Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell

First published: 1848

Type of work: Novel

Type of plot: Social realism

Time of plot: First half of the nineteenth century

Locale: Manchester, England

Principal characters

• Mary Barton, a young working-class woman
• John Barton, her father, a mill worker
• Jem Wilson, the son of John’s closest friend
• Jane Wilson, Jem’s mother
• Alice Wilson, Jem’s aunt
• Margaret Jennings, a friend of Mary
• Job Legh, Margaret’s grandfather
• Mr. Carson, a mill owner
• Harry Carson, his son

The Story:

John Barton, his pregnant wife, Mary, and their thirteen-year-old daughter, “little” Mary, are on a spring outing with their friends George and Jane Wilson and the Wilsons’ twin babies and son Jem. Mary is extremely worried because her sister Esther has disappeared, probably with a lover. When the group returns to the Barton home for tea, George’s sister Alice joins them. Later that night, Mary goes into labor; there are complications, and the doctor is unable to save her life. John blames Esther for his wife’s death.

The next year, young Mary becomes an apprentice to a dressmaker. Through Alice Wilson, she meets Margaret Jennings, a poor girl blessed with a beautiful voice, and Margaret’s self-educated grandfather, Job Legh. Margaret tells Mary that she is going blind. Since she will no longer be able to do needlework, her only hope is to earn a living by singing.

When the mill catches fire, Jem Wilson saves both his father and another mill worker from the flames, becoming a hero. The owners of the mill, including Mr. Carson, think the fire was a godsend, for with the insurance money they will be able to replace outdated equipment. Their former employees, however, out of work because the mill is not operating, face starvation. When an epidemic rages among the weakened workers, the Wilson twins, always delicate, become ill and die.

Although Mary has strong feelings for Jem, she is surreptitiously seeing Harry Carson, encouraged in this by Sally Leadbitter, another apprentice. When George Wilson dies suddenly Mary is shaken, but she does not pay a visit of condolence because she cannot face Jem. Margaret’s future looks brighter after she finds work as a singer.

John Barton’s situation, on the other hand, is grim. He had quit his job and gone to London with a group of mill workers to petition Parliament, but the petition was rejected, and no one will hire a Chartist and a union man. He and Mary have to pawn their possessions in order to live. Angry and frustrated, John begins taking opium. One night Mary’ s aunt, Esther, now a prostitute, comes to warn John about his daughter’s involvement with Harry, but, still holding Esther responsible for his wife’s death, John refuses to listen.

Mary, however, finally realizes that all she likes about Harry is his wealth. It is Jem she loves, but some time earlier she firmly rejected Jem’s proposal of marriage. At Margaret’s suggestion, Mary calls on Jem’s mother. There she sees Jem’s sister Alice, now deaf and blind, and meets Alice’s foster son, Will Wilson, a fine young sailor, who becomes Margaret’s suitor.

Esther tells Jem about Mary’s involvement with Harry, and shortly thereafter, Jem seeks out his rival. Carson strikes Jem with his cane, and Jem knocks him down. At a trade union meeting, the members draw lots to decide which of them will attack one of the mill owners; John is chosen. Soon after, Harry Carson is shot and killed. Jem is arrested for the crime, as his gun is identified as the weapon used, and his feelings for Mary suggest a motive.

After Esther brings Mary a piece of paper she found at the scene of the crime, Mary realizes that her father is the murderer. Margaret remembers that Jem had walked to Liverpool with Will on the night that Harry was shot. Job, Jem, and Mary all set out for Liverpool, where Jem is to be tried. Mary needs to find Will, who can establish an alibi for Jem. After taking a boat out to Will’s ship and obtaining his promise to appear in court, Mary returns to testify. She publicly admits her love for Jem and manages not to collapse until Will turns up, along with a pilot who can corroborate his story. Jem is acquitted.

Having been dismissed from his job, Jem begins making plans to emigrate to Canada with his mother and Mary. John knows now that he is dying. Calling for Mr. Carson, he confesses to the killing of Harry and begs the bereaved father’s forgiveness. At first, Carson refuses, but after seeing the charitable behavior of a little girl, he returns to the Barton house, where John dies in his arms. Carson thereafter becomes a guiding spirit in improving working conditions in Manchester.

Just before Jem, Mary, and Jane are to leave England, Esther comes home to die. In a final scene set in Toronto, Jane is playing with her little grandson when Jem brings home good news: After surgery, Margaret has recovered her sight; she and Will are soon to be married, and when Will makes his next voyage, Margaret and Job intend to accompany him and visit their friends.

Bibliography

Bonaparte, Felicia. The Gypsy-Bachelor of Manchester: The Life of Mrs. Gaskell’s Demon. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1992. Presents a sensitive reading of Gaskell’s life and fiction. Innovative approach treats the writer’s life, letters, and works as a single “poetic text.”

Brodetsky, Tessa. Elizabeth Gaskell. Leamington, England: Berg, 1986. Includes a chapter on Mary Barton that places the novel within the historic, economic, and social events leading up to the Chartist movement and British trade unionism. Also examines the theme of miscommunication in the novel and gives an extended analysis of the characters.

Easson, Angus. Elizabeth Gaskell. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1979. Biographical work includes analysis of Gaskell’s novels. Discussion of Mary Barton points out the contradiction between Gaskell’s organic and Christian view of society and her representation of the social deprivation of the poor and also briefly describes some of the contemporary reactions to the novel.

Foster, Shirley. Elizabeth Gaskell: A Literary Life. New York: Palgrave, 2002. Offers an accessible introduction to the author’s work, relying on the best available biographies. Presents interesting comparisons of Gaskell’s novels with others of the period and emphasizes women’s issues as addressed by Gaskell.

Hughes, Linda K., and Michael Lund. Victorian Publishing and Mrs. Gaskell’s Work. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1999. Places Gaskell’s writing in the context of the Victorian era, noting that Gaskell negotiated her way through the publishing world by producing work that was commercially successful even though it defied the conventions of her times. Mary Burton is discussed in chapter 2.

Nash, Julie. Servants and Paternalism in the Works of Maria Edgeworth and Elizabeth Gaskell. Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2007. Examines the servant characters in Gaskell’s stories and novels, including Mary Barton, to show how her nostalgia for a traditional ruling class conflicted with her interest in radical new ideas about social equality.

Schor, Hilary M. Scheherezade in the Marketplace: Elizabeth Gaskell and the Victorian Novel. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. Discusses Gaskell as a woman writer in Victorian England. Includes analysis of Mary Barton that explores Gaskell’s use of a romantic plot and a marriage-bound heroine to critique an authoritarian political and social structure.

Spencer, Jane. Elizabeth Gaskell. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1993. Provides a good overview of the writer and her works. Points out that Gaskell’s intention in Mary Barton was to provide a voice for the working class and that she was addressing her own group, the largely Unitarian Manchester establishment.

Stoneman, Patsy. Elizabeth Gaskell. 2d ed. New York: Manchester University Press, 2006. Notes that in Mary Barton the author opposes a working class with feminine, nurturing virtues to a middle class characterized by masculine vices. This anticipates later books that deal specifically with issues of gender.

Wheeler, Michael. The Art of Allusion in Victorian Fiction. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1979. Includes a chapter on Mary Barton that explains the significance of many of Gaskell’s references in the work. Notes that the structure of the novel, which is often criticized, is justified by the fact that Gaskell based her work on the biblical Dives-Lazarus story.