Margaret Hale is the heroine of Elizabeth Gaskell's 1855 novel North and South. Initially, Gaskell wanted the title of the novel to be Margaret Hale, but Charles Dickens, the editor of Household Words, the magazine in which the novel was serialized, insisted on North and South.
Contents
Descriptions
From Chapter Two:
"Margaret was more like him than like her mother. Sometimes people wondered that parents so handsome should have a daughter who was so far from regularly beautiful; not beautiful at all, was occasionally said. Her mouth was wide; no rosebud that could only open just enough to let out a 'yes' and 'no,' and 'an't please you, sir.' But the wide mouth was one soft curve of rich red lips; and the skin, if not white and fair, was of an ivory smoothness and delicacy. If the look on her face was, in general, too dignified and reserved for one so young, now, talking to her father, it was bright as the morning,—full of dimples, and glances that spoke of childish gladness, and boundless hope in the future."
From Chapter Seven:
"Margaret could not help her looks; but the short curled upper lip, the round, massive up-turned chin, the manner of carrying her head, her movements, full of a soft feminine defiance, always gave strangers the impression of haughtiness."
"She sat facing [Mr Thornton] and facing the light; her full beauty met his eye; her round white flexile throat rising out of the full, yet lithe figure; her lips, moving so slightly as she spoke, not breaking the cold serene look of her face with any variation from the one lovely haughty curve; her eyes, with their soft gloom, meeting his with quiet maiden freedom."
Margaret was a character created to challenge stereotypes about women's role in the 19th century. The theme of challenging stereotypes is one which is integral throughout the novel.
Biography
Margaret Hale is nineteen years old and before she was 10, lived in Helstone in Hampshire, in the south of England, with her parents—Richard, an Anglican minister, and Maria—and older brother, Frederick. When she was nine years old, Margaret was sent to live in London with her aunt, Mrs. Shaw, and her cousin, Edith. Edith and Margaret were the same age and became fast friends.
Frederick, meanwhile, joined the Royal Navy. Once at sea, he took part in a mutiny against his cruel captain. The Hales realized that Frederick, branded a traitor, would be hanged if he ever returned to England.
When the girls grew up, Edith married Capt. Lennox. Lennox had a younger brother, Henry, who became infatuated with Margaret. She rejected his advances, and chose to move back to Helstone. Mr. Hale, however, had begun to question his faith and the doctrines laid out in the Book of Common Prayer. When asked to renew his vows by the bishop, Mr. Hale could not. Quitting his profession, Mr. Hale moved his wife and daughter to Milton, in the north of England, where he took up work as a tutor.
One of Mr. Hale's pupils is a local mill owner, John Thornton. Margaret takes an instant dislike to Thornton, seeing him as the embodiment of the harsh, working-class north. Margaret, feeling homesick, romanticizes the South. Mr. Thornton, on the other hand, is immediately struck by Margaret. "He did not understand who she was," when he first saw her, "as he caught the simple, straight, unabashed look, which showed that his being there was of no concern to the beautiful countenance, and called up no flush of surprise to the pale ivory of the complexion. He had heard that Mr. Hale had a daughter, but he had imagined that she was a little girl." Margaret eventually comes to feel at home in the north; she makes friends, including Bessy Higgins, a dying young woman.
The workers in all of the mills around Milton are dissatisfied and strike. As the strikers grow desperate, a mob of workers comes to the Thornton's house, where Margaret is calling on Mrs. Thornton, John's mother, and his sister Fanny. Thornton goes out to speak to the rioters at Margaret's behest. Afraid that they will kill him, Margaret rushes out to Thornton. Margaret believes that no one would try to hurt a woman, and throws her arms around Thornton, to protect him. Margaret is mistaken, however. A rock is thrown from the crowd by a "group of lads", and Margaret is knocked out.
Television adaptations
North and South has been adapted for the small screen, twice. In 1975, Rosalind Shanks played Margaret. In 2004, Margaret was played by Daniela Denby-Ashe.