On learning to learn, the changing of seasons, and Elizabeth Gaskell’s ‘North and South’
In our (long)neck of the woods, the leaves are falling. This morning, while walking the dogs by the creek, the air was cool and wet, and I saw the first orb weaver spider of the season; they like to wait to bring out their giant displays of meticulously woven beauty until the frosty mornings of autumn. It’s a changing of the guard; out with the hazy days of August, thank goodness. I will sometimes walk with a stick to break up the webs of silk in my path, but I pause for a moment before doing so.
Thanks for the sign; Fall has begun.
And with fall comes, of course, the high intentions of sharpened pencils. The “back to school” season in our home is a new and strange one this year –not in a negative sense, but unfamiliar, even awkward at times. We are very much trying to find our feet in new territory, charting our path and all of that. There are small joys to be found: boys picking up instruments for the first time, meals made (and eaten) with time and care, and so many new books. I’m often asked the question, “How is it going?” by well-meaning friends and family, some with knowing love in their eyes, others with a skeptical expression as they ask. The “it” being homeschooling, the new thing we are doing, the thing that has affected other things, is affecting me.
We are getting along, I say. We are learning to be together all day! We are shifting our thinking about what education means. We are reading a lot; we are learning to read, to write, to slow down, and let it all sink down to a deeper level.
Back to the Books
September is a good time to think about books. Did you expect anything different from me? I was telling Michael recently that I miss the structure that being in a class gives to my reading life (with a syllabus and assignments). Not only do I read more attentively, but I am required to synthesize what I am reading through writing a paper/essay or having a robust discussion about what I’ve read. My hope is to guide our son’s education along these basic lines (our version of the Charlotte Mason method, for you homeschooling folks who are wondering)…but the truth is that I want this for myself. Can someone please homeschool me?
Anyway, I want to briefly tell you about a book I just finished. If you need a recommendation for something to read at night, after the kitchen has been wiped down and the babies are in bed and a cup of tea has been made, then let me tell you about North and South. Elizabeth Gaskell’s Victorian marriage novel, ‘North and South,’ hits all of the deliciously restrained romance notes of the genre but does so with an oddly compelling social justice bent. This is a bold claim, but I’m just going to say it– it’s Pride and Prejudice, but better.
More Than Meets the Eye
‘North and South’ tells the story of Margaret Hale, a young woman on the verge of adulthood, who (due to her father’s midlife crisis) is displaced from her beloved home and endures a move with her parents from the South of England to the North, landing in a fictional manufacturing town called Milton (likely based on Manchester). The experience of being uprooted from pastoral, village life (and a social circle in cosmopolitan London) to rough, dirty, and fast-moving Milton is borderline traumatic for Margaret. She struggles to make the best of the situation but finds her quiet, formidable nature and Christian charity tested to the absolute limits. In Milton, Margaret finds sorrow and suffering, but she also grows into herself as a woman of both compassion and principle. And most importantly, she encounters John Thornton.
While this is an “opposites attract” romance, the story is so much more. Gaskell has a keen insight into the motivations of a wide range of characters, and unlike Austen’s writing, we get to “hear” the inner thoughts of all of her characters (male and female, gentry and working class alike). Her transitions from one character’s thoughts and feelings to another are almost seamless at times. Each character’s inner dialogue brings complexity to the interactions between them, building relationships that are interesting and convincing…and this is especially true between John and Margaret.
But the thing I loved the most about Gaskell’s writing was the way she wrote a rich inner-spiritual life of her heroine that didn’t feel sentimental, but genuine, while still representing the variety of responses to the Christian worldview that we encounter in our everyday life (for my fellow readers: see the differences between Margaret’s faith, her father’s, Betsy Higgins and Mr. Higgins). Gaskell hasn’t created an idealistic world that is populated by perfect Christians, but she reflects the world as it is —with its contradicting, emotional, raw reality— while still allowing her heroine to embody the path toward righteousness. It is also worth noting that Gaskell was a wife to a clergyman and mother while pursuing her writing projects, which was a rare occurrence during this era of published female authors.
A Novel of Virtue
‘North and South’ is a vibrant picture of humanity in challenging ethical and moral dilemmas, and as we read and experience them in a second-hand kind of way, we are surely considering how we would respond ourselves. But the writing is so beautiful we barely notice the way it is shaping our own virtue. In one scene, we witness Margaret’s grief give way to a new and deeper repentance,
On some such night as this she remembered promising to herself to live as brave and noble a life as any heroine she ever read or heard of in romance, a life sans peur et sans reproche; it had seemed to her then that she had only to will, and such a life would be accomplished. And now she had learnt that not only to will, but also to pray, was necessary condition in the truly heroic. (1)
The novel deals consistently with the value of life and death, our varied responses and questions around each theme, and gives the reader impartial glimpses of how different each person grieves the loss of a loved one. I appreciated Gaskell’s description of the way shared grief helps us to bear up, as it rings timeless and true,
Her heart was wonderfully lighter as she went upstairs; the sorrow was no less in reality, but it became less oppressive from having some one in precisely the same relation to it as that in which she stood. (2)
In ‘North and South’ we transcend the pragmatic barriers of 19th-century English society and class structure and go on a journey of intense feeling, dramatic scenery, and deep human insight. This is a story about the contrast and common ground between England’s North and South, the gentry and working class, men and women, conviction and action, and above all, love and suffering. It’s the perfect thing to pick up as the days get shorter and temperatures drop; and if you’d rather have the cheat sheet, you can watch the 4-part BBC adaptation here (it’s actually pretty good!)
Invitation from the Master
The theme of “continued education” seems to be a banner over my life, and maybe over yours as well. While we aim to cultivate a virtuous curiosity and love of learning in our home, there are moments when the weariness of it all settles on my heart. Will the lessons ever end? Will the master ever call recess? When is snack time? (Sorry, public school kid here, I couldn’t help it.) I long for a oneness with the Lord that rightly keeps me at his feet, like Mary, humble and hungry for whatever he desires to teach me next. Matthew records Jesus’ invitation to draw closer,
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matt. 11:29)
…and the shrill voice of my striving ego finally grows quiet. I am able to breathe deeply -to trust again- to accept what the Lord will have me learn in this season. His ways are good; His ways are blessing. Selah.
I am already diving into another novel on my “classics” list, but I won’t tell you what it is just yet. I’d love to hear from you, instead – what are you reading? What are you most looking forward to with the changing of the seasons? Is there a particular something that you are learning right now? I’d love to hear from you – please hit reply and let me know!
Until next time,
SBL
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