North and South

North and South

 

                North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell was a welcomed change from the previous novels I had read. This novel is from the nineteenth century, when I began this novel I was expecting the same basic story lines as I have come to expect from these novels; I was pleasantly surprised. This novel was captivating. Following the life Margaret as she is uprooted from her small town life as the Pastors daughter to the dirty city of Milton where she is thrust into life changing situations.

                Margaret is forced to be the backbone of her family, putting their lives and feelings ahead of her own. She deals with the death of her mother and the smuggling in and out of her brother from England, as well as the political upheaval around her. Margaret depicts the strength of women as she is given no choice but to move forward. I found this novel a great depiction of feminine strength, where her father and brother fail Margaret stands strong and opinionated. For its time I think this novel stands as feminist literature, time after time Margaret shows she is stronger, and has more common sense, than many of the men around her. She is not afraid to stand her ground and voice her opinion.

                This novel is very eloquently written and does not seem to have the same long drawn on sentences as other nineteenth century literature. I found as I was nearing the end of the novel, despite how badly I wanted to know what happened, I would put the book down…if only to stretch it out a few more minutes, I did not want it to end. When I had three lonely pages to go, I was concerned as what I felt needed to happen yet could not possibly wrap itself up in three pages; I procrastinated through these three, fighting with the desire to finish and the desire for it not to be over. When I finally completed the pages I had a definite ‘Book Hangover’ I reread the last pages again and again and annoyed many people with my chatter about the book no one else had read, I did not want to spoil it for them, but told them this book HAD to be read.