Class Differences and Women's
Class Differences and Women's Roles in "Mary Barton" During the industrial revolution era, women's roles were very difficult. One direction women could go toward was the necessity of remaining in the home for in order to keep things comfortable for the family as a whole. The next direction that was becoming more frequent was women entering into the public scene. Many lower class women were pushed into the work force in order to survive and provide for their families. Having to take on a job then caused a double burden of being able to take care of the house and family while trying to work and provide for their family. Staying home and entering the public domain both offered many consequences, and left women's practical options unclear, and also created an ever-greater seperation between their ways of life, and those of wealthier women, who typically remained entirely in the domestic sphere, because they had that luxury. Mary Barton, displays the characteristics of a variety of female lives, rich and poor, public and private, under extremely trying and class-dividing circumstances, those of the Industrial Revolution. Gaskell tends to represent women as actively engaging in public urban life out of necessity rather than ou
The thing that necessitates Mary's entrance is her mother's death. Barton dies, the house only consists of John Barton and his daughter, both of whom are working. This allows Gaskell to show what results when a fully dependent housewife is suddenly stripped of her support systems in such a complex, rapidly modernizing city life. Most of Gaskell's female characters actively immerse themselves in city life and are thereby able to see the city for what it is, for both good and bad. Just as the characters enter the public sphere when they must, readers are encouraged, not to see themselves as villains and forsake their bourgeois lives entirely, but to simply know, and help the less fortunate when they can, and in that way possibly reach a compromise among the classes. She earns enough money to be able to dress herself nicely, and she stays out of the house until late hours. Consequently, John Barton loses all that had remained to bring him happiness and comfort, and he becomes gloomier, unhealthier, and noticeably machine-like. Alice is also engaged in public life to some extent, and neither her nor Margaret is corrupted or harmed in any way. The extinguishing of one sense or another works as an effective shield against temptations of material goods, men, or anything else. Marys situation serves as a representation of the good and the bad that can come of women's use of public venues, and it is shown through her that as long as extreme prudence is exercised, public urban life can be positive. Esther becomes susceptible to temptations once she enters such a risky public area. This thereby places the two classes on equal terms with one another, and relates back to the necessity of recognizing both the good and bad aspects of domestic versus public life, and of recognizing the perspective of ones opposite social class. Work CitedGaskell, Elizabeth. On the other hand, women entirely retaining their place in the home is also shown by Gaskell to be detrimental.
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Acceptance Essays
