North and South

Margaret takes a walk to lighten her spirits and pays a visit to Bessy. There, Higgins says he is worried about the strike. Bessy says it is the third strike she has seen and will be her last. Margaret has never seen a strike and wonders about the aim of the strikers. She explains farmers in the south would not strike because no one would have food if they did not plant and harvest the crops. Higgins says he has heard workers in the south are weak, but the mill workers know when to protest unfair wages. Bessy says she wishes she lived in the south. Margaret responds that there is pain and sorrow everywhere. She says the farmers have too much sense to strike, but Higgins responds, “[I]t’s not that they’ve too much sense, but that they’ve too little spirit” (183). Higgins explains the owners have been paying fewer wages over the last two years. The previous strike was poorly managed, but this time, they are prepared to die for the cause. He fights not only for himself but also for his neighbors. Margaret wonders why they cannot negotiate with the owners, but Higgins says she is naïve to the direness of the situation. He cannot feed his family with the wages he makes, but the owners will not hear their complaints. Higgins says the workers nicknamed Thornton “Thornton o’ Marlborough Mill” and describe him as a bulldog of a master. Bessy worries about her father. He is not an alcoholic, but she fears the stress will drive him to drink. Bessy tells Margaret she has never endured suffering, but Margaret argues she suffers now as her mother is dying and she cannot tell her father. Bessy finds comfort in the book of Revelation because it helps her see the meaning in her suffering. Margaret offers to return and read to Bessy more comforting parts of the Bible.

Richard is concerned about the doctor’s visit, but Margaret does not tell him the truth about the diagnosis. They read the mail. Margaret reads a letter from Aunt Shaw to him, but the doctor’s diagnosis distracts him. One letter is Mrs. Thornton’s invitation to dinner. Another is an invitation from the Lyceum asking Richard to give a lecture.

At the Thornton home, Fanny and Mrs. Thornton review the responses to the dinner invitations. Mrs. Thornton finds it strange the Hales accepted considering Maria’s condition. Mrs. Thornton still does not have a clear opinion of the family, but Thornton asks to her consider liking Margaret for his sake. She jokes about marriage, but he says Margaret would never accept him. Thornton worries the strike will distract him during the dinner party. He feels the workers do not understand the growing pressure due to competition in the American markets. He pledges to bring in Irish workers to keep the mill running if his employees refuse to work. It is a potentially dangerous move, but he is resolute in protecting all his arduous work. If the workers quit, they have no way of replacing them: “[F]or he had a head as well as hands, while they had only hands; and if they drove away their market, they could not follow it, nor turn to anything else” (199). He will allow them two weeks to protest before bringing in the Irish workers.

Since Maria cannot attend the dinner, Margaret models all her dresses and lets Maria help her choose what to wear: Margaret has fine gowns from her time in London with Aunt Shaw. Margaret visits Bessy, who is surprised to hear the Hales are dining with the Thorntons. The Hales are not wealthy like the Thorntons, but Margaret says her family is educated, which allows them to move in higher social circles. Bessy says she dreamed of Margaret before she arrived in Milton and wants to see Margaret dressed for the dinner party. Margaret feels guilty for attending a lavish dinner party when so many Milton families suffer. Bessy speaks of predestination, saying that some people are born wealthy and some into poverty. She thanks Margaret for crossing the wide gap between them with benevolence and care. Bessy says the ongoing strike is making her weary and compares it to the battle of Armageddon. Higgins returns home intoxicated.

The doctor’s medicines have helped Maria’s condition. Richard becomes depressed as he speaks with many people in town about the strike. Thornton tries to explain his side through economics, but he shows little care for the human cost: “How reconcile those eyes, that voice, with the hard, reasoning, dry merciless way in which he laid down axioms of trade, and serenely followed them out to their full consequences?” (209). His assertions repel Margaret. Margaret overhears a conversation between Higgins and his neighbor, John Boucher. Boucher’s wife is ill, and he struggles to feed his large family on low wages. Higgins has promised to help, but Boucher says time is running out and his son may die while they wait. He will trust the union and Higgins’s leadership but fears crossing the union as much as he fears the masters. Bessy suggests Boucher is not a dependable worker and mismanages his money. Bessy says the owners might change their mind if they could hear from Boucher in person, but for now, the only way to survive is if neighbors help each other. Margaret gives her money to help them in the interim.

After hearing all Margaret witnessed, Maria is deeply grieved and orders a basket of food to be sent to the Bouchers. Richard will visit them to see how they can help. He reports that they are not as destitute as Margaret thought though he admits he struggles to understand Milton’s definition of luxury. Margaret is elegantly dressed for the party, and her mother asks for a detailed report when she returns.

When she arrives, Margaret is astounded at the glut of food Mrs. Thornton has served. The house glows as all the furnishings have been unwrapped for the party. Living close to the factory does not bother Mrs. Thornton. It reminds her of her son’s immense success. Thornton arrives late and is awestruck by Margaret’s beauty. Mr. Horsfall, a visitor from out of town, listens to the gentlemen of Milton describe the strike. They defer to Thornton to give the account, and Margaret notices the respect he commands from his peers: “He was regarded by them as a man of great force of character; of power in many ways” (221). As she watches the businessmen interact, she understands them in a new way seeing their potential as hopeful. Thornton and Margaret speak briefly after dinner. He notices her sympathy for their side. Thornton states he does not see himself as a gentleman but as a “true man.” He cares not what others think of him but only about his conception of himself. There are whispers among the men of the plan to bring in Irish hands to keep the mills running. The other women at the party gossip about Margaret and wonder why Thornton would waste his time with a tutor.