"North and South" (Nord et Sud) de Elizabeth Gaskell

Résumé du document

Ce document est un commentaire de texte complet et rédigé, entièrement en anglais, sur l'œuvre "North and South" (Nord et Sud) de Elizabeth Gaskell.

L'analyse de "Nord et du Sud" aide le lecteur moderne à voir au-delà des versions souvent romancées de la vie victorienne, fréquemment liée à ses auteures féminins bien connues. Cela donne également du crédit à l'adage selon lequel plus les choses changent, plus elles restent les mêmes : de la transition de l'économie manufacturière vers les économies basées sur les services, le lecteur moderne peut facilement établir des parallèles avec de nombreux problèmes sociaux actuels qui dominent les médias.

This document is a text commentary, entirely in English, on the work "North and South" by Elizabeth Gaskell.

Examination of North and South helps the modern reader to see beyond the frequently romanticised versions of Victorian life frequently linked to its well-known female authors. It also lends credence to the adage that the more things change, the more they stay the same: living through the transition from manufacturing to service-based economies, the modern reader can easily draw parallels to many the current social issues dominating newspaper and social media headlines.

Extraits

[...] North and South crystallises the challenges presented by changing social norms into their historical clash. The prejudice and mutual incomprehension of the evolving morays results in violence. But Gaskell provides optimism and hope, that understanding, and cooperation can come even after conflict. As mentioned above, Thornton rejects the idea that the masters, the middle class, owe the working classes an explanation of how they spend their money, the economic choices they make in the face of business trends. This may be interpreted as greed, as a desire to have complete control and no competing opinions that may have given a factory-owner pause in making difficult choices. [...]

[...] Two Treatises on Civil Government. London: G. Routledge and sons. (1887) 5.) Nash, Julie. Servants and Paternalism in the works of Maria Edgeworth and Elizabeth Gaskell. Aldershot: Ashgate. (2007) 6.) Pikoulis, John. "'North and South': Varieties of Love and Power". The Yearbook of English Studies. (1976) 7.) Stoneman, Patsy (1987). [...]

[...] She provides the reader with a hopeful ending - a reconciliation of the interests of the masters and the interests of the workers through a marriage of two of their representatives. While modern conflicts over the same issues won't likely be solved in the same way, Gaskell's North and South offers perspectives on possible solutions to challenges faced even in the present day. Works Cited 1.) BBC History. "British History in Depth: The Rural Exodus." Accessed 18/04/2019 www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/exodus_01.shtml 2.) Bodenheimer, Rosemarie. The Politics of Story in Victorian Social Fiction. Cornell University Press (1991) 3.) Gaskell, Elizabeth. North and South. Norton Critical Editions: Kindle version 4.) Locke, John, 1632-1704. [...]

[...] Elizabeth Gaskell. Bloomington: Indiana University Press 8.) Thought CO. [...]

[...] And when given the choice between city and country life, the morally upright Englishwoman, and by consequence English family, should prefer country to city. Though, there is trouble in paradise when Margaret returns home - her mother has become increasingly frustrated with the quiet, less cultivated and more rustic people who composed her husband's flock. Her desire, for greater stimulation, spending time with new people who had discretionary income and having such income herself, is an initial means for Gaskell to demonstrate the tension developing between the people of England. [...]