In a lot of ways, the story of North and South is about Margaret Hale's journey from pride to humility. Along the way, all kinds of bad stuff happens to her, but she insists over and over again that her morals and education are too good for the town of Milton. It's only with time and thought that she can eventually see that her pride is holding her back from experiencing life to its fullest.
Specifically, her pride has kept her from falling in love because she has always felt as though no one is good enough for her. Gaskell makes it pretty apparent that that's one thing that needs to change if Margaret's going to become the person she wants to be.
Questions About Pride
- In your opinion, where does Margaret's sense of pride come from? How early in the text can we identify it?
- How does Margaret's pride compare (and contrast) with Mrs. Thornton's? What is each of them specifically proud of?
- What causes Margaret to realize that she needs to start being more humble? Use specific evidence from the text to support your answer.
Chew on This
In North and South, we learn that pride can cause even the best of us to lose our way.
In North and South, Gaskell suggests that pride is fine as long as it doesn't cause us to look down on others.