North and South

[Timony]

Can anyone suggest how the North and South engages and reflects social change in the narrative.

Many thanks if you can help out.

[Guinivere]

I think for that North & South depicts both ends of the social ladder. The entrpreneurs and educated gentry one the one hand and the working class citizens on the other. A social change is certainly the way Mr Thornton deals with his workers. At first he doesn't hear them out. He thinks in figures and margins he has to meet. He has no time for quarrels and tries to crush the strie by force. Of course after his character is somewhat altered by his love for Margret he can relate more to his workers and tries to make their situation better. Of course being a good business man he always keeps and eye on the figures, which is necessary because if there were no mill, there`d be no workers and th refore no money for either.

So you have Mr Thorntons attention towards his men and women and of course Margrets want for company. She makes friends and doesn't see them as merely a Charity case. She genuinely feels for their safety and health. It is in her nature to want to help and of course not to live as a recluse in her new home town.

For me Margarets position is clear in her character. She is a genuinely nice person.
Mr Thornton comes to terms with his position towards his men, and in my humble opinion grows as a person.
They both reflect the social change because throughout the book their lifes become interwined with the workers. Their situation in life and both of them change it in their own ways.