"But I am not afraid of you. Look at me! I have a right to know, and I will know, the reason why!” This is a line from Elizabeth Gaskell’s novel, North and South, where Margaret demands transparency from the upper-class mill owner, John Thornton, as a middle-class individual. In North and South, Mrs. Thornton and Margaret embody the concept of feminism by delivering a very specific message—that people are often misogynistic and neglect the feelings of women. In such a world, women need to be strong and challenge the status quo, just like Margaret and Mrs Thornton did. Characters like these inspire other women, and spread awareness about the struggles of women to men. While Gaskell successfully reflects this message in some parts of the novel, there are other parts of the story that could have been more effective in making her case for feminist women.

     The first hint of the novel’s feminist theme is evinced through the opening chapters of the novel, in which Margaret’s mother, Mrs. Hale, falls ill and the already mentally weak Mr. Hale, Margaret’s father, becomes more depressed. Gaskell describes how Margaret helps her family, particularly by protecting her father from potential depression by hiding the news from her dad. Although evidently troubled by her mom’s health, she does not seek refuge from her dad. This shows her maturity in dealing with challenges. She is not only strong by not withdrawing from challenges, but also insightful and not naive to believe that her dad can console her. After Mrs. Hale’s death, she brings herself up from her previous melancholy instead of joining her father in his depressive state. Gaskell demonstrates Margaret’s unwavering and strong stress tolerance at home through her interactions with Mr. Hale.

     While Margaret successfully becomes a symbol of feminism, her actions and dialogue are the only things that reflect this. This makes the novel dull and plain. Gaskell could have added more dimensions to Margaret’s commendable personality, whether by describing her thoughts or her expressions when dealing with Mr. Hale’s irresponsible parenting. Alternatively, the author could have described her emotional turmoil over whether she should help her dad or not. Perhaps even a description of her facial expressions, where her eyelids droop down from her piling pressure, and then suddenly, her eyelids rise as she realizes she needs to continue down with her current life path.

     While Gaskell did not include these specific details, Margaret’s actions and dialogue have already reflected the theme of feminism. Gaskell’s decision to not include specific descriptions, on the other hand, is understandable since it would increase the novel’s length and risk losing the reader’s interest. Gaskell’s limited description of characters and her detailed description of events give the story a fast pace, which further emphasizes Milton’s business.

     Despite willingly bearing her family’s burden, Margaret also demonstrates strong traits as a woman when engaging with society. Her conversations with the upper-class mill owner, Mr. Thornton, are both straightforward and candid. There are several instances in the novel that hint that both individuals are fond of each other. In Chapter 11, after Thornton tells her of his rags-to-riches autobiography, she concludes that he is remarkable but still unlikeable. This is a bold comment to make on two levels—class and gender. Mr. Thornton is an esteemed member of the upper class, while Margaret is a middle-class southerner who does not have a reputation in Milton. Middle-class people without a reputation are often expected to integrate themselves with reputable upper-class people. In addition, gender inequality was an ongoing problem during that time. Society expects women to please men through their sweet talk. Yet, instead of meeting any of these social expectations, Margaret defies them. She challenges the status quo and the prejudices common for a female Southerner from the middle-class to experience. While she is aware of the consequences of provoking people like Thornton through her straightforwardness, she still expresses her authentic opinions instead of hiding them. Further in the story, she addresses her discontent when Thornton compares the relationship between owners and workers to that of men and masters. In Chapter 9, he describes the poor working conditions of workers as necessary for earning money and that they should view factory owners as superior. Margaret rebuts this by saying that there should be an amicable friendship between workers and their boss. She shows no restraint in her speech and deducts Thornton’s character to have a “sullen sense of injustice.” Notwithstanding expressing her opinions to Thornton, she also takes on a leadership role in the Higgins family. Bessy Higgins is an ill 19-year-old girl who is raised by a single father, Nicholas Higgins. They work for Mr. Thornton in the mill, and Nicholas would sometimes go on strikes. Margaret invariably visits the ill Bessy Higgins as a moral obligation. While Gaskell describes Milton as callous and a place that cannot hold sympathy, Margaret shows her soft side through her ability to sympathize with pitiful people (in this case, the about-to-die Bessy). Her interactions with Thornton and the times she protects her dad do show her courage.

     However, without describing her relationship with the Higginses, the message of feminism cannot be delivered. Instead, the mere theme of courage will be reflected since men can also show courage. Her relationship with the Higginses emphasizes how women's traits can make a difference in people. Bessy’s transformation before meeting Margaret and after meeting her is drastic. Bessy can feel Margaret’s goodwill to help her since she visits her daily. They gradually built a strong trust between them to the point that Bessy regularly confides in Margaret. She tells Margaret about her dead mom and how she is afraid that working is her life’s only purpose. While Bessy did not open up to Margeret at the beginning, she gradually learned to rely on someone.

     Margaret plays the role of a spiritual leader in the Higgins family by visiting and reading to Bessy. While Margaret demonstrates her benevolence and sympathy as a woman, she is not mature enough to give direct consolation to Bessy. Her visits consist only of reading sessions with Bessy. As Bessy confides in her, she fails to provide a direct consolation. Reading, then, served as an indirect consolation, meaning that Margaret was not yet capable of providing further support. Gaskell could have shown her maturing through her relationship with Bessy. Currently, Margaret’s attitude toward Bessy does not change in the entirety of the novel. However, a change in her attitude can demonstrate her maturity. Their relationship could start with Margaret’s daily reading. Then, as Margaret’s experiences garnered wisdom from the Milton life, she could share them with Bessy. This transition from an indirect consolation to a direct consolation could further show Bessy’s maturity journey.

     Margaret is the major character in North and South, while Mrs. Thornton is a minor character who is often neglected. Mrs. Thornton is as commendable as Margaret in the novel. Her change in attitude toward her son and Margaret reflects the feminist theme. In Chapters 9 and 10, she resists Margaret’s desire to visit often, fearing that her son will fall in love with her. This means that her son will be wounded by young love and that she will no longer be the only person in his life to love. Her manipulation and indoctrination of her son is shown when she emphasizes the importance of being successful and building a reputation as a Milton man. When Mr. Hale brings up the importance of education, which is a southern view, she disagrees and speaks for her son instead of allowing him to express his own opinions. She wants to take control of her son’s life and views Margaret as jeopardizing her family's status. Her attitude then changes after being touched by Margaret’s bold and unhesitant attempt to protect her son from the strikers. In chapter 23, Mrs. Thornton finally admits the love between her son and Margaret. Because of Margaret’s intention to protect him, Mrs. Thornton’s heart softens and she attempts to adjust herself to accept the truth. This was shown when she agreed to try her best to tolerate Margaret for the sake of her son. In addition, she expressed her authentic opinion by stating that she liked Margaret’s spirit and independence. There were also no extreme dialogues or actions Mrs. Thornton says or does in the later part of the novel, showing that Mrs. Thornton has accepted Margaret. Although Mrs. Thornton is prejudiced toward southerners like Margaret, she tries to find the commendable aspects of Margaret. Her willingness to change as well as her results after her change demonstrate her resilience, tolerance, and adaptability as a female. However, Gaskell could further acknowledge her traits by describing how she treats Margaret and her family in the later part of the novel. This could be how Mrs. Thornton consoles Margaret upon her father’s later death or how Mrs. Thornton encourages Margaret to meet up with Mr Thornton.

     Margaret’s character reflects the feminist theme through her actions at home and in society, while Mrs. Thornton reflects it through her actions at home. But Margaret and Mrs. Thornton are not the only female characters in the novel; other characters like Mrs. Hale, the maid Dixon, or Bessy Higgins should also reflect the feminist theme. But they are merely conventional females. Mrs. Hale is physically and mentally weak since her illness distances herself from developing a proper mother-daughter relationship with Margaret. Bessy Higgins is also physically and mentally weak since her illness stops her from yearning for a better life. These characters may, however, act as counterfoils between the weak (Bessy and Mrs. Hale) and the strong (Margaret and Mrs. Thornton) in order to make the strong stand out even more, which consequently makes the theme stronger. Gaskell reflects the theme of feminism through the characteristics and changes of Margaret and Mrs. Thornton.

The message “people are often misogynistic and often neglect the feelings of women; therefore, women need to be strong and challenge the status quo” is delivered through these two strong women. While the theme is indeed reflected, there are opportunities in which the author could have executed the existing theme better. Overall, the theme of feminism is delivered in a solid way. Margaret and Mrs. Thornton are a representation of women around the globe that are under suppression. Although the story occurred almost two centuries ago, their experiences will continue to inspire more in the future. "But I am not afraid of you. Look at me! I have a right to know, and I will know, the reason why!” Margaret demanded, and she will know the reason, as long as her strong female mind and action demands it.

Works Cited

Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn. North and South. Penguin Books, 1970.