69 pages • 2 hours read
Elizabeth GaskellNorth and South
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1854A 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 46-52Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 46 Summary: “Once and Now”
Bell and Margaret travel to Helstone. As they pass into the village, memories of her mother and father overwhelm Margaret. They lodge at the Leonards’s and the landlady, Mrs. Purkis, tells them about the new vicar: He has seven children and does not drink alcohol. Mrs. Purkis says there was a man there in the spring who told them about Maria’s death. The Hepworths serve the community well and have made many changes to the house. Margaret notices many cottages have been torn down and the old man she loved to visit has died.
They visit Susan, an old friend of Margaret’s. Susan relates a strange story about her neighbor burning her cat alive. Margaret leaves troubled by the story of superstition leading neighbors toward hateful acts. Next, they visit the village school, and Margaret becomes saddened. They meet the vicar’s wife and see all the changes made to the parsonage. The only part that is unchanged is her father’s study. The family there is large and boisterous: “The whole family were quick, brisk, loud-talking, kind-hearted, and not troubled with much delicacy of perception” (535). Over tea, Margaret confesses to Bell about Frederick and the lie she told to protect him. Bell reassures her he would have done the same to protect a loved one. Margaret says she worries she has fallen out of favor in Thornton’s eyes and asks Bell if he will explain it all to him. Margaret goes to bed pained by all she has endured and entertains the idea of becoming a nun. However, she wakes up the following day refreshed and with a renewed spirit. She acknowledges she has changed and so has her beloved Helstone.
Chapter 47 Summary: “Something Wanting”
Dixon returns to Harley Street as Margaret’s house cleaner. She brings news from Milton. Bell writes infrequently but hints he will make Margaret his heir. He does not mention traveling to Milton anytime soon and says he has not been feeling well lately. Margaret enjoys spending time with Edith’s son Sholto, but it makes her sad to think she will not have children. She hopes they can visit Frederick and Dolores in Spain soon. Margaret and Lennox are friendly, but she senses things will never be the same between them.
Chapter 48 Summary: “Ne’er to be Found Again”
The Lennoxes have many dinner parties, but Margaret does not enjoy them. She disagrees with the way their friends discuss art. Lennox becomes closer to her. Bell’s letters do not mention any impending plans for the trip to Spain, but he does plan a visit to Harley Street. Edith is upset, saying they will not have a way to entertain him. She and Margaret argue causing Margaret to spend the rest of the day placating her. Bell does not arrive on the day he said, and they receive a letter stating he had a seizure and may not live through the night. Edith and Aunt Shaw are hysterical. Margaret, escorted by Captain Lennox, takes the train to Oxford but arrives too late. She weeps on the journey home, thinking of all she has lost in the last year.
Chapter 49 Summary: “Breathing Tranquility”
Margaret inherits £40,000 from Bell. Lennox becomes her legal advisor, but Edith hopes there is more to the relationship. The family vacations at the coast, and Margaret’s health and demeanor improve. She spends long hours staring at the ocean evaluating her life and her choices. She is saddened Bell was never able to speak with Thornton and explain her lie: “She might just submit, like many other, to be misunderstood” (562). Lennox joins the family on vacation and notices the change in Margaret. He finds her beautiful once again but is most drawn to her new financial status and thinks of all he could do with her property. After the trip, Margaret begins to take control of her own life and disregards her aunt’s control. Edith begs her not to become too independent. She and Lennox grow closer but do not reveal it to anyone.
Chapter 50 Summary: “Changes at Milton”
Milton is a gloomy place as many mill owners are in financial trouble due to speculation. Thornton’s mill is struggling as he is overleveraged in equipment and supplies. The strike year hurt his business and it has not recovered. However, he looks at what he has learned from spending time with Higgins and is glad for his new perspective: “[T]hence arose that intercourse, which though it might not have the effect of preventing all future clash of opinion and action, when the occasion arose, would, at any rate, enable both master and man to look upon each other with far more charity and sympathy” (571). Thornton falls into worse trouble as his stock value falls by half and he must borrow money at a high rate to maintain production. He confesses to his mother his loss of fortune. They will lose their house, but Mrs. Thornton accepts it saying she can endure if she does not lose her son. Fanny’s husband, Watson, offers to help in a risky speculation deal, but Thornton refuses. Watson subsequently becomes rich from the deal. Thornton asks Higgins if he has heard any news of Margaret. He says Margaret may marry Lennox. Higgins also reveals to Thornton the story of Frederick. Thornton is glad to now know the truth.
Chapter 51 Summary: “Meeting Again”
Edith is worried about how Margaret is spending her time. Lennox invites Thornton to dinner along with Mr. Colthurst, a member of Parliament. Margaret learns of Thornton’s failing business. The two meet for the first time in over a year and share a few words. Thornton explains how he failed in his business to Mr. Colthurst. He shares his newfound knowledge of how to fairly treat his workers. Mill owners should treat workers with dignity and give them a stake in the profits. Thornton explains his vision will not prevent strikes in the future but will hopefully prevent them from becoming violent. Thornton addresses Margaret and tells her he is hopeful he can keep some of his original workers including Higgins. Margaret asks Lennox if they can meet the following day and he is excited about the prospect.
Chapter 52 Summary: “Pack Clouds Away”
Lennox emerges from the meeting sullen. Margaret only wished to speak to him about her financial investments. She is not interested in marrying him. Edith is disappointed, though only because she wishes to have Margaret nearby to help raise her children. They are to meet with Thornton the following day, but Lennox does not show. She tells Thornton she is sorry to be losing him as a tenant. Lennox has drawn up papers so that Margaret may lend Thornton enough money to save his mill. Thornton is speechless and can only say her name. Margaret hides her face telling him she is unworthy of his love. He responds he is also unworthy. She embraces him the same way she did the day of the riot. Thornton shows her the roses he brought from Helstone. They embrace and wonder what Aunt Shaw and his mother will think of their union.
Chapters 46-52 Analysis
Gaskell ends the novel in a full-circle moment with Margaret returning to Helstone and revisiting her childhood home. The title of Chapter 46, “Once and Now,” symbolizes the Helstone of the past, the place where Margaret lived with her parents and where she was her happiest, and the Helstone of now where everything is changed. Margaret sees all the landmarks and sights she knows so well, but now that she has lived in the north, she sees them through a different lens. She judges the slower pace of the wealthy as laziness, not leisure. The last time she was in Helstone, she had a mother, father, and the hope of her brother’s return. Now, she is an orphan, and Frederick has started a new life in Spain. All the buildings and people are a constant reminder of all she has lost, drenching the visit with sadness and grief from beginning to end. The story of the burned cat in an act of witchcraft signals a shocking ignorance and undermines the idealism Margaret had for Helstone. Despite the gloomy despair hanging over the trip, inspired by returning to the place of her father’s decision, Margaret chooses to unburden her conscience from the lie she told. Though Bell supports her, Margaret insists she must repent of the sin. Like her father, Margaret believes following one’s conscience supersedes any other calling and she must make amends for her error. Margaret reaches the arc of her Bildungsroman as she has reached the point of self-awareness.
Edith emerges as an unsympathetic, self-absorbed person in these chapters. She is Margaret’s opposite in every way. She is weak and uses manipulation to get what she wants. Her concerns for Margaret do not go beyond what might benefit her or her family. Lennox shares Margaret’s judgments of her cousin and husband’s vapid personalities, yet there is still an air of unease between the two. It becomes clear they are not well matched as Lennox does not have the same moral compunction as Margaret. She finds life on Harley Street empty and unfulfilling. People are insincere and dishonest in their attempt to keep the status quo. Ironically, the money Margaret inherits from Bell puts her in a higher social class, however, she wants nothing to do with the superficial lives of the rich. Margaret’s only thought is how she can break away from the suffocating control of her aunt. She resolves to use her money and power to influence the lives of others. The narrative ends with Margaret as a single woman with the ability to make her own choices, a fate rarely found by women in this era.
Thornton, brought low by the economic hardships that befell him after the strike, finds himself preparing to close the doors of his mill. He humbly admits the mistakes he made but emerges with an enlightened view of economics and the welfare of workers. He shows growth in his character when he sees himself on the same level as Higgins. Their relationship has evolved from mutual respect to loyal friendship. As Thornton’s eyes are opened to the nuances of capitalism, Higgins reveals the truth about Frederick, and Thornton’s eyes are opened to Margaret’s character. When Thornton refuses the speculation deal, he acts on his conscience. He is now acting like Margaret, choosing what is morally right, no matter the cost. He watches humbly as Watson soars to success and his business folds, but he can live peacefully by making the nobler choice. When Thornton and Margaret are reunited at the dinner party, she notices the change in his features. Though he is more careworn, he has grown more handsome in his maturing. Seeing the respect for him by all at the table, despite his failures, makes her more attracted to him. When Thornton first proposed to Margaret, they were in the north, and he was a wealthy mill owner. Now, in the south, Margaret proposes to Thornton in the form of a business partnership, and he is humbled by what he interprets as her declaration of love. He presents her roses from Helstone, acknowledging an important part of her past and symbolizing his love for her in the future. The novel ends with two people whose separate journeys have deeply humbled them, and they find each other again on level ground fertile for a new beginning.
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