48 pages • 1 hour read
Elizabeth GaskellCranford
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1853A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 1-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary: “Our Society”
The unnamed narrator (whose name is revealed to be Mary Smith in Chapter 14) speaks of her hometown, Cranford, which consists mostly of widows and elderly unmarried women living in genteel poverty. The Cranford women are exceedingly punctual and rule-driven. One of the most pivotal rules in Cranford society is to practice “elegant economy” and avoid talking about money or money-spending (9), which the women deem vulgar and showy. It is common knowledge amongst the Cranford women that they are all poor, but it is equally common practice to conceal one’s poverty.
The Cranford women are initially perturbed by the arrival of a bold, boisterous man named Captain Brown and his two daughters. Not only is Captain Brown a man invading their female-run territory, but he is also unaccustomed to their rules. He openly talks about poverty and other topics the ladies consider taboo. Still, Captain Brown gains their trust and respect, and the Cranford women grow to view him as an authority figure to whom they can turn to for advice.
One night the narrator’s friend, Miss Deborah Jenkyns, hosts a party that Captain Brown and his two daughters attend. The eldest daughter is Miss Brown, and her younger and much prettier sister is Miss Jessie Brown. The narrator observes how popular Captain Brown is amongst the women when he arrives at the party. He immediately takes on the gentlemanly duties. At one point, Captain Brown asks if anyone has read The Pickwick Papers, which he believes is excellent. Miss Jenkyns, who considers herself quite literary, views the Captain’s question as a challenge. She doesn’t think it is as impressive as Captain Brown does, and they have a tense debate.
Chapter 2 Summary: “The Captain”
While visiting with Miss Pole at Cranford, the narrator learns that the Captain’s eldest daughter is suffering from an incurable illness. Captain Brown and his youngest daughter are patient, loving, and attentive to Miss Brown’s health.
The next time the narrator visits Cranford, nothing has changed, except that Miss Jenkyns has bought a new carpet for her drawing room. She and Captain Brown are still not very friendly with each other because of their literary dispute. Meanwhile, the narrator hears from Miss Matty Jenkyns, Miss Jenkyns’s sister, about Miss Brown’s worsening health. Miss Jenkyns and the town of Cranford show much kindness and generosity to the Browns to help them with Miss Brown’s illness.
One afternoon, the town is shaken by the sudden death of Captain Brown. He was reading a book while waiting for his train when he noticed a child crossing the tracks. He saved the child, but he himself got run over. Everyone is shocked and deeply saddened by the news, especially Miss Jessie. Miss Jessie decides that they will not tell her sister the news because she is already so miserable. The women of Cranford take turns helping Miss Jessie watch over her sister. When the newspaper comes out detailing the full account of Captain Brown’s death, the women find out that while waiting for the train, he had been reading a Pickwick issue.
The day after the captain’s funeral, Miss Brown dies. Shortly after her sister’s death, Miss Jessie receives a visit from Major Gordon, who served in the same regiment as their father. He proposes to Miss Jessie, who accepts.
The last time the narrator sees Miss Jenkyns is many years after Major Gordon’s arrival. Miss Jenkyns is older and her mind much weaker than it once was. Miss Jessie and Major Gordon’s daughter, Flora, is reading to Miss Jenkyns from a book that Miss Jenkyns says is much better than the book that Captain Brown “was killed for reading” (45)—the Pickwick issues that they argued about so long ago.
Chapter 3 Summary: “A Love Affair of Love Ago”
Miss Pole and Miss Matty invite the narrator for another visit to Cranford. When the narrator arrives, she and Miss Matty share a heartfelt conversation about Miss Jenkyns, who has since passed. Miss Matty asks the narrator to start calling her “Miss Matilda” since Miss Jenkyns never liked the name “Matty.”
Miss Matty has a servant-maid named Fanny who has been with her for four months. The young, pretty servant-maids of Cranford attract the attention of many handsome, young, unmarried men. Fanny is very attractive and the recipient of many young men’s affections—a source of anxiety for Miss Matty, who, like the older Cranford women, feels uncomfortable around men.
Fanny eventually leaves Miss Matty’s employment, and Miss Matty asks the narrator to stay a while longer to help her get her new maid, Martha, settled. The narrator helps Martha learn Miss Jenkyns’s ways, which no one dares to change even though she is no longer alive. For instance, Miss Jenkyns didn’t like to cut her oranges and spill juice everywhere, so she believed sucking the oranges was the only proper way to eat them. Because the noise was unpleasant, she and Miss Matty would eat their oranges in their own room.
Miss Matty receives a letter from her cousin, Major Jenkyns, who has asked if he and his wife can visit on their way to Scotland. Miss Matty is beside herself with worry, as she has no idea how to entertain them in the way her sister would have. Despite her worries, the visit goes perfectly fine.
The narrator explains that Miss Pole’s cousin, Mr. Thomas Holbrook, proposed to Miss Matty 30 or 40 years ago. Miss Matty didn’t marry him because Miss Jenkyns and her father, the rector, thought that he was below them socially. The narrator witnesses their reunion one day while she and Miss Matty are at the shop. Mr. Holbrook, a striking older gentleman, walks in. He is thrilled when he sees Miss Matty and walks her and the narrator home. He updates Miss Matty on his life and expresses his regret for her sister’s passing. He leaves with the parting wish that he will see her again soon. Afterwards, Miss Matty goes straight to her room and doesn’t come out until teatime. The narrator notices that she looks like she has been crying.
Chapter 4 Summary: “A Visit to an Old Bachelor”
Mr. Holbrook invites the narrator and Miss Matty to spend a day at his house. The narrator admires Mr. Holbrook’s beautiful garden and his habit of reciting poetry. He has an eclectic collection of books that stray from the classics. Although Miss Pole believes his habits are unrefined, Miss Matty defends him and calls them eccentric.
Mr. Holbrook visits Miss Matty in Cranford one day to inform her that he will be visiting Paris in a week. The narrator leaves Cranford soon after but receives a letter from Martha in November that Miss Matty is not well. She quickly returns to Cranford and talks privately with Martha about Matty’s condition. The narrator tells Martha that she is a faithful servant to Miss Matty, and Martha hesitantly admits that even though she likes her posting with Miss Matty, she wishes she would let her have male suitors.
The narrator visits Miss Pole the next day, who tells her that she will come with her to see Miss Matty. Miss Pole promised to let Miss Matty know how Mr. Holbrook is doing because he fell extremely ill during his trip to Paris. He does not have long to live. The narrator quickly deduces that this is the source of Miss Matty’s ailing health but does not say anything to Miss Pole. During the narrator’s visit with Miss Matty, Matty talks at length about how wonderful her sister Deborah was, and they reminisce about the old times.
The next day Miss Pole brings word to the narrator and Miss Matty that Mr. Holbrook is dead. Miss Matty is silent at the news, trembling with the effort of keeping herself together. The narrator knows how deeply she tries to conceal her feelings for Mr. Holbrook. That same night, Miss Matty calls for Martha and tells her that she is young and one day might meet a young man. She tells her that even though she objected before, Martha may now allow such a suitor to visit her once a week.
Chapters 1-4 Analysis
Chapter 1 introduces the fictional English village of Cranford, a small, close-knit community of mostly older widowed or unmarried women. The narrator (later identified as Mary Smith) acts as a balance between the old and the new, the rural and the industrial, since she is a frequent visitor of Cranford but lives in the more modernized commercial town of Drumble with her father, a man of business. Her narration is not exactly detached or objective; she is an honorary member of the Cranford community, as her use of the plural “we” when discussing her visits demonstrates. However, Mary is also a fairly unobtrusive first-person narrator. She reveals little information about herself for the majority of the novel and instead focuses on describing the people and events of Cranford with an anthropological-like perspective. She may be the narrator, but Cranford itself is the protagonist, which is perhaps why Gaskell doesn’t reveal Mary’s name until almost the end of the novel.
Chapter 1 begins by describing the basics of the female-centered Cranford society. Mary refers to Cranford as “in possession of the Amazons” in the first sentence of the novel (4), equating Cranford’s spinsters with the Greek mythological race of female warriors. The comparison establishes the novel’s humorous tone, as the women of Cranford initially appear anything but warriors. They are obsessed with the minutiae of everyday life, from their rigid rules regarding social decorum to their unspoken dedication to “elegant economy” (9). Yet the women of Cranford pride themselves on their independence and, like the Amazons, do not allow men to invade the female-led community they have created for themselves unless they serve a practical purpose.
Captain Brown is a prime example of how men function in Cranford society. A half-pay army captain, Captain Brown “openly [speaks] about his being poor […] in the public street! in a loud military voice!” (9). The women are appalled by his masculine presence on principle, but even more so by his ignorance of their strict etiquette. Still, they come to not only accept but enjoy the presence of the captain due to “his excellent masculine common sense” (11). The Cranford women, especially Miss Jenkyns, put aside their wariness of outsiders and support Captain Brown’s daughters after he dies—an example of the kindness and care they will show again with Signor Brunoni in Chapter 11. The Cranford women may be fussy and judgmental, but they harbor a generosity that is hard to find outside their little village, especially with the Industrial Revolution ushering in a modern capitalist economy.
Captain Brown’s death by railway is symbolic of the industrial change that the quiet, rural town of Cranford so desperately tries to avoid. Miss Jenkyns’s literary dispute with Captain Brown anticipates this event, as her outright rejection of Captain Brown’s literary taste acts as a symbol of Cranford’s rejection of modernization. Captain Brown argues that The Pickwick Papers is superior to the writing of Dr. Samuel Johnson, an established author and scholar of the 18th century. The Pickwick Papers, the first novel published by a young Charles Dickens, represents the shift toward modern literature, whereas Dr. Johnson represents the older, established canon. When Captain Brown is run over by the train, Miss Jenkyns, never one to let go of a grudge, remarks, “poor Captain Brown was killed for reading” that “strange old book, with the queer name” (45). Her comment encapsulates Cranford’s fear of the ever-changing modern world outside their walls.
Mr. Holbrook is another male character who, like Captain Brown, has an impactful relationship with the women of Cranford, particularly Miss Matty. Mr. Holbrook represents the life that Miss Matty could have had if she had embraced what so many women in Cranford fear: a domestic life with a husband and children. Miss Matty’s grief over the death of Mr. Holbrook is a pain for what might have been—an early hint at the novel’s theme of nostalgia.
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