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 out of any personal desire to do so, and she uses the idea of balance as an important issue which also relates to class tensions. Mary Bartons message to women is that they must cautiously advance into the public domain, and realize the dangers, and rather be aware of the positive and negative aspects of life in the private and public spheres. This awareness of both sides of an issue is additionally reflected in Gaskell's compromise-centered views on class tensions and reconciliation, which is to do what one must for ones own station in life, but to remain aware of the effects on others of different classes, and to find a balance in one's actions. Gaskell displays her views on...