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Individual response to social environment in the novels of Elizabeth Gaskell
Thesis (M.A.) -- University of Stellenbosch, 1994.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2012
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| _version_ | 1867613911421812736 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Du Plessis, Hester Althea |
| author2 | Heyns, Michiel |
| author_browse | Du Plessis, Hester Althea Heyns, Michiel |
| author_facet | Heyns, Michiel Du Plessis, Hester Althea |
| author_sort | Du Plessis, Hester Althea |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (M.A.) -- University of Stellenbosch, 1994. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/58441 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:43:40.048Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publishDateRange | 2012 |
| publishDateSort | 2012 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/58441 Individual response to social environment in the novels of Elizabeth Gaskell Du Plessis, Hester Althea Heyns, Michiel Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of English. Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn, -- 1810-1865 -- Political and social views Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn, -- 1810-1865 -- Criticism and interpretation Dissertations -- English literature Thesis (M.A.) -- University of Stellenbosch, 1994. Elizabeth Gaskell’s novels strike an exceptionally fine balance between the depiction of the characters’ social environment and a portrayal of individual development within this environment. In Mary Barton the detailed narrative descriptions of the Manchester workers’ poverty and suffering, as well as the dramatisation of the alienation between rich and poor, serve to establish the social environment which causes the downfall of an essentially good man. The perceptive characterisation of John Barton as a passionate, resolute, questioning man and the step-by-step tracing of his mental, physical and moral deterioration lend credibility to his response. His daughter, Mary, becomes the first of Mrs Gaskell’s heroines to demonstrate the inner power of women. Her growth towards self-knowledge and her capacity for strong independent action enable her to confront society to save both her beloved and her father. The reconciliation between Barton and the man whose son he assassinated symbolises a recognition of shared humanity between masters and men, which promises future improvements in this society. North and South reveals a dynamic interaction between individuals and their environment. Environment is now portrayed mainly through the consciousness of the central character, Margaret Hale, who reluctantly settles in the industrial North. She influences individuals from both the working class and the ranks of the wealthy industrialists, leading them to co-operation rather than conflict in the workplace. In turn, Margaret’s superior attitude towards this society, stemming from her genteel southern background, is modified by her contact with the spirited people of the North. The public theme of industrial strife is closely interwoven with the story of Margaret and Thornton’s personal power struggle, during which she learns more about herself and about the importance of human relationships. The protagonists’ eventual love union, like the reconciliation between employer and worker, suggests a balance of strengths and is therefore an advance on the rather paternalistic personal and material relationships with which Mary Barton concludes. The social environment of Mrs Gaskell’s last, marginally incomplete novel, Wives and Daughters, is a conservative pre-industrial rural community with a complex network of relationships. The spirit of discovery and inspiration of the era just preceding the first Reform Bill and the advent of railways is beginning to manifest itself in the challenges to tradition by the younger generation of this community. Through the development of Molly Gibson, who becomes the victim of the community’s conservatism, Mrs Gaskell dramatises the question of individuals’ duty to others and to accepted authority, as set against their right to self-realisation. In Mrs Gaskell’s novels social environment is clearly more than a backdrop to the action: it has an active shaping role in the lives of individuals. Through her work the author therefore advocates conditions that will ensure harmonious social relationships and allow individual fulfilment. Masters 2012-08-27T11:38:59Z 2012-08-27T11:38:59Z 1994 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/58441 en Stellenbosch University 126 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn, -- 1810-1865 -- Political and social views Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn, -- 1810-1865 -- Criticism and interpretation Dissertations -- English literature Du Plessis, Hester Althea Individual response to social environment in the novels of Elizabeth Gaskell |
| title | Individual response to social environment in the novels of Elizabeth Gaskell |
| title_full | Individual response to social environment in the novels of Elizabeth Gaskell |
| title_fullStr | Individual response to social environment in the novels of Elizabeth Gaskell |
| title_full_unstemmed | Individual response to social environment in the novels of Elizabeth Gaskell |
| title_short | Individual response to social environment in the novels of Elizabeth Gaskell |
| title_sort | individual response to social environment in the novels of elizabeth gaskell |
| topic | Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn, -- 1810-1865 -- Political and social views Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn, -- 1810-1865 -- Criticism and interpretation Dissertations -- English literature |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/58441 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT duplessishesteralthea individualresponsetosocialenvironmentinthenovelsofelizabethgaskell |