Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on Elizabeth Gaskell/Mary Barton. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page essay that examines Gaskell's novel Mary Barton (1848), which was certainly not unique in pointing out the miserable conditions that characterized the life of nineteenth century English working classes. Like Dickens' Oliver Twist and others, Gaskell describes scenes of wretched squalor, but she does so in a manner that makes it clear that the middle-class ideal of domesticity and cleanliness, which was equated in Victorian society with concepts of decency, failed to perceive the realities of working class life. Gaskell's characterization of the industrial working classes negates the popular Victorian perceptions regarding the 'lower' classes and shows not only the details of their lives, but also how those details fit into the context of the lives of her characters. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khgasamb.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
Dickens Oliver Twist and others, Gaskell describes scenes of wretched squalor, but she does so in a manner that makes it clear that the middle-class ideal of domesticity and cleanliness,
which was equated in Victorian society with concepts of decency, failed to perceive the realities of working class life. Gaskells characterization of the industrial working classes negates the popular Victorian
perceptions regarding the "lower" classes and shows not only the details of their lives, but also how those details fit into the context of the lives of her characters.
Gaskells description of the filth to be found on Manchester Streets is graphic and disgusting to middle-class sensibilities. She writes that "(Berry Street) was unpaved, and down the middle a
gutter forced its way," into which women would routine throw all sorts of refuge, which would cause the water in the gutter to overflow and stagnate (66). However, after emphasizing
the squalid conditions under which the working class live, Gaskell implicitly rejects the middle-class perspective of this situation, actively downplaying the effect of the surroundings on inhabitants of the neighborhood.
She maintains that George Wilson and John Barton are not particularly bothered by the filth of their environment, as they are "inured to such things" (Gaskell 66). As this
suggests, Gaskell specifically departs from the Victorian middle-class sensibility that equated decency with cleanliness. In doing so, Gaskell comes dangerously close to a position that discounts the social significance of
people living in such degradation. However, she avoids this through connecting the failure of working class homes to conform to the social standards of middle-class cleanliness by showing this to
be a direct result of the industrial economy imposed on the working classes by their "betters." Jane Wilson describes how factory work naturally leads to domestic disorder, "I had been
...