«‘Do you think such life as this is worth caring for?’» (Volume I, Chapter XI: First Impressions) ~ «‘... I think if this life is th' end, and there's no God to wipe away all tears from all eyes—’» (Vol. I, Ch. XIII: A Soft Breeze in a Sultry Place) ~ «‘God can give you more perfect rest than even idleness on earth, or the dead sleep of the grave can do.’» (Vol. I, Ch. XIII: A Soft Breeze in a Sultry Place) ~ #CurrentlyReading: #NorthAndSouth by #ElizabethGaskell. This is far better than Cranford, my first Gaskell; and really absorbing, with impressive characters like #MrsThornton, #JohnThornton and #MargaretHale. The novel is mainly set in the fictional industrial town of #Milton and the county it is in, #Darkshire, the names of which are quite symbolic in my opinion, representing the Gaskell's point of view that what an infernal and bleak world the Industrialism created in England, which can also be seen from the various depictions of the industrial North contrasted with nicely depicted natural beauties in the South; work conditions and life circumstances of the workers, such as the Higginses, and various strikes mentioned in the novel so far, giving the novel rather a naturalistic tone. ~ «‘There are forms and ceremonies to be gone through, not so much to satisfy oneself, as to stop the world's mouth, without which stoppage there would be very little satisfaction in life.’» (Vol. I, Ch. I: ‘Haste to the Wedding’) ~ «‘Because a man was successful in his ventures, there was no reason that in all other things his mind should be well-balanced.’» (Vol. I, Ch. X: Wrought Iron and Gold) ~ «‘Margaret, don't despise me; I have a heart, notwithstanding all this good-for-nothing way of talking. As a proof of it, I believe I love you more than ever—if I do not hate you—for the disdain with which you have listened to me during this last half-hour. Good-bye, Margaret—Margaret!’» (Vol. I, Ch. III: ‘The More Haste The Worse Speed’) ~ #Gaskell #MrThornton #MrsHale #MrHale #HenryLennox #NicholasHiggins #BessyHiggins #englishnovel #victoriannovel #book #books #bookstagram #literature #novel #bibliophile #booklove #currentread #reading #read #instabook #bookworm #classics https://www.instagram.com/p/B85qRaeAT7a/?igshid=tjee14f3k2f8
