taken by the three sisters. Miss Cordelia meets and marries the owner
of one of the mills in the local town. The story comes round full circle as her
husband is Mr Marmaduke Carr.
At the opening of the story the Morton family are shown as landed gentry
residing in the village of Morton. They are the aristocracy of the rural
community. The time is well before the encroachment of the industrialising town
of Drumble. The Morton's are described as being far superior to the Puritan Carr
family. However, the resolution of the story shows a marriage between the
aristocratic landed order of the past and the new mercantile power of the
wealthy mill-owners. Geographically and socially there is a joining together
brought about by the demographic changes which accompanied the industrial growth
of new towns.
Read as women's history Jenny Uglow points out that '...Entrapment, religious
mania, silencing, madness, self-sacrifice, starvation, confusion: women's
history is a sorry tale.' ( P316 -
Elizabeth Gaskell by Jenny Uglow) Gaskell makes two sister the
narrators of her story. Women are the central characters. The story is about
power and submission. For the most part Gaskell shows her women to be strong and
yet they are all at the mercy of their male relatives whether willingly or
otherwise. This is a story for anyone interested in historical fiction but
particularly for readers interested in women's history.
TO BE COMPLETED