Essay on Elizabeth Gaskells Mary Barton - 1295 Words

Elizabeth Gaskells Mary Barton Although the people of a single nation share the same homeland, contradictory these people live in separate worlds. In the lives of the privileged and the unfortunate they are separated between their positions in the social ladder, which is defined by their financial stability. In Elizabeth Gaskells, Mary Barton the different worlds of the wealthy is contrasted to those of the poor. Gaskells attention to detail emphasizes the division among the two social classes, demonstrating the lavish and luxurious lives of the upper class as it is contrasted to those of the impoverish and disheartening lives of the lower class, while also developing characterization, illustrating the characters reactions to the†¦show more content†¦With Gaskells descriptive details, the wealth of the Carson family is made concrete: Mr. Carsons house was a good house, and furnished with disregard to expense. But in addition to lavish expenditure, there was much taste sh own, and many articles chosen for their beauty and elegance. Adorned his rooms (10-14). The Carsons are seen as having expensive and tasteful choices in the furniture that adorn their house, expensive and tasteful choices, which they can obviously afford. Not only can they afford the posh house, but also multiple servants at their beck and call. The Carsons are rich enough to pay someone else to do the work around the house and ultimately take care of them, such as making breakfast. The servants [were] very busy with preparations for breakfast (18-19). The Carsons wealthy is, again, seen through the fully stocked kitchen that the servants are working in, a kitchen hung round with glittering tins, where roaring fire burnt merrily, and where numbers of utensils hung round (22-24). The servants are also in an environment where there are mouth-watering broiled steaks, [Â…] toasted bread, and boiled eggs (28-29). The Carsons are wealthy enough to have such a fulfilling meal, an d it is only just for breakfast; there is still lunch and dinner and perhaps, snacks in between. As a representation of the lower class, Wilson and the servants would be luckyShow MoreRelatedElizabeth Gaskells Mary Barton and the Industrial Novel928 Words   |  4 PagesElizabeth Gaskell’s Mary Barton and the Industrial Novel Elizabeth Gaskell’s Mary Barton belongs to a small, short-lived form of Victorian literature called the industrial novel. The primary authors of this genre—Charles Kingsley, Frances Trollope, Charlotte Brontà «, Benjamin Disraeli, Charles Dickens, and Elizabeth Gaskell—all were, what Herbert Sussman describes, as primarily middle-class authors writing for middle class readers in a rapidly changing world, where both author and readerRead MoreElizabeth Gaskell : Effect Of Urbanization And Industrialization Within Urban And Rural Areas1521 Words   |  7 PagesMary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell serves as a portrait detailing industrial life during the Victorian period. The Victorian period was the highest point for industrialization in England. With the increase of industry and growth of urban areas there was social and political unrest within these areas primarily, in working class people who had suffered through great mistreatment and unfair distribution of power. 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Read MoreEssay on Elizabeth Gaskells Wives and Daughters1745 Words   |  7 PagesElizabeth Gaskell was the most established female figure in Victorian British Literature. By the time she blossomed into a literary career, she was thirty-eight years old. Most of her novels centered on the plight of the working people in England struggling to survive and dealing with the social stigma of class and wealth. Even though she received harsh criticism from critics for having sympathy for the poor, it didn’t deter her from a successful writing career, nor deny her talent as a writer. Read More Hopelessness of the Irish in Nineteenth Century England Essay3635 Words   |  15 Pagesgreater. Living in a country whose people viewed you as such, it is not difficult to understand why many Iri sh were willing to accept whatever was offered them. Elizabeth Gaskells Mary Barton, written in 1848, details life in Manchester and reads as a social commentary on the rift between the working class and its employers. Gaskells account is interesting for purposes of this report due to the almost invisibility of the Irish. In the Census of 1841 it was estimated that there were 34,300 Irish