Summary

Elizabeth Gaskell’s omniscient, third person narrator begins the novel by introducing us to Ruth Hilton’s hometown: an old and once grand country village, now largely abandoned by the wealthy. The once beautiful, stately homes have been divided and transformed into small apartments, modest shops, and workrooms. Here we meet Ruth working in a dark, crowded room on a cold, January night. Ruth, along with a roomful of other seamstresses, is working all night to make gowns for an upcoming ball in town. In spite of the clearly dismal circumstances, Ruth admires the beauty of the evening. She describes the joy that fresh, cold winter air gives her to her kind friend and coworker, Jenny, who is showing signs of illness. Jenny makes sure that Ruth eats and later, that she rests. At the end of the long night, Mrs. Mason, Ruth...