North and South: an enjoyable read and a lesson in mid-19th century social isssues

As I am a huge fan of Victorian realism novels, I am embarrased to admit that I only recently heard of Elizabeth Gaskell. I read North and South about a month ago, and I enjoyed it immensely. As the title indicates, Gaskell compares and contrasts southern English country life to northern English urban life. The heroine, Margaret Hale, moves with her family to Milton, a fictional mill city, which is likely representative of Manchester. As Margaret tries to understand her new surroundings and the starkly different lifestyle of city dwellers, Gaskell delivers images of squalid living conditions and the tried and tired mill workers among the poor. Margaret befriends a family in these conditions and sees their suffering and hardships firsthand. All the while, Margaret keeps encountering John Thornton, a no-nonsense, business-minded mill owner who is rough, as you find out through the novel, only around the edges. I won't give any details away about the plot, since you may want to read North and South and would be disappointed if I told you the whole story here.

Gaskell not only portrays the astonishing differences between the poor and the wealthy as well as the comfortable middle class (much like Dickens), but she also portrays impressive growth in her characters. I will say that Margaret Hale is one of my favorite heroines of classic literture, but halfway through the novel, I would not have said anything of the kind. After moving to Milton, the middle- and upper-class shelter in which Margaret has been encased is abruptly removed. Although her concern for the poor is sincere, she comes across as well...a bit whiney. But aren't we all at 18-ish? By the end of the novel, you admire Margaret and hope to embody some of her characteristics. And as far as John Thornton goes, let's just say that he's ideal. More ideal than Mr. Darcy, even. :)

I've often told others that I enjoyed North and South better than anything I've read by Jane Austen, which was all of Mansfield Park and about one third of Northanger Abbey. Perhaps if I give up watching the Kiera Knightly version of Pride and Prejudice for awhile, I'll read the novel and may have a different opinion. I can't compare Gaskell and Austen too much, though. After all, they each lived very different lives and wrote in different decades. I think it's fair to say that they both wrote about what they knew and wrote it well. However, I found more depth in characters, plot and social significance in North and South than in Mansfield Park.

Like I said, I didn't know much of anything about Elizabeth Gaskell until I decided to pick up North and South, which stemmed from my glancing at UCLA's reading list for their master's program in English. I encourage you to read more about her. She was the wife of a Unitarian minister, a mother of six, and a good friend and biographer of Charlotte Bronte. See her wikipedia article here.

And while we're on the subject, why didn't I know more about her? I was surprised that nothing I read in my undergraduate courses was written by her. In fact, many lit geeks like myself I've spoken to about this book say they haven't heard much about her either. Do you think Gaskell should be included in more undergrad reading lists? How about high school? Dickens is included in these lists, so why not Gaskell? She was highly commended by Dickens.