Summary:
In "North and South," Elizabeth Gaskell uses contrasts between the three main settings--Helstone, Harley Street and Milton-Northern--to communicate the novel's themes and ideas. At the end of the novel, Gaskell uses Margaret's shifting thoughts toward Milton to convey the need for harmony.
Throughout the novel North and South;, Elizabeth Gaskell uses setting as a means to demonstrate the main purposes of the novel. Contrast is employed masterfully by Gaskell in the themes of the novel and the various settings provide a framework for this contrast.
Milton-Northern embodies the theme of conflict between masters and men. Gaskell uses Higgins and Thornton to convey this theme; Thornton's initial faith in despotism and Higgins' lack of faith in the employers eventually shifts to reconciliation and a cooperative friendship. Thornton is amazed by Higgins'; patience and determination, as he waited for him "doing nothing but first hoping and then fearing." The charity kitchen established by Higgins and Thornton is an example of the humanitarian cooperation suggested by Gaskell to overcome class differences. Indeed, Milton-Northern shows the gap between masters and men weakened as.....
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