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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
An enjoyable read--a very typical Victorian novel in some ways, with a lot of elements that reminded me of other novels. I enjoyed the romance but thought the pacing was a little off in spots.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was okay but it was hard not to read it as a Jane Austen knockoff lol. Also the abrupt ending was rude! I think I liked the show better...
emotional
reflective
Unfortunately half stars aren't allowed on goodreads or else I would place this firmly between three and four stars primarily because a great deal of the book is excellent, but I felt it took a downturn when Margaret's father died.
Unlike Wuthering Heights for example where the violence and sorrow is relentless yet always realistic, always justified, the deaths after and including Mr. Hale's seemed like Deus ex Machinas to achieve a more mundane purpose; for example: Mr. Hale died in order to move Margaret away from Milton, Mr. Bell died so that Margaret can become a rich heiress. While both moves I thought were a stroke of genius; the former to make Margaret realise how much she had come to love Milton and by extension, Mr. Thornton and the latter to re-enable Mr. Thornton as a man of business and make Margaret and John a couple binded by both love and mutual interest. (I admit I rather liked how Gaskell is matter of fact about marriage being both about idealistic love and about teamwork and business)
One is positively exhausted by Mr. Bell's death; a total of six deaths! And while I do acknowledge a Victorian's immediate experience of death was undoubtedly far more frequent than ours, the deaths' mundane plot purposes were thinly veiled. After so many painful and excruciating misunderstandings between Mr. Thornton and Margaret, we only get a short and subtle chapter at the very end. I admire its subtlety in the sense that the reader has to be acutely aware what exactly Margaret's offer means. I felt it came rather suddenly and somehow felt I have been missing some understanding glances between the couple which I evidently did not perceive.
Despite all this, the frustrating misunderstandings that run like a burning pulse throughout the book is what Gaskell revels in and does best. She accurately shows how Victorian propriety, perceptive assumptions and social norms contribute to fatal misunderstandings that can drive two hearts apart. I like how she does not blame social expectations for the dreadful consequences that ensue (like Hardy for example) but instead presents it as a necessary though at times sordid reality. Instead of being sceptical of the principles and values of her society, she presents its flaws (primarily by comparing the realities of the proletariat in the South and North) while also displaying them in their most admirable form: in the honourable way that Mr. Thornton carries himself off, like a dark saint, throughout the novel.
This leads me to the strength of her characters; we know their most intimate thoughts and Gaskell again is displaying one of her strengths. Thoughts are fragmented yet piercing, complex, subtle. Mr. Thornton's thoughts I felt were more well formed than Margaret's; Margaret's often tended to be repetitive. I often felt like I knew Margaret's inner moral strength much better from Mr. Thornton's viewpoint than from Margaret's own. I'm glad that while Margaret is championed as the unique, strong, caring ideal of Victorian morality, Gaskell is also honest: Margaret was as selfless as they come but occasionally selfish also. Don't expect the fast paced conversations found in Austen but expect a great deal of detail about the processes of thought of each character which, quite frankly, is more elaborate than in most books I have read so far.
I would have loved more historical detail; Gaskell does occasionally revel in the most inane of subjects, but I suppose that comes out necessarily of her acute attention to day-to-day living.
My overall verdict is therefore that it is over dramatic at times (too much death, not enough justification) while simultaneously too mundane (some chapters were protracted more than necessary) and I feel the ending could have been so much better. The penultimate chapter felt pretty much like the last chapter in Lord of the Rings; why? why? why? The BBC series I felt always corrected this. The train station, the opposing directions; a stroke of brilliance that seemed so patently obvious I'm surprised Gaskell did not think of it. This is why the book, in my opinion, does not deserve 5 stars. The stars were earned in the deeply felt tragedy, the attention to the minutiae of consciousness and best of all, Mr. Thornton's principled and strong-willed character; as well as emphatic descriptions of Milton, the strikers, the urban and rural poor. The scene that occurs on the doorstep of Marlborough Mills was so well written; my heart nearly pounded straight outside of my chest.
Unlike Wuthering Heights for example where the violence and sorrow is relentless yet always realistic, always justified, the deaths after and including Mr. Hale's seemed like Deus ex Machinas to achieve a more mundane purpose; for example: Mr. Hale died in order to move Margaret away from Milton, Mr. Bell died so that Margaret can become a rich heiress. While both moves I thought were a stroke of genius; the former to make Margaret realise how much she had come to love Milton and by extension, Mr. Thornton and the latter to re-enable Mr. Thornton as a man of business and make Margaret and John a couple binded by both love and mutual interest. (I admit I rather liked how Gaskell is matter of fact about marriage being both about idealistic love and about teamwork and business)
One is positively exhausted by Mr. Bell's death; a total of six deaths! And while I do acknowledge a Victorian's immediate experience of death was undoubtedly far more frequent than ours, the deaths' mundane plot purposes were thinly veiled. After so many painful and excruciating misunderstandings between Mr. Thornton and Margaret, we only get a short and subtle chapter at the very end. I admire its subtlety in the sense that the reader has to be acutely aware what exactly Margaret's offer means. I felt it came rather suddenly and somehow felt I have been missing some understanding glances between the couple which I evidently did not perceive.
Despite all this, the frustrating misunderstandings that run like a burning pulse throughout the book is what Gaskell revels in and does best. She accurately shows how Victorian propriety, perceptive assumptions and social norms contribute to fatal misunderstandings that can drive two hearts apart. I like how she does not blame social expectations for the dreadful consequences that ensue (like Hardy for example) but instead presents it as a necessary though at times sordid reality. Instead of being sceptical of the principles and values of her society, she presents its flaws (primarily by comparing the realities of the proletariat in the South and North) while also displaying them in their most admirable form: in the honourable way that Mr. Thornton carries himself off, like a dark saint, throughout the novel.
This leads me to the strength of her characters; we know their most intimate thoughts and Gaskell again is displaying one of her strengths. Thoughts are fragmented yet piercing, complex, subtle. Mr. Thornton's thoughts I felt were more well formed than Margaret's; Margaret's often tended to be repetitive. I often felt like I knew Margaret's inner moral strength much better from Mr. Thornton's viewpoint than from Margaret's own. I'm glad that while Margaret is championed as the unique, strong, caring ideal of Victorian morality, Gaskell is also honest: Margaret was as selfless as they come but occasionally selfish also. Don't expect the fast paced conversations found in Austen but expect a great deal of detail about the processes of thought of each character which, quite frankly, is more elaborate than in most books I have read so far.
I would have loved more historical detail; Gaskell does occasionally revel in the most inane of subjects, but I suppose that comes out necessarily of her acute attention to day-to-day living.
My overall verdict is therefore that it is over dramatic at times (too much death, not enough justification) while simultaneously too mundane (some chapters were protracted more than necessary) and I feel the ending could have been so much better. The penultimate chapter felt pretty much like the last chapter in Lord of the Rings; why? why? why? The BBC series I felt always corrected this. The train station, the opposing directions; a stroke of brilliance that seemed so patently obvious I'm surprised Gaskell did not think of it. This is why the book, in my opinion, does not deserve 5 stars. The stars were earned in the deeply felt tragedy, the attention to the minutiae of consciousness and best of all, Mr. Thornton's principled and strong-willed character; as well as emphatic descriptions of Milton, the strikers, the urban and rural poor. The scene that occurs on the doorstep of Marlborough Mills was so well written; my heart nearly pounded straight outside of my chest.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
tenía más miedo de que el sr. thornton muriera por ser el interés amoroso de margaret que por una posibilidad real de que lo mataran bsjqk
soy el tipo de persona que disfruta cualquier oportunidad para tener largas conversaciones políticas (twitter) y por lo tanto se me hizo sumamente interesante ver lo influenciada que está la ambientación por la revolución industrial en tiempo real por la autora, aunque llegó un punto donde hasta yo perdí el hilo del propósito de todo esto.
siento que los conocí poco a todos y al mismo tiempo nos detuvimos muchísimo en problemas que tendrían resolución en una sola cosa: muerte. aquí todos se mueren. después de la tercera muerte dejé impresionarme y solo me confundía más. margaret sufrió demasiado y aunque creo que tuvo un final medianamente satisfactorio para ella, no le veo el propósito. supongo que para hacerla consiente de su orgullo; pero había maneras más creativas que dejarla completamente sin familia.
el romance es básicamente lo que esperaba, aunque gran parte de la novela siento que se perdió en el sr. thornton lamentándose por que margaret esta enamorada de otro hombre (no) y viéndola sufrir constantemente. no sé, es un 3 sólido para mí.
la conversación entorno a la religión me sorprendió gratamente. siento que para su época cuestionar a dios de esa manera fué escandaloso, aunque obviamente margaret es creyente y en la resolución se dice que este es el camino más sano para escoger, no se satanizan pensamientos ateistas como pensé que harían. como ateo, me dió mucha risa estar dándoles la razón a esto juicios en una novela publicada en 1854 bjajk
si les vendieron este libro como un orgullo y prejuicio con conciencia de clase, en mi opinión, es un: no. tiene similitudes, pero si creen que orgullo y prejuicio es lento para el romance me atrevería a decir que norte y sur no lo conoce fuera de el sr. thornton y hasta las últimas páginas de margaret.
soy el tipo de persona que disfruta cualquier oportunidad para tener largas conversaciones políticas (twitter) y por lo tanto se me hizo sumamente interesante ver lo influenciada que está la ambientación por la revolución industrial en tiempo real por la autora, aunque llegó un punto donde hasta yo perdí el hilo del propósito de todo esto.
siento que los conocí poco a todos y al mismo tiempo nos detuvimos muchísimo en problemas que tendrían resolución en una sola cosa: muerte. aquí todos se mueren. después de la tercera muerte dejé impresionarme y solo me confundía más. margaret sufrió demasiado y aunque creo que tuvo un final medianamente satisfactorio para ella, no le veo el propósito. supongo que para hacerla consiente de su orgullo; pero había maneras más creativas que dejarla completamente sin familia.
el romance es básicamente lo que esperaba, aunque gran parte de la novela siento que se perdió en el sr. thornton lamentándose por que margaret esta enamorada de otro hombre (no) y viéndola sufrir constantemente. no sé, es un 3 sólido para mí.
la conversación entorno a la religión me sorprendió gratamente. siento que para su época cuestionar a dios de esa manera fué escandaloso, aunque obviamente margaret es creyente y en la resolución se dice que este es el camino más sano para escoger, no se satanizan pensamientos ateistas como pensé que harían. como ateo, me dió mucha risa estar dándoles la razón a esto juicios en una novela publicada en 1854 bjajk
si les vendieron este libro como un orgullo y prejuicio con conciencia de clase, en mi opinión, es un: no. tiene similitudes, pero si creen que orgullo y prejuicio es lento para el romance me atrevería a decir que norte y sur no lo conoce fuera de el sr. thornton y hasta las últimas páginas de margaret.
I read this after watching the BBC mini series and was less than impressed with the book. I thought that I would gain much more insight to the thoughts of the main characters that the actors in the series portrayed so well, but really I think the mini series was much more well done than the book itself.
The OG enemies to lovers, I loved the dynamic between Mr Thornton and Margaret Hale. It reads as if Pride and Prejudice collided with a Dickens novel, which means it is obviously a classic and must-read.
It wound up kinda quickly at the end, but it was still good. Though these gentle, self-sacrificing Victorian heroines make me feel horribly inadequate, and kinda sorry for them at the same time.
And Juliet Stevenson as narrator??? *chef's kiss* Absolutely perfect. She is So. GOOD.
For Victorian Book Club.
And Juliet Stevenson as narrator??? *chef's kiss* Absolutely perfect. She is So. GOOD.
For Victorian Book Club.
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes