North and South Society and Class Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Volume.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

"To tell you the truth, Margaret, I sometimes feel as if that woman gave herself airs." (1.5.74)

Mr. Hale isn't sure whether the family should bring their maid Dixon with them when they move to Milton, mainly because they don't have much money. But on top of that, Mr. Hale suspects that Dixon sometimes oversteps her bounds as a servant. Margaret has just criticized Dixon for doing the same thing, but when she hears someone else saying this, she falls back on her old "Oh don't be such an elitist" routine. 

Quote #5

People thronged the footpaths, most of them well-dressed as regarded the material, but with a slovenly looseness which struck Margaret as different from the shabby, threadbare smartness of a similar class in London. (1.7.4)

One of the first things Margaret notices about her new home in Milton is that the people there have expensive, but tacky clothing. People from the south, on the other hand, have cheaper, but more stylish clothing. The observation is symbolic, since it reflects Margaret's belief that in the end, money can never make up for lack of good breeding. 

Quote #6

"Yes! If any one had told me […] that a child of mine would have to stand half a day, in a little poky kitchen, working away like any servant, that we might prepare properly for the reception of a tradesman, and that this tradesman should be the only—." (1.9.14)

Margaret's mother is mortified at the thought of her own daughter cleaning the house in preparation for a visit from a businessman. After all, the Hale family has always aspired to "higher" things like education and morals. But now they've come down in the world and they need to rely on "shoppy" people like Mr. Thornton.