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naomi_k's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Child death
Moderate: Gaslighting, Classism, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Murder, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Drug abuse, and Misogyny
Minor: Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, and Chronic illness
diana_raquel's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
*3.9 stars*
"No one knows till they have tried, what power of bearing lies in them."
Published in 1848, this was the first novel ever written by Gaskell. The story goes that William Gaskell encouraged his wife to write novels to "soothe her sorrow" over the loss of the couple's son, Willie.
Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life, is a story set in Manchester between 1839 and 1842, and in its first part, it deals with the difficulties faced by the Victorian working class, and in its second part, it tells the story of a love triangle "shadowed" by a murder.
Clearly, this is the first novel of Gaskell. It clearly lacks the style of North and South and Wives and Daughters but it's also possible to see some of the characteristics that would be perfected in later novels. However, thematically, this novel has a lot of themes that appear in other novels like the class conflict between the poor and the wealthy and the relationship between gender and sex in Victorian times (related to this last theme, this novel actually goes further when it links gender and sex to female virtue).
Unlike the other Gaskell works that I read, this particular novel has been subjected to heavy criticism because of the apparent shift in genres between the political focus of the early chapters (when the class conflict in Machester is described) to the domestic in the later ones (when the story focuses on Mary and the love triangle around her).
Raymond Williams, an academic, saw this as a failure, defending that the early chapters are the "most moving response in the literature to the industrial suffering of the 1840s", but in the later chapters, the novel becomes a "familiar and orthodox...Victorian novel of sentiment". Williams also suggested that this shift may have been at the influence of Gaskell's publishers, an idea supported by the title change, which changes the main focus of the reader from the political upheaval John is trying to promote to Mary's emotional journey. However, Kamilla Elliot, another academic, disagrees with Williams about the weakness of the domestic genre, saying, "It is the romance plot, not the political plot, that contains the more radical political critique in the novel.". And I have to say that I agree with Elliot. The idea of discussing gender and sex isn't something new in a Victorian novel, but relating that to female virtue is a bit more progressive and new. However, this shift also takes away something of the novel because it isn't a soft shift but a noticeable one.
For the most part, I really enjoyed this book, however, it lacks some of the characteristic style of Gaskell that I love. I would recommend it to someone who just read the short stories and wanted to start the novels of the author.
"No one knows till they have tried, what power of bearing lies in them."
Published in 1848, this was the first novel ever written by Gaskell. The story goes that William Gaskell encouraged his wife to write novels to "soothe her sorrow" over the loss of the couple's son, Willie.
Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life, is a story set in Manchester between 1839 and 1842, and in its first part, it deals with the difficulties faced by the Victorian working class, and in its second part, it tells the story of a love triangle "shadowed" by a murder.
Clearly, this is the first novel of Gaskell. It clearly lacks the style of North and South and Wives and Daughters but it's also possible to see some of the characteristics that would be perfected in later novels. However, thematically, this novel has a lot of themes that appear in other novels like the class conflict between the poor and the wealthy and the relationship between gender and sex in Victorian times (related to this last theme, this novel actually goes further when it links gender and sex to female virtue).
Unlike the other Gaskell works that I read, this particular novel has been subjected to heavy criticism because of the apparent shift in genres between the political focus of the early chapters (when the class conflict in Machester is described) to the domestic in the later ones (when the story focuses on Mary and the love triangle around her).
Raymond Williams, an academic, saw this as a failure, defending that the early chapters are the "most moving response in the literature to the industrial suffering of the 1840s", but in the later chapters, the novel becomes a "familiar and orthodox...Victorian novel of sentiment". Williams also suggested that this shift may have been at the influence of Gaskell's publishers, an idea supported by the title change, which changes the main focus of the reader from the political upheaval John is trying to promote to Mary's emotional journey. However, Kamilla Elliot, another academic, disagrees with Williams about the weakness of the domestic genre, saying, "It is the romance plot, not the political plot, that contains the more radical political critique in the novel.". And I have to say that I agree with Elliot. The idea of discussing gender and sex isn't something new in a Victorian novel, but relating that to female virtue is a bit more progressive and new. However, this shift also takes away something of the novel because it isn't a soft shift but a noticeable one.
For the most part, I really enjoyed this book, however, it lacks some of the characteristic style of Gaskell that I love. I would recommend it to someone who just read the short stories and wanted to start the novels of the author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Addiction
Minor: Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, and Ableism
arch1e's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Twists around tropes, just when you think you know what's going to happen another trap door opens and a new adventure abounds!
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse, Dementia, Death, Child death, Addiction, Ableism, and Terminal illness
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