NORTH AND SOUTH BY ELIZABETH GASKELL essays

NORTH AND SOUTH BY ELIZABETH GASKELL essays Elizabeth Gaskell's North and south is one of the most influential novels of the industrial age with its clear depiction of social, economic and political conditions prevailing in that era. We are all well aware pf the fact that capitalism was the biggest problem in the industrial age and it was viewed as the sole enemy of mankind since it gave rise to numerous social and economic problems for the urban poor. Gaskell has captured all these problems skillfully in her novel thus focusing on the major problems of these times. However it is not just the social or economic conditions that make this novel a success, but also the depiction of the religion and religious controversies that set this work apart from other novels of 19th The author has tried to maintain an objective stance on the subject of religion but she has written clearly about doubts and various other problems that Christianity suffered during this troubled times. As man himself was undergoing severe social and economic problems, his religious beliefs also suffered a setback and author has transferred these doubts carefully yet clearly onto the pages of her novel. Many people believe that it is Nicolas Higgins who represents the center of religious controversy but that is not entirely true. We notice a religious motif running throughout the novel and various religious doubts and belief surface from time to time through different characters beginning from Margaret Hale's father. However it is true that it is in Higgins that religious controversy is most pronounced. It is important to study the many different references to religious doubt and controversy that occur in this novel to fully comprehend the problem that had surfaced in those days. While people suddenly began doubting religion is unclear from the novel, however it appears that the problems of the age had created doubts in the minds of some people who later decided ...