Margaret Hale

Margaret Hale
Daniela Denby-Ashe as Margaret
First appearance	North & South
Created by	Elizabeth Gaskell
Portrayed by	Daniela Denby-Ashe
Information
Gender	Female
Title	Miss
Spouse(s)	John Thornton
Relatives	Richard Hale (father), Maria Hale (mother), Frederick Hale (brother)

Margaret Hale is the heroine of Elizabeth Gaskell's 1855 novel North and South. Indeed, Gaskell wanted the title of North and South to be Margaret Hale.

From Chapter Seven...

Margaret was a character created to challenge stereotypes about women's role in the 19th century. The theme of challenging stereotypes is one which is integral throughout the novel.

Margaret Hale is nineteen years old and before she was 10, lived in Helstone in Hampshire, in the south of England, with her parents—Richard, a minister, and Maria—and older brother, Frederick. When she was nine years old, Margaret was sent to live in London with her aunt, Mrs Shaw, and cousin. Edith and Margaret were the same age, and became fast friends.

Frederick, meanwhile, joined the Royal Navy. Once at sea, he took part in a mutiny against his cruel captain. The Hales realized that Frederick, branded a traitor, would be hanged if he ever returned to England.

When the girls grew up, Edith married Capt. Lennox. Lennox had a younger brother, Henry, who became infatuated with Margaret. She rejected his advances, and chose to move back to Helstone. Mr Hale, however, had begun to question his faith. When asked to renew his vows, Mr Hale could not. Quitting his profession, Mr Hale moved his wife and daughter to Milton, in the north of England, where he took up work as a tutor.

One of Mr Hale's pupils is a local mill owner, John Thornton. Margaret takes an instant dislike to Thornton, seeing him as the embodiment of the harsh, working-class north. Margaret, feeling homesick, romanticizes the south. Mr Thornton, on the other hand, is immediately struck by Margaret. "He did not understand who she was," when he first saw her, "as he caught the simple, straight, unabashed look, which showed that his being there was of no concern to the beautiful countenance, and called up no flush of surprise to the pale ivory of the complexion. He had heard that Mr. Hale had a daughter, but he had imagined that she was a little girl." Margaret eventually comes to feel at home in the north; she makes friends, including Bessy Higgins, a dying young woman.

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Wikipedia