Mary Barton

by

Elizabeth Gaskell

Mary Barton: Chapter 5 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
The narrator notes that, though readers may not believe it, there are working-class men throughout Lancashire whose beloved hobby is natural science. Margaret’s grandfather Job Legh is one such: his room is full of specimens. When Mary comes to visit him with Margaret, she asks one question about the specimens, and Job bombards her with all their scientific names. To rescue Mary, Margaret cuts in with an anecdote about how Job once bought what he thought was a dead scorpion that turned out only to be in cold hibernation. When Mary goes home, she thinks how odd the two are: plain Margaret with her beautiful voice and druid-like Job.
When the narrator speculates that readers may not believe science enthusiasts exist among the working class, it suggests that the novel’s intended audience is middle- or upper-class—in other words, the audience belongs to the class of people who either exploit the working class or, at minimum, benefit from the goods and services created by their exploitation. By taking these people as the intended audience, the narrator may be trying to open their eyes to the exploitation of the working class and, in doing so, increase their empathy for poor people.
Themes
Employers vs. Workers Theme Icon
Empathy vs. Ignorance Theme Icon
Over the course of the winter, Mary and Margaret become close friends. Mary is perhaps attracted to Margaret’s common sense. Mary admits many of her flaws to Margaret, but she hides that she has been flirting with a good-looking young man on her walks home from work—a young man whom she doesn’t love but whom she hopes to marry. Meanwhile, Jem Wilson desperately loves Mary and hopes to marry her, though her coolness toward him daunts him.
That Mary hides her flirting from Margaret while sharing her other flaws indicates that she, consciously or unconsciously, judges her own flirting to be beyond the pale. This self-judgment shows the unacceptability and perceived dangerousness of female sexuality to the conservative Victorian culture in which Mary has been raised.
Themes
Sexuality and Danger Theme Icon
In late February, Mary is walking home from work one evening when she runs into Margaret. Margaret mentions she’s sewing mourning clothes, and Mary offers to help. While the girls set up the work at Mary’s house, Margaret explains the clothes are for a new widow and her three older daughters, who are too busy preparing for their father’s funeral to sew their own clothes. The family is poor, but the wife is still trying to give him a lavish funeral.
The widow’s desire to give her husband a lavish funeral despite her lack of resources emphasizes again the morality and community-oriented nature of the poor, working-class Manchester community described in the novel.
Themes
Poverty and Morality Theme Icon
When Mary comments that Alice Wilson wouldn’t grieve in such a fashion, Margaret says that Alice is different: she believes all ills are “sent” for some good. Margaret is about to tell Mary about some ill of her own about which Alice comforted her—but then she cuts herself off. Regardless, she relates to Mary that Alice told her anxiety is irreligious, which has helped her stop complaining about her woes.
Margaret takes Alice, who believes that every bad thing that happens is “sent” for some good, as a religious model. Margaret’s desire to emulate the pious Alice shows her belief that Christian virtues such as faith and patient endurance are central to a good life.
Themes
Christianity Theme Icon
Quotes
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Mary asks whether Margaret will be paid for sewing the mourning clothes. Margaret says she intends to do it for free to help the mourners who can’t really afford to pay for it. Then she laments that sewing black cloth is hard on the eyes, admits she’s going blind, and bursts into tears. When Mary tries to comfort her by suggesting she’s wrong, Margaret tells her that she visited a doctor who told her that her vision would fail unless she stopped working—but she and her grandfather Job need the money. Her only comfort is that the old weaver who gives her singing lessons tells her she might make money by her singing.
Though Margaret needs money, she performs sewing work for free to help a poor widow, despite the fact that such work is exacerbating her progressive blindness. Margaret’s altruism and self-sacrifice embody the community-oriented mutual aid that the poor, working-class characters give one another throughout the novel. On the other hand, Margaret’s decision to continue working despite the damage to her eyes underscores the desperate economic situation of poor Manchester residents in mid-Victorian England.
Themes
Poverty and Morality Theme Icon
The girls hear many people running past outside. Mary goes outside to ask about the commotion and learns that a nearby mill is on fire. To distract Margaret from her grief, Mary insists that they go see the fire. When they arrive at the burning mill and the surrounding crowd, they realize that two workers are still trapped in the building. Mary, terrified, wants to go home, but the girls are too hemmed in by the crowd to move.
As soon as Mary learns that Margaret is blind, she latches on to any exciting event that might distract Margaret from her fear and suffering. Though Mary’s tactics may be questionable—it’s not clear that a burning mill will cheer Margaret up—her immediate action to help Margaret exemplifies the practical-minded altruism shared by many of the novel’s poor, working-class protagonists.
Themes
Poverty and Morality Theme Icon
Jem and another man arrive with a ladder; they push it from the upper floor of a neighboring building and through a mill window to create a bridge. Jem walks across the “bridge,” enters the burning mill, and carries out one of the trapped men—his father Mr. Wilson, who works at the mill. Jem goes to fetch the second trapped man, but on his way back across the bridge, he loses his balance and nearly falls. Mary, watching, faints. Jem manages to make it safely back to the neighboring building with the second worker. 
Mary faints when she sees Jem in peril, hinting that she may not be as indifferent to him as she seems. Yet given her flirtation with another, as-yet-unnamed young man, readers may wonder whether her confused emotions will lead to distress or even danger for her and Jem.
Themes
Sexuality and Danger Theme Icon
The crowd disperses. Margaret lowers Mary to the cool pavement, where she regains consciousness. Margaret assures her that everyone is safe. The girls go ask a nearby fireman for more information. When Margaret asks why they let Jem rescue both men, the fireman says they couldn’t stop him from going. When the girls get back to Mary’s house, John is home. They tell him what happened, and he vows that he'd consent right away if Jem asked for Mary’s hand in marriage. Margaret laughs, but Mary is annoyed.
John talks about his daughter Mary as if she were his possession, which he could give to Jem as a reward for good behavior. Though modern readers may sympathize greatly with Mary’s annoyance, the novel itself takes as given that male heads of household would be deeply involved in girls’ romantic and sexual lives—especially given the novel’s suggestion that uncontrolled female sexuality is dangerous.
Themes
Sexuality and Danger Theme Icon